Mike Brant (born Moshe Michael Brand, Hebrew: משה מיכאל ברנד, 1 February 1947[1] – 25 April 1975) was an Israeli singer and songwriter who achieved fame after moving to France.
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 Mandatory Palestine, but were initially denied permission by the British authorities.
In September 1947, eight months before Israeli independence, the family arrived in Mandatory Palestine after being included in a British quota for Jewish immigration.
He toured internationally with Karmon's troupe, participating in shows in the United States, South Africa, and Australia, performing as Michael Sela.
It took ten days to find Vartan but eventually she introduced him to the producer Jean Renard, who had turned Johnny Hallyday into a star.
Under Renard's guidance, he changed his surname from Brand to Brant, and recorded his biggest hit, "Laisse-moi t'aimer" ("Let Me Love You").
He continued to release hits: "Qui saura" ("Who Knows"), "L'amour c'est ça, l'amour c'est toi" (written by Paul Korda/Robert Talar), "C’est ma prière" ("That's My Prayer"), "Un grand bonheur" ("A Great Joy") and "Parce que je t'aime plus que moi" ("Because I Love You More Than Myself").
In April 1971, Brant made his first and only (pre-recorded) appearance on British television, as a guest star in an episode of Nana Mouskouri's BBC-2 series.
[5] In February 1971, Brant was seriously injured in a traffic accident, sustaining serious skull fractures and undergoing a long recovery period.
That year, he gave concerts in Israel, and performed a new song Erev Tov (Good Evening), written together with Nachum Heiman and some collaboration with Moshe/Michael Tchaban's melodic subject of some musical composition.
In January 1975, he released two singles, "Qui pourra lui dire" and "Elle a gardé ses yeux d'enfant" (written by Richard Seff and Michel Jourdan).
[6] On 25 April 1975, the day his new album was released, Brant leapt to his death from an apartment located at rue Erlanger in Paris.
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.
In 2014 it was reported that French producer Alain Goldman and Israeli director Eytan Fox were developing a new film about Brant's life.