Reunions, an exhibition and tears

Benjamin Illy tells you about “the life of Nelly”, 73 years old, modest retiree in Saint-Denis and absolute fan of Johnny Hallyday. But Nelly is much more than that. Through her, a piece of France takes shape, with laughter, tears, rock’n’roll and Laura Smet.

It’s spring. We meet in front of the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris. I wait for him under the large sign announcing the exhibition tribute to Johnny Hallyday. When I find Nelly, she falls into my arms, kisses me and tells me about her tendinitis. She speaks to me informally, I address her, trying in vain to remain in my place as a journalist. Wasted effort. “For as long as we’ve known each other, we’ve had the right to kiss each other!” Nelly spoke. I bow.

Before this reunion, the last time I handed the microphone to Nelly was for the fifth anniversary of Johnny’s death. There were still tears for his idol and the deep desire to go to Saint-Barthélemy to pray at his grave, and finally to mourn. She showed me a piggy bank into which, symbolically, she slipped a few coins and notes, hoping to one day finance this trip of a lifetime, without really believing in it.

Because let’s remember, Nelly, 73 years old, who lives in Saint-Denis, receives between 800 and 900 euros in retirement. In seven years of reporting, she often repeated this sentence to me: “Small job, small pay, small pension!” Nelly worked in the factory, but mainly in catering, in the kitchen. “At the time, it was common, we were obliged to accept being declared part-time and the rest paid hand to hand,” hence the little retreat. So Nelly wants to send a message: “This is advice that I give to future generations: think about your retirement, don’t be stupid.”

Nelly reminds me on this first day of filming how she discovered Johnny, on his 50th birthday, at the Parc des Princes, thanks to biker friends. They took her out onto the lawn as the singer moved through the crowd like a boxer. A legendary moment for her: “JI thought I would die, remembers Nelly, people were pulling out his hair.” And then the concert starts, she stays “gape”. This is the beginning of his story with Johnny Hallyday. She now has a tattoo on her shoulder, a transfer of a dedication from the rocker, and on the day of her funeral, very seriously, she wants the song Light the fire will be broadcast when she goes to cremation.

It’s time to head to the exhibition, Nelly gets teary whenever we talk about the “taulier”, so she brought three packs of tissues. She clings to my arm, and we push the door open. Everywhere around us there are projections, an immersion in a Johnny concert. Nelly is upset. Especially when the rocker’s voice resonates.

“We will never see this again.”

The visit continues. Difficult to hold Nelly who will snoop in every corner. She pauses in front of a record cover and admires Johnny’s beautiful blue eyes like a little girl.

I ask him if Johnny is his carefree side: “Carefree? No! When you volunteer, you can’t be carefree anymore.” Nelly volunteered at Restos du coeur for seven years. Because at the start of her retirement, she herself knocked on the door of the association. Beneficiary, before becoming a volunteer. “They reached out to me, they helped me, I wanted to help people like they helped me.”

But fatigue has come, “too much poverty in Saint-Denis”not enough means to cope, not enough food to give to those who need it. “When you see between 300 and 400 people spend three mornings a week, morally and physically, it is no longer possible.” Nelly left Restos du coeur “before doing the famous burn-out”. To comfort herself, during this complicated period, in the evening, she removed “his cloak of misery”and of course, she was listening to a little Johnny.

We leave the exhibition, Nelly cries one last time and asks for a second free tour. Before getting on the tram, heading towards Saint-Denis, I promise him that next time, we will talk a little less about Johnny and a little more about his life. It missed. Laura Smet, Johnny Hallyday’s daughter, called me. She wants to meet Nelly.