Ram Ephraim "Rami" Fortis (Hebrew: ×¨× × ×¤×¨×™× (רמי)
פורטיס‎, [ËˆÊ ami ˈfoÊ tis], born July 7, 1954), or simply
Fortis, is an Israeli rock singer. Born in Tel Aviv, Fortis became
known as a pioneer of Israeli punk rock. His debut album Plonter,
released in 1978, was not a commercial success at the time, though
today it is considered an influential cult album. His fame in Israel
came with the release of a Hebrew language album, Sipurim Me'hakufsa
(Tales from the Box), in 1988. Due to his behaviour on stage he was
nicknamed The Madman (HaMeshuga).Apart from his work in music, Rami
Fortis served as a judge for the first season of The X Factor
Israel.Rami Fortis is of Iraqi-Jewish and Italian-Jewish origin. He
served in the 1973, Yom Kippur war and was influenced by his
experiences at the front. He began his musical career in 1975 as a
lighting-man in the shows of Tamuz - one of Israel's prominent rock
groups at that time. The band would get him on stage to sing one or
two songs in their concerts.His 1978 debut album, Plonter, is
considered a breakthrough in Israeli music. It was regarded as one of
the wildest and noisiest albums ever to be recorded in Israel, way
ahead of its time. Influenced by such artists as The Clash, Sex
Pistols, Iggy Pop and The Ramones, it was characterized by topics and
a style that were unfamiliar and unconventional in Israel at the time.
A group of his Tel Aviv friends, guitar player Berry Sakharof (with
whom Fortis had played in S.O.B), bass player Malka Spigel (who was
Fortis' girlfriend at the time) & singer/ poet Samy Birnbach (who had
contributed lyrics to Plonter) formed Minimal Compact in 1981 in
Amsterdam. The band established itself as an alternative rock band in
Europe, signing to Belgium's Crammed Records label, making two albums
and adding drummer Max Franken. In 1984, Fortis was asked to join and
stayed with them up to the first split in 1988. He was part of the
line up which produced the band's two best known albums: Deadly
Weapons produced by Tuxedomoon's Peter Principle and Raging Souls
produced by Wire's Colin Newman. He went on to tour with them
extensively in Europe and Japan. Minimal Compact remain notable as the
first (mainly) Israeli band to have gained considerable success
outside of the country. They had a song ("When I go") included in Wim
Wenders' Wings of Desire soundtrack and had covers designed by Neville
Brody and Russell Mills.
פורטיס‎, [ËˆÊ ami ˈfoÊ tis], born July 7, 1954), or simply
Fortis, is an Israeli rock singer. Born in Tel Aviv, Fortis became
known as a pioneer of Israeli punk rock. His debut album Plonter,
released in 1978, was not a commercial success at the time, though
today it is considered an influential cult album. His fame in Israel
came with the release of a Hebrew language album, Sipurim Me'hakufsa
(Tales from the Box), in 1988. Due to his behaviour on stage he was
nicknamed The Madman (HaMeshuga).Apart from his work in music, Rami
Fortis served as a judge for the first season of The X Factor
Israel.Rami Fortis is of Iraqi-Jewish and Italian-Jewish origin. He
served in the 1973, Yom Kippur war and was influenced by his
experiences at the front. He began his musical career in 1975 as a
lighting-man in the shows of Tamuz - one of Israel's prominent rock
groups at that time. The band would get him on stage to sing one or
two songs in their concerts.His 1978 debut album, Plonter, is
considered a breakthrough in Israeli music. It was regarded as one of
the wildest and noisiest albums ever to be recorded in Israel, way
ahead of its time. Influenced by such artists as The Clash, Sex
Pistols, Iggy Pop and The Ramones, it was characterized by topics and
a style that were unfamiliar and unconventional in Israel at the time.
A group of his Tel Aviv friends, guitar player Berry Sakharof (with
whom Fortis had played in S.O.B), bass player Malka Spigel (who was
Fortis' girlfriend at the time) & singer/ poet Samy Birnbach (who had
contributed lyrics to Plonter) formed Minimal Compact in 1981 in
Amsterdam. The band established itself as an alternative rock band in
Europe, signing to Belgium's Crammed Records label, making two albums
and adding drummer Max Franken. In 1984, Fortis was asked to join and
stayed with them up to the first split in 1988. He was part of the
line up which produced the band's two best known albums: Deadly
Weapons produced by Tuxedomoon's Peter Principle and Raging Souls
produced by Wire's Colin Newman. He went on to tour with them
extensively in Europe and Japan. Minimal Compact remain notable as the
first (mainly) Israeli band to have gained considerable success
outside of the country. They had a song ("When I go") included in Wim
Wenders' Wings of Desire soundtrack and had covers designed by Neville
Brody and Russell Mills.
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