Johnny who? ..

The biggest rock star you've never heard of! That's how The Independent newspaper described Johnny Hallyday, who died on Wednesday and set off a wave of wall-to-wall TV coverage and national mourning. Yes, poor old Johnny. You know? Johnny Hallyday? The Rock God? Good old Johnny? You know?..

The thing is, we English don't know. Most of us have never heard of him, but Johnny Hallyday has been, well "An Icon", as it says here, in France since about 1922! He is (was!) the Bees Knees when it comes to music in France. Adored, loved, held on high. And now he's dead. It's like saying Cliff Richard, Vera Lynn and Posh Spice had all popped their clogs on the same day. Ok, maybe not Posh Spice, but you get the idea. And it brings into sharp focus the musical differences between England and France. We don't know any of their music, and they know none of ours. Only last weekend, during a loud and drinky Karaoke night, I was trying to explain just how big Gladys Knight and The Pips were. The French in the room had never heard of them. Neil Diamond? Nope! Cliff? Not a chance. The music scene is so insular here that none of our "icons" have made a dent in their charts. Likewise (apart from Vanessa Paradis!!) none of their big names mean a thing in the UK. And they say music is the international language. That'll be the day ..