Come To The Kaveret, Old Chum

Today's post is a special treat for our loyal Israeli audience (i.e. the two people who have visited since I treated myself to a flag counter for Xmas). We have a couple of tracks from one of the early Israeli rock legends.

You know them as Kaveret, but the rest of us know them as Poogy as that - for reasons that appear frankly incomprehensible - was what they called themselves when releasing records or performing outside Israel. It was under that name I personally first discovered them, when I came across a copy of their second album in a junk shop. Who could resist a record called "Poogy In A Pita" with a front cover consisting of a photo of the band superimposed on an outsized pita bread and salad?

I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, and some parts of their act are a bit inaccessible if you don't speak Hebrew - most notably the humorous skits and parodies that pop up at various points on their albums. But they had their moments, of which these are two. "Yo Ya" is a bit of a favourite of mine.

"Yo Ya" - Kaveret

"Shir Malachim" - Kaveret

Internationally, the highlight of Kaveret's (and also Poogy's) career was representing Israel in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished in a creditable seventh place. The winners were some band from Sweden with two girl singers that promptly sunk back into obscurity. This, however, is the song that will always be most closely associated with the 1974 contest.