French rocker Hallyday scraps farewell tour after emergency surgery

AFP - Veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday has cancelled his farewell tour in order to recover after emergency surgery in the United States, his production company said Wednesday.
   
The 160,000 fans who bought tickets for the 24 concerts across France that had been due to start January 8 will be reimbursed, Jean-Claude Camus Productions said in a statement.
   
The 66-year-old known as the French Elvis was hospitalized last week in Los Angeles after complications from a back operation performed in Paris last month. Doctors woke him Tuesday after several days in a drug-induced coma.
   
Hallyday's son David said at the weekend that his father's life was "out of danger."
   
The production company said he was "temporarily indisposed" and would not undertake the final leg of a lengthy tour meant to mark the end of a colourful rock 'n' roll career.
   
Though little known abroad, Hallyday has sold more than 100 million albums and played 45 major tours in a career that began in the 1960s, selling out at French stadiums.