Johnny Hallyday performs at the Stade de France in Paris in May 2009. Photo: ReutersFrance's biggest rock star Johnny Hallyday has died from lung cancer, his wife says. The veteran rock-and-roller, frequently described as a French Elvis Presley, was admitted to hospital in November with respiratory difficultiesThe singer - real name Jean-Philippe Smet - sold about 100 million records and starred in a number of films. Hallyday issued his first recorded song in 1959 and has strutted the stage for as long as Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, also 74. A huge crowd-puller in his home country and much of the francophone world, he had a brush with death in 2009 and was being treated for cancer.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 06, 2017 02:37 UTC