Mike Brant: Difference between revisions

Mike Brant (February 1, 1947 – April 25, 1975) was an Israeli singer who had great success in France. He is considered to be one of the most successful Israeli singers outside of the bounds of the state. He became famous with the song "Laisse moi t'aimer" ("Let me love you"). He committed suicide at the height of his success jumping from his apartment in Paris.

Moshe Brand Sela was born on the February 1, 1947 in a Jewish refugee camp in Cyprus to Polish parents. His mother was an Auschwitz survivor. Until the age of five Mike didn't speak at all. On November 1947 his family finally came to Israel. They settled down in Haifa, in a two-room apartment where modesty confined with poverty.

At the age of 17 Mike joined the band his brother established as a singer. The band was called "Chocolates". The band performed in parties, in the streets, and in cafés in Haifa and Tel Aviv. After a while they started to perform in the nightclubs of the Tel Aviv hotels Dan Carmel and Hilton Tel Aviv. He performed many songs in English and in French, even though he could only speak Hebrew. In 1965 he changed his theatrical name to Mike because of its more "international" sound.

One night, Mike was discovered by Jonathan Karmon, director of a big music hall in Israel. He signed a contract with Mike and the whole band went on tour for almost a year in the US and South Africa. In 1968 Mike made it to the big time, singing and dancing every night before audiences up to two thousand people.

In May 1969, Mike was in Teheran, performing at "Baccara", the Hilton's night club. There, he was spotted by a young French singer also on the bill, Sylvie Vartan. Impressed by his talent and charisma, she congratulated him and offered to open doors for him if he came to Paris.

Following Sylvie's promise to him, Mike arrived on July 9, 1969 in Paris with only a hundred dollar bill in his pocket, determined to take his chance in Paris where great careers had been built. For ten days he desperately tried to contact Vartan without luck, until she eventually contacted him and introduced him to the French producer Jean Renard, responsible a couple of years earlier for the success of singer Johnny Holiday with the song "How I love you". Their collaboration led to the change of Mike's family name from Brand to Brant. Renard wrote up Mike's first and most successful hit "Laisse Moi T'aimer", a huge success at the "Midem" music festival of January 1970, and on radio all over France.

The record sold about 50,000 copies within the first two weeks. The anonymous young person who had landed in Paris penniless only half a year earlier became a massive hit overnight.

Within a few months he sold a million and half copies of "Laisse Moi T'aimer" (Let me love you). Further success in Europe came after he represented France in a radio contest broadcasted throughout Europe and even in Israel on Radio Luxembourg with the song "Mais dans la lumiere" (But inside the light) and won the contest. He continued to release new hits: "Qui saura" (Who knows), "Un grand bonheur" (In the big happiness) and "Parce que je t'aime plus que moi" (Because I love you more than myself). His first album titled "Disque d'Or" ("Gold record") indeed became one and sold millions of copies.

His concerts became masses of crowds showing their admiration when thousands of girls and women shouted and fainted. Mike Brant toured all over Europe. In February 1971 he was wounded badly in a road accident.

In 1971, at the peak of the success he arrived perform in several concerts in his home land, Israel. Later, after the Yom Kippur War started, he returned to perform in Israel, including for combattants on the frontline.

With success came less pleasant side-effects. Mike switched managers, which got him into an insane concert race. By the year 1973 Mike appeared in 250 concerts, some of them in front of audiences of 6,000 up to 10,000 people. The same amount of concerts continued for two whole years. In addition to that, Mike's life was a continuous escape from female admirers chasing him.

The contrast between the loneliness in which he lived and the formidable success which he dreamed about affected him. On the 22nd of November 1974 he tried to commit suicide by jumping from the hotel room of his manager in Geneva. This suicide did not succeed. After that attempt he appeared in fewer concerts for a while and focused on the recording of his album "Dis lui" ("Tell her").

In 25th of April 1975, on the day in which Mike was supposed to introduce this album for the first time live on the television he jumped from the balcony of his apartment in Paris and was killed, at the age of 28. Mike Brant was buried in a cemetery in Haifa. His grave became the location for pilgrimage of his admirers.

A documentary on the life of the singer - "Laisse Moi T'aimer: Dmaot Shel Malachim" ("Tears of Angels") was released in April 1998. It was a French-Israeli co-production.

• Mike Brant's offical website

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