Advertisement

French rocker 'would fight Isis' if not a singer

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
French rocker 'would fight Isis' if not a singer
Johnny Hallyday at a concert in November. Photo: Instagram/Johnnyhallyday.com

Veteran French rock star Johnny Hallyday said on Sunday he would have gladly taken up a weapon to fight jihadists, had he not been a singer, in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Advertisement

"If I weren't a singer, I would pick up a weapon and go fight them," the 72-year-old musician told Le Parisien newspaper after the attacks, which were claimed by the Isis group.
   
Often referred to in the British media as "the biggest star you've never heard of" because his appeal is anchored in the French-speaking world, Hallyday said he first found out about the November 13 attacks as he came off stage that night.
   
"I felt a deep discomfort. The next day I started feeling unwell," said Hallyday, who has been dubbed the "French Elvis".
   
The day after the attacks, he posted a message on Twitter: "I am so sad this weekend. My thoughts are with the victims' families."
   
"People I knew died in the Bataclan," he told Le Parisien, referring to the concert venue where Californian rock group Eagles of Death Metal were playing and which was the scene of the worst bloodshed the night of the attacks.
   
"We must show the assassins that we aren't afraid, that we will keep on living," he added.
   
The singer cancelled a concert in Belgium on Saturday when the terror threat level in Brussels was raised to the highest possible level.  He has however pledged to return to the Belgian capital next March.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also