Charlie Megira

Gabriel Abudraham (10 October 1972 – 5 November 2016), better known by his stage name Charlie Megira, was an Israeli musician. Born in 1972 in Beit She'an, Israel, he was known for his distinctive lo-fi recordings that blended surf rock, garage rock, psychobilly, shoegaze, and vintage pop influences, often sung in Hebrew. Megira cultivated a mysterious public persona and worked largely outside the mainstream music industry. As a child, he was exposed to Moroccan and Middle Eastern Jewish music, particularly the work of Jo Amar and Salim Halali. During his teenage years and early adulthood, his musical tastes expanded to include Elvis Presley and Sun Records, The Smiths, Johnny Thunders, and T. Rex.

Abudraham completed Israel's mandatory military service, serving for three years as a cook. In 2015, Megira lived briefly in Asheville, North Carolina, before returning to Berlin. In 2016, he returned to Israel for several performances and publicly discussed retiring the Charlie Megira persona. His final performance took place on June 16, 2016, at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

By 2011, Megira had married Seurat (Sash) Samson, and in May 2012 had a son, Adrian. Later that year, the family relocated from Israel to Berlin, Germany. Tomorrow's Gone , directed by Israeli artist and music journalist Boaz Goldberg . Goldberg, a longtime friend and collaborator of Megira, began filming him during his active years. The film opens with Megira performing "Heart and Soul" by Joy Division and traces his life from Bet She'an through Tel Aviv, the United States, and Berlin. was premiered at the 2019 Docaviv Film Festival and was screened at other cinematheques and film festivals, including Kraków Film Festival, where the film was nominated in the Best Music Documentary category.

Discography

Studio albums Charlie Megira Da Abtomatic Meisterzinger Mambo Chic (2001) Charlie Megira und the Hefker Girl (2006)

Charlie Megira & the Modern Dance Club Love Police (2009)

Charlie Megira & the Bet She'an Valley Hillbillies Boom Chaka Boom Boom (2015) Sign Broke (2023) The End of Teenage (2024)

Compilation albums Charlie Megira Tomorrow's Gone (2019)

Extended plays Charlie Megira & the Bet She'an Valley Hillbillies The End of Teenage (2015)