Mike Brant

Mike Brant (born Moshe Michael Brand, ; 1 February 1947

Early life Mike Brant's Jewish parents were from Poland. His mother, Bronia Rosenberg, originally from Łódź, was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. His father, Fishel Brand, from Biłgoraj, had been a resistance fighter during World War II, and was 20 years his wife's senior. His parents married following the war, and they applied to emigrate to British Mandatory Palestine, but were initially denied permission by the British authorities. They attempted to reach Mandatory Palestine by sea on an Aliyah Bet ship which was intercepted by the British, and were sent to a British internment camp for illegal Jewish immigrants at Famagusta, Cyprus. Mike was born in Cyprus on 1 February 1947. In September 1947, eight months before Israeli independence, the family arrived in Mandatory Palestine after being included in a British quota for Jewish immigration. They initially settled in kibbutz Gvat but soon moved to Haifa, where Mike grew up.

Mike Brant did not start speaking until six years of age. During his childhood, he loved to sing and dreamed of being a famous musician. Some of his early musical exposure came while attending synagogue, where he was exposed to music through prayers and religious hymns. He told his family and friends that when he grew up he'd be "a star... or a tramp!" He joined his school's choir at age 11, becoming the only boy to do so. He did not integrate well in school, and at age 13 moved to kibbutz Gesher as a boarder, where he studied and worked in agriculture for two years before returning to his family home in Haifa, claiming that life on the kibbutz did not suit him. He subsequently worked in a variety of casual jobs, including as a guard at the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum. He also took drama lessons at the Haifa Theater.

In February 1971, Brant was seriously injured in a traffic accident, sustaining serious skull fractures and undergoing a long recovery period. On 22 November 1974, he attempted suicide, jumping out the window of his manager's hotel room in Geneva. He suffered fractures but survived. He cut the number of performances and concentrated on another album, Dis-lui. In January 1975, he released two singles, "Qui pourra lui dire" and "Elle a gardé ses yeux d'enfant".

Mike Brant was buried in Haifa.

In popular culture Mike Brant has been sampled by rapper Havoc of the group Mobb Deep, for his track "Live It Up". It was sampled also by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan. Rapper Eminem sampled Brant's song "Mais dans la lumière" ("But in the Light") in his track "Crack a Bottle" released by him, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent.

Comedian Dany Boon lampooned Mike Brant in his show Waïka by singing his song "Laisse-moi t'aimer" suspended by a rope.

Film In 2014, it was reported that French producer Alain Goldman and Israeli director Eytan Fox were developing a new film about Brant's life. The Israeli actor Omer Dror was cast to play Brant, with Fox explaining: “I really believe in Omer. He has a lot in common with Mike Brant. Omer is handsome and tall like Mike, and he has that rare star quality. He is modest and genuine. Although he’s young and inexperienced, he’s hungry and hard working, and I believe he will surprise the world with this film.” However, the project has been delayed since the announcement.

Reportage and documentaries In April 1998, a documentary was released Laisse-moi t'aimer: Dmaot Shel Malachim (Tears of Angels). It was a French-Israeli co-production. Another documentary, Mike Brant: Laisse-moi t'aimer was prepared by Erez Laufer in 2003. Journalist Jean-Pierre Ray made a critical exposure reportage about the affair titled "La nuit des deux couteaux". It was broadcast on French television TF1 on 4 May 2004 thirty years after Brant's death based on the supposed findings of the criminal squad of the SRPJ of Marseille. This prompted Jean-Michel Jacquemin and Fabien Baron mentioned critically in the reportage to launch a defamation lawsuit against Ray and TF1 at the Chambre de la Presse at the "Tribunal de grande instance de Paris" winning the case by a court judgement rendered on 16 November 2005. In 2006, journalist Charles Villeneuve prepared another reportage about the case in the programme Le droit de savoir: Faits divers shedding more light on the affair based on interviews with his relatives in Israel, many close to him or his entourage in France. In 2008, yet another documentary was released on him Un jour, un destin : Mike Brant, l'icône brisée. It was presented by Laurent Delahousse and broadcast on France 2.

