In collaboration with Mifal Hapayis

15/11/2021

"It made me a terrible memory": the low point that caused the "Blue Elephant" singer to refuse to perform, until now

Liron Atia, who has been in a wheelchair since having an accident at the age of 18, touched many with his songs, but inaccessible halls for people with disabilities drove him off the stages.

Recently, he and the band returned and they will perform at "Purple Night", the Lottery's special initiative to raise awareness of the rights of people with disabilities

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Return to the stages.

The Blue Elephant (Photo: PR)

Liron Atia "wrote" his first song in his head, while one of countless sleepless nights, while lying in the hospital bed with his body paralyzed: "At the age of 18 I had a ski accident on Mount Hermon. There, without me noticing, I have been in a wheelchair for almost half of my life, "he says.

Atia, now 34, was hospitalized following the accident for a whole year and had difficulty coping with the transition from an energetic teenager to a person with a disability: "It is a very difficult and inconceivable event, probably at such an age, With myself - so I started writing songs that would explain to myself and my environment how I feel. "

Since he could not move his hands, Attia composed all the songs in his head, before playing them to his friends. This is how the "Blue Elephant" band was born, which will perform on Saturday, 4/12, at 21:00 at the Performing Arts Center in Be'er Sheva, as part of the "Purple Night" events, a special project of the Lottery with the help of Shavim, which marks the International Day for Equal Rights for People with Disabilities. Lottery subscribers enjoy a special benefit for the show, and this will be the second year in a row that as part of the project, central and well-known buildings throughout Israel will be lit in purple throughout the night in honor of people with disabilities and to increase awareness of accessibility.

"We started performing a lot and the band was very successful," Attia recalled. "There was a buzz and we recorded clips and songs, but it was difficult for me, because I was in a wheelchair and even on stage in Israel it was not accessible. It got to a point where I would not even balance with the band before performances,"In order to get on stage, I needed help from four people and it was both dangerous and unpleasant."

The inaccessibility led Atia, who really enjoyed creating with his band, to start hating performances, until eventually the "Blue Elephant" disbanded after about nine years of activity: "I had to keep making music, because for me it was not just fun, but a dependency I developed. "It calmed me down and kept me busy, sorting out my thoughts. So I was very stressed when the band finished its journey at that time."

Accessibility for artists and audiences is important.

The artists' room at the Performing Arts Center in Be'er Sheva (Photo: PR)

For about four years he worked alone on another album, until he finally released it and enjoyed an exciting success.

The album gained an audience, word of mouth and Attia recounts how every week he gets pictures of tattoos inspired by sentences from his songs: "The music really moved the audience and they started asking me why there are no more performances. The guys of the band also missed and wanted to come back and only I refused For a long time, because I had a very bad memory. "

What changed Atia's mind in the end was the joint decision of the members of "The Blue Elephant" - appearing only in accessible places, both for Atia as an artist and the audience, "which is the most important emphasis for me. When I went for years to see performances, I realized In a wheelchair.You should enjoy, but no one can tell you if the place is accessible, always need someone to come with you to help and more than once I paid a lot, I went to a show and made a horseshoe home because I could not be there.There were other times I drank beer and then found out there is no "Services are accessible and suddenly you find yourself dead ashamed and pee on yourself in the middle of the show."

Therefore, every person with a disability who comes today to performances of "The Blue Elephant", such as the one that will be held as part of "Purple Night" at the Performing Arts Center in Be'er Sheva, knows that he can be relaxed and the band also leads an initiative called "Accessible Here". On the invitation after a video that the place where their show is taking place is indeed accessible: "I'm fighting for it today, so that in the future everyone will have a lot better," he concludes. "That's why it's important to perform as part of 'Purple Night', the Lottery venture and the 'Equals' website. Because everyone who comes to this show will know that they are part of something very big social, beyond the fun of music."

The director of the Mishkan for the Performing Arts in Be'er Sheva, Yigal Roitman, says that a few years ago the place began to make the stage, the artists' room and the audience accessible, as part of a change in the urban line of thought, "and when we saw an article about Liron and the band "Purple night. There is no reason that in 2021 artists will not be able to perform and audiences will not be able to come due to lack of accessibility."

The Mishkan now also has special systems for the hard of hearing and sight and adapted performances are held for them: "I hope that from now on it will be a tradition, that every year as part of 'Purple Night' we will have a performance with content around this theme Another artist. "

On the intriguing collaboration he says: "Mifal Hapayis is leading the welcome initiative."It is a message that is very important to the public."

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• the blue Elephant

• Lottery