Johnny wows the Big Apple
Rocker plays his first gig in the city after 50 years as he launches new tour
FRENCH rocker Johnny Hallyday has played his first gig in New York in front of a delirious crowd of 2,800 - and he was delighted to finally play the Big Apple after 50 years.
At 69-years-old and after several months fighting health problems, he wowed the fans in the Beacon theatre but the small size of the audience could not take the shine off his delight.
Coming just days after two mega-concerts in Montreal where he played in front of 15,000 each night, the New York date was on a much smaller scale but for Hallyday it was a dream come true.
He said he had long dreamed of playing in the US but it did not fit the plans of his previous promoters. He had recorded several of his albums in New York and had lived there for some time and was now based with his family in Los Angeles.
His only previous concert in the Big Apple was a charity concert on the ocean liner France in the port in 1962 - with Jackie Kennedy in the audience.
The Montreal and New York concerts followed one in Los Angeles and he plans a series in France in the run-up to the launch of his new album next month. He plays Epernay on October 11, Amiens (13), two nights in London on October 15 and 16 then Luxembourg (18). Dates in Moscow, Tel-Aviv and Brussels follow.
He has sold 110 million albums, with 18 going platinum in his 50 year career.
Photo: rufusowliebat
