FRENCH rock star Johnny Hallyday has died aged 74 after a battle with lung cancer, his wife Laeticia revealed.
The leather-clad singer, who was dubbed the 'French Elvis', sold about 100 million records and starred in a number of films during his 50-year career.
His wife, Laeticia, 42, released a heartbreaking statement, saying: "Johnny Hallyday has left us. I write these words without believing them. But yet, it's true. My man is no longer with us.
"He left us tonight as he lived his whole life, with courage and dignity."
The singer - real name Jean-Philippe Smet - announced in March he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
While he was never taken seriously abroad, Hallyday broke from France's classic "chanson" tradition in the late 1950s, eventually headlining 50 major tours.
"He introduced rock and roll to France. He's one of the few singers about whom people say that he's an animal on stage," journalist Philippe Le Corre once said.
"He's quite incredible. People of all ages like him," he added.
He attempted suicide in 1966, collapsed on stage in 1986 and married five times, twice to the same woman, the daughter of one of his oldest friends and songwriters. [variety]
