Landing on stage, at the Stade de France, on a huge Harley Davidson… only Johnny Hallyday could do it. It was September 1998 and no one has forgotten this great moment in the show for which the favorite French rocker had carefully rehearsed for several days, leaving no detail to chance. A little over five years after the death of the Taulier, this legendary blue motorcycle has changed hands.
This magnificent piece nicknamed “Laura Eyes”, in direct reference to Laura Smet, Johnny Hallyday’s daughter, was sold on Friday March 18, 2002 at the Retromobile show in Paris, a sale orchestrated by Artcurial. While the motorcycle was estimated between 50,000 and 250,000 euros, the Harley Davidson was the subject of a ten-minute battle between bidders before being awarded 470,840 euros to an anonymous buyer.
This Softail Heritage 1340 model, piloted by the French singer during a road trip to the United States in 1990, had a new life in France, following a complete transformation in Cannes, going from orange and black to electric blue. . Offered to the star by the boss of Universal Music Pascal Nègre, and renamed in homage to the daughter of rocker Laura Smet, the Harley is the mechanical star in 1995 of the clip I can’t stop wanting you taken from the album Rough Town (see our slideshow). In 1998, she entered the Stade de France with him for an anthology concert.
Just before the performance, the motorcycle had been sold to a French fan during a competition organized by Johnny and his record company. The lucky winner will keep it for twenty-three years. The seller has agreed to donate 20% of the price to the association La Bonne Etoile, created by the widow of the singer, Laeticia Hallyday.
Last September, many fans and some 150 bikers traveled to Paris for a day of tribute to the singer, nearly four years after his death. In the presence of Laeticia Hallyday and her two daughters Jade and Joy. On this occasion, a work by visual artist Bertrand Lavier was unveiled: the 6-meter statue installed near Bercy is composed of a mast in the shape of a guitar neck, with a Harley-Davidson at the top.