Even after 48 years: the legend of the idol of the Haifa crowd does not end • A moving memorial for Mike Brant ◄ Watch the broadcast

A legend even 48 years after his death

At the old cemetery on the Carmel Beach in Haifa, an emotional memorial service was held this weekend, on the 48th anniversary of the death of the late singer Mike Brandt. • Accompanied by many fans who came from France, Belgium and Canada who visited the places where Brandt grew up in Haifa. And an internationally admired singer • 48 years have passed since at the height of his career and success Brant ended his life, his voice died and he was only 28 years old • The story of the late Brant was a legend in his life and many years after his death • His grave continues to be a pilgrimage site for his fans from all over the world • Mike Brant – The legend that never fades • Live here in a special, extensive and exclusive review.

◄ The visit to the legendary "Rondo" hall, which is now inside the "Dan Carmel" hotel - a moving memorial, on the 48th anniversary of the death of the late singer Mike Brant

His life ended there and he is only 28 years old

At noon this weekend, the annual and moving memorial service was held in the old cemetery next to the Neve David Military Cemetery in Haifa in memory of Moshe Brand, the late international Haifa singer Mike Brandt, who 48 years ago exactly jumped to his tragic death from the sixth floor of Binyain in the center of Paris, France, from the height of his career His successful and soaring singer, the late Mike Brant, ended his life and he is only 28 years old. The members of his family came to pay their respects to him at the memorial, including his brother Zvika Brant, dozens of his old fans who came from north and south from all over the country, his loved ones and relatives, and all this even if 48 years have passed and as if it was only yesterday, the late singer Mike Brant remains beloved And revered as he always was.

During the memorial service, his fans, who have been connected and coordinated with each other for nearly five decades, read moving things in his memory as they also played some of his winning and beloved songs over his grave, when Mike Brandt's untimely death ended a glorious international career. At the end of the commemoration, his fans also held a mitzvah feast in his memory and brought up nostalgic memories of his time in life.

◄ The ceremony in memory of Mike Brandt

Tourists from France, Belgium and Canada, consisting of male and female fans

Also to mark the 48th anniversary of his tragic death, a large group of tourist guests from France, Belgium and Canada also arrived in Haifa at the beginning of the week, consisting of fans from Mike Brandt's huge international fan community abroad. Upon landing in Israel, the group arrived directly at the city museum in the German colony and this on In order to visit the exhibition "Mike Brent - to the brides of the body" which has been on display for almost a whole year and is supposed to close at the very end of this month on the night of May 27.5.2023, XNUMX. The exhibition about the life and character of the international and Israeli legend - Mike Brent, the exhibition was born following the donation of a rare collection by Zvika Brand, Mike's younger brother and Yona Brand, Mike's niece to the Haifa City Museum. In the exhibition you can see rare video clips from his performances, rare photos from private family albums, rare clothing details, fan albums, covers of local and international magazines and newspapers dedicated to him, collectibles, memorabilia, notes and letters in Mike's handwriting and more. The exhibition sheds light on Brent's complex character and stormy life, along with the other story of Israel in those years and the Israeli music and entertainment hierarchy of those decades.

◄ The ceremony in memory of Mike Brandt

At the end of the visit to the museum, the group went directly to the old cemetery at the Carmel Beach, adjacent to the military cemetery in the Neve David neighborhood, to visit the grave of the late Mike Brandt and mark the 48th anniversary of his tragic death. For those who do not know, his grave has already become a place of pilgrimage for his fans for many years From Israel, from all over the world, large masses of wreaths, made up of different and unique flowers, were laid on his grave and sang his favorite songs.

From there, the group continued to tour the places where Brandt grew up, his parents' home during his childhood and adolescence, including his home at 10 Sarah Street in the lower city and 8 Partizanim Street in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood, where at the entrance to his house today - a small, neglected, faded and almost completely erased sign, on a sign that reads: "Mike Brandt, The most successful Israeli singer abroad ever." From there, a few meters away, the visiting group from abroad moved to Mike Brant Avenue, which was dedicated in his name in August 2020 in the neighborhood.

In the afternoon, the group did not give up a visit to the "Rondo" building, which is the round and mythological hall inside the "Dan Carmel" hotel on the Carmel, in the "Rondo" the singer Mike Brant appeared every day together with his band members "Amani Shemei" almost every day from 1965 until the year 1967, during these performances and one small moment before he moved abroad and was going to conquer France, he also decided to change his name from Moshe to Mike so that he would have a catchy and comfortable stage name.

Mike Brent was born Moshe (Michael) Brand on February 1.2.1947, 5 to Bronia and Fischel, poor Holocaust survivor parents from Poland who fled Europe because of the Nazis in a detention camp for Holocaust survivors in Famagusta, Cyprus. With the family's immigration to Israel a few months after his birth, she settled in Kibbutz Gevat in the Galilee and later they lived in Haifa where his younger brother, Zvi, was also born. Until the age of 11, the boy Moshe did not speak a single word. As a child he was drawn to music through the hymns and poetry of the synagogue in the neighborhood. Moshe grew up in Haifa and as a child always loved to sing. He used to sing at family events, relatives' weddings, bar mitzvahs and any casual event. The boy always sings and never stops. As a little boy, Moshe's big dream was to become a well-known singer and already when he was XNUMX years old he appeared in the choir of the "Carmeli" school and became the only child in the choir. Moshe Brand did not finish his law studies and was sent by his parents to work in a kibbutz in the north. Later he joined the drama classes of the Haifa Theater. He had to give up his military service for health reasons.

