(Épernay) Vinyls, gold records, original photo prints, t-shirts: in Épernay, a passionate collector opened a “tribute shop” on Tuesday entirely dedicated to Johnny Hallyday, attracting a hundred fans.
Posted at 10:45 a.m.
“Many collections dedicated to Johnny are regularly presented in France and in French-speaking countries, but until now there was no fixed place where fans and collectors could come to buy, sell or simply visit”, explains to the AFP its creator, Cédric Leclerc, 47, entrepreneur, notably at the head of a cleaning company.
A hundred people, including Daniel Angeli, one of the singer’s photographers, rushed to the opening, at 2 p.m., many wearing Johnny t-shirts and leather jackets.
Mr. Leclerc presents himself as “one of the three biggest collectors of articles on Johnny” and puts on sale objects that he owns in duplicate and “some rare pieces” linked to the idol of young people.
Baptized In the heat of Johnny, the place is installed on three floors and 90 m², in a former company headquarters.
A first edition of an old LP by the rocker sits alongside original prints made by some of his official photographers, gold, platinum and diamond discs or a pair of shoes, size 43, worn by the artist, a value of 800 euros ($1150).
The most expensive album offered for sale, for 10,000 euros ($14,500), is a record of Johnny singing in Turkish.
“I never had the chance to meet him directly, but I saw him fifteen times in concert”, says Cédric Leclerc. This shop, “it’s a bit of a way of giving back to him what he brought me”.
“Fan from the start”, Jean-Marc Roy, a 55-year-old job seeker came with his son, Johnny, 27, to whom he “transmitted the virus” of his passion.
Monique Douet, 77, has already spotted an “umbrella revealing a photo of Johnny when you open it”, a “good gift idea”.
A “recollection space” has also been set up with candles and a guest book around a photo identical to that exhibited on the facade of the Madeleine church in Paris, during the funeral of the star on December 9, 2017.
The date of the opening is also a tribute to the “fetish number” of the rocker, born on June 15, 1943 in Paris and who used to release his albums or start his tours on the 15th of the month.