French rock star wows ‘em

Angie Bluethman

Monday, Nov. 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Waving their hands and chanting their rock idol's name, thousands of die-hard Johnny Hallyday fans filled a Las Vegas theater to listen to the French rocker perform their favorite songs.

Hallyday, 53, is hardly known in the United States, but in France, the James Dean-style rebel has remained the country's most beloved pop star for decades.

"He's like Elvis Presley. He's very well-known," said Jeanine Puisais, who moved to Las Vegas several years ago from France.

About 6,000 French fans flew on chartered planes to Las Vegas for Sunday night's show at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Some said they used their life savings to pay for the 11,000-franc ($2,100) whirlwind tour.

"It's like a drug, a need. It's a rush," Laurent Lindier, 30, said through an interpreter.

Lindier has attended almost every one of Hallyday's concerts in the last 15 years. He and his wife named their son Johnny and their daughter Laura, after Hallyday's daughter.

Lindier said his wife is unemployed and they had to struggle to pay for the trip.

"To come and see him -- it's going to count for life," he said.

"These fans are so excited. It's not easy to fly in 5,000 people over a two-day period. To them, this is a dream come true," said Denis Rufin, president of Travel Concepts, which organized some of the chartered plane trips.

"I've got a guy who's got Johnny tattooed across his chest," Rufin said. "I think the few Americans who come to see him tonight are going to be in for a great surprise."

Local resident Colette Brie, 72, said she was a schoolmate of Hallyday's mother in Provins, France. She and her two friends waited by the ticket counter, but the concert's 7,000 seats were sold out.

With his long blond hair and tattooed arms, Hallyday's stage entrance was greeted by a roar from his followers. Wearing silver and black pants and a vest, he performed his rock songs and ballads for more than two hours.

"I don't think I have too many fans in this world," he joked.

Throughout the concert, Hallyday referred to Elvis Presley, saying he wanted to perform in Las Vegas because Elvis had. Hallyday belted out "Love Me Tender" in English as the crowd sang with him.

The pop star's distinctive voice blends romance and virility in hits that top the French charts. His rock songs were accompanied by a little hip shaking and swinging that looked familiar to Elvis fans.

Ellis Rubenstein, one of the few Americans in the audience, said he just heard about the concert Sunday afternoon.

"I met a French gentleman. He said he (Hallyday) was really good. They seem to be really big-time (fans)," he said, surveying the crowd.

Many fans hoisted Johnny flags as the crowd chanted "John-ny" throughout the concert.

Patrick Delalay, who has followed Hallyday since he was 15, said many of the rocker's groupies are factory workers and don't have a lot of money. Some of them save for months, he said.

"He's so good. He has some kind of charisma. You've never seen anyone like this."