The Top-Hat Carriers

Yishai Adar, Tamir Albert, Alon Cohen, and Ohad Fishof met at the High School of the Arts in Jerusalem in the mid-1980s. In 1986, when they were 17 years old, they founded the band Nosei Hamigbaat (The Top-Hat Carriers), with Cohen on drums, Albert on guitar, Adar on keyboards and bass keyboards, and Fishof on keyboards, guitar, and vocals. The band was originally named Nosei Hamigbaat Shel Kobi Or (The Top-Hat Carriers of Kobi Or), after a known underground music reporter and critic, before shortening it to Nosei Hamigbaat. They began performing in clubs in Jerusalem, with shows featuring a developed visual and theatrical dimension. Later, they expanded their performances to Tel Aviv as well. In 1988, the band released its debut album, recorded in the home studio of musician, producer, and technician Hezi Davidian, a musician-producer of the band "Ma'atz." The album, titled "Nosei Hamigbaat," was printed on cassette by the Third Ear record company, with two editions limited to seven hundred copies, making it a highly sought-after rarity today. Keyboardist and singer Iris Perlmutter, sister of the late Inbal Perlmutter from the Witches band, briefly joined the band for a few performances but retired shortly after. During those years, the band was part of a small nucleus of bands centered around the Pargod club in Jerusalem, forming the beginning of a local counterculture. In 1989, Yishai Adar left the band to enlist in the army, and his place was taken by bassist Adam Horowitz. A year later, guitarist Ram Orion joined the group. In 1991, Nosei Hamigbaat was signed to Hed Artzi, and released their second album, "Who Killed Agnetha Faltskog," produced by Shlomi Bracha of the band Mashina. The band's journey came to an end in 1992. The band's lineup, consisting of Fishof, Orion, and Adar, embarked on a concert tour that year, described as a funeral tour for the band named "The Next One Is Nothing", featuring electronic versions of songs from both albums and new pieces. Meanwhile, Horowitz, Cohen, Albert, and Orion accompanied Zvika Pick in his comeback shows, even releasing three promo singles on vinyl. Since disbanding in 1992, Nosei Hamigbaat's lasting impact on Israeli culture has resulted in documentaries, tribute evenings, academic articles, and even a novel. Nosei Hamigbaat Trivia: The song "Visiting the Mountain" (Bikur Bahar) was written in memory of the late Amir Zidner, a friend of Ohad Fishof from Motza Illit. Amir was killed by a bomb explosion while he was in a tank in southern Lebanon on 22.2.88. Amir also wrote the lyrics for the songs "Ha'Alohim Shlei Eif" (My God is Tired) and "Yumoldat" (Birthday), which appeared on the band's first album. Ram Orion explained that for the song "Zvuvim" (Flies), they initially used David Attenborough's narration from a frog documentary. However, permission to use his voice was denied, so they purchased the rights to the frog sounds instead. To complete the song, Tamir found obscure B-movies—a film about an island with murderous women and a karate movie—and mixed them with the frog sounds, resulting in the version on the album. The movie about the island of murderous women is "Island of the Bloody Plantation" (originally in German "Die Insel der blutigen Plantage"). The song "Who Killed Agnetha Faltskog" is the last track on the band's second album of the same name. Agnetha Faltskog, a member of the pop group ABBA, is mentioned in multiple songs on the album, including "Ish Kofa VeMasait" (Man, Monkey, and a Truck) and "Matana LaHag" (Gift For The Holiday). As of 2023, Agnetha Faltskog lives happily in Sweden and released her latest album in 2013. During their early journey, Ohad Fishof and Tamir Albert served as the heads of the Abba fan club in Jerusalem. In the movie "Scratched Sky of a Postcard," you can catch a glimpse of an advertisement they placed in Maariv Youth magazine, inviting others to join the club and exchange material with them. The transliteration of "Who Killed Agnetha Faltskog" (Hebrew: מי רצח את אגנתה פאלסקוג) in Hebrew has been noted to be inaccurate, as it adheres to the Swedish spelling where the letter G is silent. However, the band pronounced it with the G sound. The song "Yesh Li Havera" (I Have a Girlfriend) was written by Ohad Fishof. He and Iggy Waxman were a couple in their youth in Jerusalem. Waxman covered the song on her album "Adom" (Red), and the background vocals were contributed by Yermi Kaplan.