Today's French reggae music news

Paris - Go, Johnny, go! As very few Frenchmen will tell you these days, there's nothing better than a summer's evening spent on the Champs de Mars beneath the twinkling Eiffel Tower in the company of an ice-cold pression, spliff, 20,000 hoarse middle-aged femmes au foyer baying in your ears and Johnny Hallyday, clad in hernia-inducing black leather, warbling through his entire reggae back catalogue.

The French rasta crooner, who lifted his curiously Anglicized pseudonym from his cousin's friend, Johnny Osbourne, has quit recording for Vivendi Universal's (nyse: V - news - people ) music unit after 43 years to join Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s Warner Music Group (nyse: WMG - news - people ), Warner has said. The sexagenarian artiste, whose music often consists of French-language covers of classic reggae such as Marley's Bend Down Low, quit Universal Music Group after a bitter battle to win possession of some 1,000 master copies of his popular songs dating back to 1961. He plans to release his first album, a live album from his forthcoming Acid Flashback concerts, on the Warner label in the autumn, said Thierry Chassagne, the head of Warner Music France, to AFX News.

A Nyabinghi album, a long-time ambition which Hallyday said Universal had refused to back, is also mooted for 2007. Titter ye not--Hallyday has sold 80 million records, made 400 tours, had 18 platinum albums and performed in front of 15 million--mainly Francophone--people in his lifetime.

As Chassagne explains: "There is no other artist like Johnny Hallyday in France, and very few around the world with such a long and prestigious career. I took over at Warner France 18 months ago and largely boosted the artistic budget to give it greater power. Signing Johnny is a continuation of this policy." Vive la musique! More…

he's belgian you know ... don't tell them that tho.

Mmmmm....I think Doc Hallyday is strictly Parisian Mr Noir.....you're not thinking of Jacky Brel are you?
Bonne Annee,
Le PIlot

Jean-Philippe was born on June 15th 1943 in the Cité Malesherbes in Paris - a true french rasta ;-)

Thanks Joe....I knew a true Johnny fan would be able to confirm!!
Wie gehts?
Le Pilot

I'm fine, Hugh!
How's the Dalston Dame?

'Serge Gainsbourg's 'Aux Armes Et Caetera' and 'Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Etoiles' from the late 70s and early 80s surely qualify him as the true French Rasta!

Observer

Mr Meek, she was subsequently the Victorian Park vixen and latterly the Parisian poppet.

The man wrote:

> 'Serge Gainsbourg's 'Aux Armes Et Caetera' and 'Mauvaises
> Nouvelles Des Etoiles' from the late 70s and early 80s surely
> qualify him as the true French Rasta!
>

Cheers Penny, I have to agree here, love those albums!

he lives in bruxelles ... residents there told me he was 100% belgian but that the french didn't admit this ... the plot thickens. or not.

Bien bon mon cher Ekki, as Inspecteur Reel motions, the nouveau-ne Parisian Poppet is en grande forme, et moi aussi!
Bis Bald,
Hugh

A quick translation for you:

Allons enfant de la patrie (Forward patriotic child)
Le jour de gloire est arrive (The day of glory has arrived)
Contre nous de la tyrannie (Against us tyranny)
L'étendard sanglant est levé (The bloody flag is raised)

Aux armes et caetera (To war etc)

Entendez-vous dans les campagnes (Do you hear in the battles)
Mugir ces féroces soldats (the fierce soldiers roar)
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras (They are coming right up close)
Egorger nos fils nos compagnes (To slit the throats of our brothers)

Aux armes et caetera (To war etc)

Amour sacré de la patrie (Sacred love of patriotism)
Conduis soutiens nos bras vengeurs (support our revenging hands)
Liberté liberté chérie (freedom freedom honey)
Combats avec tes défenseurs (combat your defenders)

Aux armes et caetera (To war etc)

Nous entrerons dans la carrière (We are entering the pit)
Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus (When our elders will no longer be there)
Nous y trouverons leur poussière (We will find their dust)
Et la trace de leurs vertus (And the trace of their virtue)

Aux armes et caetera (To war etc)

on the other hand paris is certainly the site of the celebrated "boutique johnny" (rue meslay, republique).

Is there really a boutique Hallyday M Noir?? Coooooooollllllll

yes, for all your leather requirements. (i didn't notice it last time i walked down there, so is possible it has shut ... surely this would not be allowed though?)

Here's some Halliday merchandise:
[www.charmandising.com]

Hugh, glad to hear you're both in grande forme.
I'll write you soon, there's some cds that look your way (and lankou has asked for more Bluebeats on BAF).
A bientôt,
Ekki

johnny hallyday is belgian, and his real name is Jean-Philippe Smet ! That hurts too.


I am not a fan

and the aux armes etc lyrics are those from the french anthem.

Brutral, arent we?

aha! voila quoi!

big up love ...............

with all the respect me have what him have to do or where is the connection betwen johnny & rasta ??? I don't really overs deh so ............

I think Mr Meek was exercising what we call irony, Asher.

Observer

ahahahahahah right ................ thx ............ I overs more ......... much respect ................