In 1962 he joined a band in which his brother Zvika was also a member and then changed his name to Mike Brent and began performing as a singer in hotels in Haifa and Tel Aviv. In 1967 his beloved father passed away and left him with a broken heart. At the age of 19, Mike joined the band "Carmon" with which he also traveled to several concerts around the world. Two years later he returned to perform at the "Sheraton" hotel in Tel Aviv and was also invited to perform at the "Bakara" club in the "Hilton" hotel in Tehran, Iran. There he met the French singer Sylvie Vartan who invited him to visit her in Paris. Brent started performing in the city of lights Paris and connected with the famous composer Jean Renard. Renard was the one who wrote Brent the song "Laisse Moi Taimer" (Let me love you) which instantly became a huge hit and played around the world. - 5 years.

In 1970 Burnett appeared for the first time on French television and caused the collapse of the television network's telephone system. Performed the song "Mais Dans La Lumiere" and won the music prize awarded by RTL and became a star overnight. His albums sold hundreds of thousands of copies and his tours were impossible to get tickets at all.

In 1971, after recovering from a serious car accident, Brent performed for the first time at the famous and prestigious "Olympia" hall in Paris. A year later at the San Remo Festival in Italy he discovered and adopted the song "Qui Saura" performed by the singer Jose Feliciano. Brent sang the song in a new arrangement by Michel Zourdan that made its way to the top of the chorus charts in France.

Brent also started writing himself, the lyrics to his first song Cest Ma Priere, written by Richar Seff and this album also took first place in all the sales charts. When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, Brant did not hesitate and returned to Israel in order to appear before soldiers at the front and also visit the wounded soldiers who were hospitalized in Israel, after which he returned to France at the end of 1974 as a different man.

Many do not know that on 22.11.1974 Brandt tried to commit suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of the Peace Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, but his fall, which was very strong, was blocked by the balcony on the third floor and he broke his leg and he survived. Brant then said: "I thank God for saving my life." He then said in a first radio interview, from the hospital where he was hospitalized, "It was complete nonsense. I think it was the last time. I hope and am sure of it." The singer Delida and Charles Aznavour, who were his good friends, visited him in the hospital where he was hospitalized in an attempt to lift his spirits. He came out with a concussion and broken legs but mostly with severe melancholy. On 1.2.1975 in his room in the hospital he celebrated his 28th birthday.

Mike had an exciting and unique voice, and in addition, he had an extraordinary appearance. He also had a kind of charm and charisma, boldness and an impressive stage performance, which was not seen on the stages in Israel at that time. It had "appeal sex" and phenomenal talent. All these unique features brought him to dizzying meteoric success, like a refinery that exploded in one day.

His records sold millions of copies, films were made about him, musical plays, in which his well-known hits were combined, were put on the stage. During his many performances, thousands of screaming girls and women jumped on Brant, and there were also many who fainted. Even if he was surrounded by a number of harassed bodyguards, it should be noted that even after the performances, hysterical female fans would surround his vehicle, trying their luck to pull his clothes or take his hair, but they always did so without success.

While he was recovering from the suicide attempt, he recorded another song that became a hit and a huge hit - "Dis Lui" ("Tell her"). Brant continued to perform and record but his mental state deteriorated, 5 months after his suicide attempt on 25.4.1975 the disaster happened, when he was only 28 years old, where Brant ended his life by jumping from the balcony of his home on the sixth floor at 6 rue Erlanger in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, in France Mike Brant was laid to rest on May 7.5.1975, 48 when a crowd of thousands of people came to accompany him on his last journey at the Carmel Beach Cemetery in Haifa, meanwhile it should be noted that until this very day, on the anniversary of his memory, his grave has become a pilgrimage site for many fans from Israel and the world. Even today, after XNUMX years, we are left with the great secret of his silent death and with the longing for Mike Brandt, which did not go away over the years, but only grew stronger and stronger.

At the beginning of 2020, the city naming committee in Haifa decided to commemorate the singer Mike Brant by naming the street "Mike Brant Ave" after him. Indeed, in the month of August 2020, the street was inaugurated, exactly a few meters close to the house where Brant's parents lived, on Partizanim Street 8 in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood, in Haifa. Indeed yes, even today, 48 years after the tragic death of Mike Brant, he is still a man whom many in the world admire and his songs and make sure to preserve his memory in any way possible.

One of the oldest and well-known fans of Mike Brandt in Israel who accompanied the many guests who arrived this week from abroad is Ms. Marcel Yitzhaki-Ohion, 67 years old, lives in the Carmel Castle. For decades, and in fact to this day, she is connected to the fan community club and the "Mike Brandt Forum" in Israel , today on social networks.

In an emotional interview with the "Hai Pe" news reporter, Ms. Ohion-Yitzhaki said:

"I was a little girl of 13 at the time, you can say that I have lived and breathed Mike Brandt for over 50 years. My private archive is full and my memories of Mike Brandt are packed and full at home. I have hundreds of photos, articles and many newspaper clippings that I have kept from that nostalgic period and of course dozens Mike's original records and CDs from that time, including various collections released in France in the last year as well. I was at many of his concerts when he appeared in Israel. I can say that if so many people and Mike's fans come to the cemetery here in Haifa today even if 48 years have already passed, it Just proves how much everyone loved him so much and didn't forget him to everyone, and probably won't either."

Marcel Ohion-Yitzchaki also added and said in her moving words: "Many claim that they are the ones who discovered the singer Mike Brant, but in truth, Mike should not have been discovered at all. He was simply born a singer. Brant was the most famous representative of the State of Israel and was the best ambassador of Israel and of course also of the city of Haifa where he grew up The fans meet at the cemetery to this day on the annual memorial day in his memory, and beyond that."

Mike Brant, the Haifa boy who became the idol of the masses ended his life there and he is only 28 years old, Mike Brant was indeed a legend in his life and a legend in his death, this is the legend that does not end even if 48 years have passed. May the memory of Mike Brant be blessed!