Milk and Honey חלב ודבש | |
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.jpg) The group holding their Eurovision trophies | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Israel |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active |
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| Members |
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| Past members |
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Milk and Honey (Hebrew:חלב ודבשKhalav U'Dvash) was an Israeli vocal group. The original line-up consisted of Shmulik Bilu, Reuven Gvirtz, Yehuda Tamir, andGali Atari.[1] They won theEurovision Song Contest 1979 forIsrael with the song "Hallelujah".
The group was assembled in 1978 by producer Shlomo Zach and composerKobi Oshrat, after bothHakol Over Habibi andYardena Arazi turned down the opportunity to perform Oshrat's song "Hallelujah" in theIsraeli national selection for theEurovision Song Contest 1979.[2][3] Milk and Honey eventually won the national selection, and went on to also win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979.[3] "Hallelujah" peaked in theUK Singles Chart at #5 in April 1979.[4] The group had one other international hit, "Goodbye New York".[3]
Less than a year after the song contest, Atari retired from Milk and Honey and was replaced by Leah Lupatin in 1981.[2][3] The same year, Atari sued Zach for unpaid royalties; in 1994, an Israeli court ruled in Atari's favour, ordering Zach to pay the royalties.[2] Subsequently, in 2003, Zach and his partners sued Oshrat, alleging that Oshrat should have also contributed to the payments made to Atari, as he was a partner in the group.[2][3] That lawsuit was settled in 2009 throughmediation.[3]
Milk and Honey competed in the national final on two further occasions; they performed the song "Serenada" in 1981, coming fourth, and "Ani Ma'amin" in 1989, where they came eighth. Gvirtz and Tamir accompanied the Israeli song contest act in1988.[2]
Shmulik Bilu died at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on 31 December 2023, at the age of 71.[5]
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