Books and biographies about Mike Brant (by chronological order) Books about Mike Brant Hubert and Georges Baumann, La Vraie Vie de Mike Brant, preface by Claude François, éditions Star System, Paris, 1975 (The Baummans were part of Mike Brant's team); Fabienne Roche, Mike Brant: Le Prix de la gloire, éd. Verso, 1989; Michel Jourdan, Mike Brant. Il n’a pas eu le temps..., TF1 Musique, Paris, 1995; Yona Brant, Mike Brant, éd. Vade Retro, Paris, 1997 (with a CD); Fabien Lecœuvre et Gilles Lhote, Mike Brant inédit, preface of Zvi Brant, éd. Michel Lafon, Paris, 2000; Jacques Pessis, Mike Brant, collection «Les lumières du music-hall», éd. Vade Retro, Paris, 2002; Olivier Lebleu, Mike Brant : La Voix du sacrifice, Publibook, Paris, 2002; Fabien Lecœuvre, Mike Brant : L'Idole foudroyée, La Lagune, Paris, 2005; Armelle Leroy, Mike Brant : Biographie, preface by Yona Brant, Flammarion, Paris, 2005; Zvi Brant, Yona Brant and Fabien Lecoeuvre, Mike Brant dans la lumière, Le Marque-pages, Paris, 2009; Alain-Guy Aknin, Mike Brant : Le Chant du désespoir, Alphée, Monaco, 2010.

Books partially about Mike Brant Jacques Mazeau, Les Destins brisés de la chanson, France-Loisirs, Paris, 1997; Fabien Lecœuvre et Gilles Lhote, Génération 70 : 70 idoles des années 70, Michel Lafon, Paris, 2001; Jean Renard, Que je t’aime... la vie, Le Marque-pages, Paris, 2003.

Amaury Vassili chante Mike Brant (album)

On 27 October 2014, the French singer Amaury Vassili released a tribute album to Mike Brant entitled Amaury Vassili chante Mike Brant (meaning Amaury Vassili sings Mike Brant). The album was set to coincide with the 39th anniversary of Mike Brant's death in 1975.

The album in Warner Music entered at number 8 in SNEP French Albums Chart in its first week of release. It also charted at number 17 on the Belgian French (Wallonia) Ultratop Albums Chart. The album was in two formats: An ordinary album and a Collectors Edition that included a number of instrumental arrangements of Mike Brant songs. The album contains "Où que tu sois", which was composed by Brant but never released by him.

Play In 2008, the stage play "Mike", which was based on Mike Brant's life, opened at the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv.

Discography Albums Title Album detailsPeak chart positions FRA Mike Brant Released: 1970 Label: CBS —Toutes les couleurs Released: November 1974 Label: Polydor 1"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Compilation albums Title Album details Peak chart positions BE (WA) FRA QUE L'album d'or Released: December 1972 Label: CBS — 3—Les grands succès de Mike Brant Released: January 1974 Label: Gamma Quebec-only release — —11L'album d'or vol. 2 Released: 1974 Label: CBS — ——Album souvenir Released: July 1975 Label: Sonopresse — 2—Dis-lui Released: May 1976 Label: Polydir — 3—En plein cœur de ta jeunesse Released: 1980 Label: Polydor — ——Succès... Released: 1985 Label: Polydor — ——15e Anniversaire Released: May 1990 Label: EMI Pathé-Marconi — 3—20ème Anniversaire Released: March 1995 Label: EMI France21—Laisse-moi t'aimer – Le meilleur de Mike Brant Release date: 14 April 2000 Label: EMI 1 —22L'essentiel Release date: August 2000 Label: EMI—76—Qui saura Release date: April 2005 Label: EMI20——Forever Release date: November 2006 Label: EMI25——The Best Of Release date: 3 April 2009 Label: EMI39——Éternel Release date: 23 April 2010 Label: EMI—88—Laisse-moi chanter! Release date: 29 March 2013 Label: EMI36111—L'inoubliable Release date: 31 October 2014 Label: Warner Music19431—Un grand bonheur – Best Of Release date: 25 May 2018 Label: Warner Music14985—Anthologie Release date: 5 June 2020 Label: Warner Music119178—"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles NameYearPeak chart positionsISR BE (WA) FRA GER QUE SWI "Laisse moi t'aimer"19701141 —1—"Cuore di bambina" (Italy-only release)——————"Un grand bonheur"—4367———"Mais dans la lumière"12834——"Nous irons à Sligo"1971—4244———"A corps perdu"132————"La fille à aimer"4—35—19—"Qui saura"1972—131—4—"C'est ma prière"211—232"Rien qu'une larme"1973311—1—"Das ist mein Lied" (Germany-only release)——————"Tout donné tout repris"211—1—"Viens ce soir"1974583—16—"C'est comme ça que je t'aime"—139———"On se retrouve par hasard"—167———"Qui pourra te dire"—141—20—"Dis-lui"1975111—24—"Donne un peu de toi"19761216—24—"My Way"——————"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.