Fairytales and wings, caressing and lying: neither one of us believed we could marry forever and always love. When summer comes, maybe with my old friends, we will laugh and cry along the blue grass of a beautiful sunny day and understand the value of love. Now, with new people and the last rain of winter, we sit at a coffee shop in Spain, viewing the water line knowing that with your soul I am never alone. One good day when you are alone, you will understand the water and that it’s not the same. The time is now, to be the Australian traveller.

Stringing together 27 song titles from the music of Ivri Lider can be quite poetic.

So now you’re probably wondering who this Ivri Lider is, right? Well as I explain to my Australian friends, he’s the Madonna of Israel: a pop/rock musician who has toured the world with his bilingual music, standing as a proud gay icon across the globe.

Since the release of his first CD in 1997, he’s produced 5 albums and composed numerous scores for movies such as Walk on Water, Yossi and Jagger and my favourite tear-jerker, The Bubble. Today, Lider is considered to be the most successful pop/rock star of Israel, he’s worked with other well known artists like Eytan Fox and Idan Reichel and has received numerous ‘Best Male Singer of the Year’ awards.

Lider’s music attempts to symbolize his generation, and his popularity stems from his desire to voice the thoughts of this new generation by creating a new Israeli image.

Such is his success that he has recently undertaken an extended world tour, spanning three years and over 400 concerts, promoting his fourth CD Ze Lo Oto Davar (‘It’s not the same’).

Along with Hebrew music, Lider has also produced several English songs, including his version of Katie Perry’s I Kissed a Girl and, his first English single, Jesse (you must YouTube it, it’s fantastic!). Rumor also has it that he may be releasing his first entirely English CD.

Not only does Lider play an influential role in Israeli music, he also stands as one of the most recognised gay icons of the Middle East.

Lider is one of the first openly gay Israeli artists, having came out in 2002 in an interview with a daily newspaper. He claimed he not only felt natural discussing his sexuality – as part of his life – but also that he felt an obligation.

Lider believes that all the blessings he has received obliges him to return something back to his community. He hopes that his music and pride in his sexual identify may influence others who struggle to find comfort and change. Five years since coming out, Lider is considered one of the top 100 most important gay icons by OutMagazine in 2007

Standing as a gay icon for Israel, he’s been invited to perform at the 2009 Out Games in Copenhagen, appeared on the front cover of Out&About in Denmark, performed for a pre gala event at the Madrid Gay Pride (2009) and, naturally, performed many times at the Tel Aviv Gay Pride. Now, moving forward in his career (and finally reaching us down under) Lider has decided to share his talent with a one-night concert in Melbourne.

You may now be asking why I have an interest in Ivri Lider, and this comes from a familiar Notting Hill scene (without the Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts happy park-bench ending…well, not yet anyways).

Several months ago, I was at a club in Tel Aviv. A friend of a friend was chatting to a mysterious character who seemed to draw a lot of attention from the crowd. I casually walked up and my friend proclaimed (with much excitement) ‘Philip, this is Ivri Lider.’ With an out stretched hand, I replied ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Philip Searle.’ Seeming a bit confused, my friend continued and said ‘Ivri is a singer.’ So with a bright smile of pride, and a sense of competitiveness, I turned around to face Ivri and said ‘My friend Gayle speak Japanese’ (which she does).

To avoid an awkward silence, I continued and with ‘Hey, if you sing, would you know Offer Nissim?’ (this is like asking if Kylie Minogue knows the cast of Hi5!). He laughed shyly. So I continued, and when he said he sings pop music, in my ignorance, I said ‘that must be pretty competitive, do you do anything else?’ He laughed again and said ‘I do alright.’ Little did I know that I was in the presence of one of Israel’s most successful artists.

It was several hours later when I YouTubed his music that I realized how amazing he is! Then, chatting to my Israeli friends I realised how modest and shy he can be. Combine this with his charm and sweet Israeli smile, it’s no wonder he’s been labelled one of the ‘Top 200 Coolest People’ and one of ten people to have most significantly impact the Israeli music industry by Timeout. So I made sure to email an apology for my ignorance and I also praised his work (have you YouTubed Jesse yet?). Since then I’ve managed to get hold of a few of his CD’s, and although I don’t quite understand all the lyrics (if only I had given more attention during Hebrew classes), I think I’m addicted to the beat and his changing music style.

So now to prevent more ignorant Aussies, like myself, from making a fool of themselves, Lider has organised a tour of Australia where he’ll be playing in Melbourne on Sunday 28th February at the Prince Bandroom. Doors open at 8pm and tickets can be purchased through the Prince. I can assure you, whether you’re Israeli, gay (including the whole GLBTIQQ rainbow) or one of those heterosexuals, this won’t be a concert to miss!

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