Five years already that French rock has lost its singer. Johnny Hallyday has marked several generations with his music and his heritage. Overseas his concerts have left vivid memories, and his inconsolable fans play and replay his songs.
Born in 1943 in Paris, Johnny Hallyday, whose real name is Jean-Philippe Smet, has crossed the ages and generations with his music and his attitude. rock’n’roll.
Fifty-seven years of career, 80 albums, six diamond discs, 40 gold discs, and an incalculable number of shows all over the world, Johnny Hallyday is a popular artist, who from his beginnings electrifies the crowds. Five years following his death, on December 5, 2017, and his burial in Saint-Barthélémy, his memory remains burning like his music.
Overseas, Johnny also has many admirers, and even if you’re not a fan, he can’t leave anyone indifferent. In 1999, he toured Guadeloupe and Martinique. Listen to this vox pop in Martinique before it arrives.
A report by Olivier Nicolas dit Duclos, February 4, 1999
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After having ignited the Vélodrome de Gourde-Liane, in Baie-Mahault, in Guadeloupe on February 17, 1999, Johnny is at the Stade Dillon in Fort-de-France, on February 20, with at his side, Tanya Saint Val. In the audience there are enthusiasts who came expressly from France to see it. A grandiose show, according to his fans.
See ithe report by Franck Zozor, broadcast on February 21, 1999.
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Forty years following his first stays in the Pacific, Johnny Hallyday is in concert at the Numa-Daly Stadium, on April 29, 2016 in Noumea. Enthusiastic atmosphere for this concert of the “Staying Alive Tour”.
A report by Karine Arroyo, broadcast on April 30, 2016:
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Johnny Hallyday then joined Polynesia, in Papeete, he remembers with humor the name, “Father Averus” given to him during his first shows in 1972. Delighted, he sang without complex in the rain in Bora Bora, before giving a concert on Place To’ata, in Papeete on May 4, 2016.
Watch this report by Natacha Szilagyi and Heïdi Yieng Kow:
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What is the memory of the singer for the fans? In Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, where Johnny never came for a concert, there are many nostalgics for the singer.
A report by Martine Briand and Jérôme Auger, broadcast on October 20, 2018, a few months following the death of the singer.
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Johnny Hallyday now rests, according to his wishes, in the cemetery of Lorient, in Saint-Barthélemy, a place dear to the singer.
Johnny Hallyday’s grave in Lorient cemetery. Saint-Barthélemy, December 12, 2017
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©HELENE VALENZUELA / AFP