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David Hallyday

b. 1966

French musician and racing driver, Johnny Hallyday's son

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About David Hallyday

Born 1966. David Hallyday is a French and Monegasque singer, songwriter, racing automobile driver, performing artist, film actor and musician.

David Hallyday (born David Michaël Benjamin Smet; 14 August 1966) is a French singer, songwriter, actor and amateur sports car racer.

Early life Hallyday was born in Boulogne-Billancourt and is the son of the French singers Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan. David Hallyday is a first cousin of actor Michael Vartan. He is the older half-brother of actress Laura Smet.

Career

Hallyday is most known for writing music for others, including a collaboration with his father on the 1999 album Sang pour sang.

Hallyday appeared in the teenage comedy He's My Girl (1987), also performing its title theme song. "He's My Girl" reached #79 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #72 on Cash Box. His 1991 album Rock 'n' Heart spawned a bigger hit, "Ooh La La", which reached #51 on the Hot 100.

In the late 1980s, Hallyday had some success with his first solo records, but was unhappy. He decided to quit music, planning to do something different. He had an idea to reform his high-school garage band, Blind Fish but instead he formed Novacaine with his friend Erik Godal, a surf-grunge band. They toured and started to get some Top 40 radio play. But at the same time, Hallyday began writing for the European market because his label, Mercury Records asked him to write some songs in French. He made some demos and resumed his solo career in France while Novacaine went on hiatus with Hallyday saying that a new album was in the works for 2000. Meanwhile, Erik Godal joined up with the LA surf-noir band The Blue Hawaiians that scored music for TV show SpongeBob SquarePants. Besides The Blue Hawaiians, Godal continued to score for film and TV and was nominated for the 2006 Annie award for his work on Squirrelboy. Other films he scored include the Sundance film Subject Two and What Love Is. Godal also continued to work with Hallyday contributing to his solo album Revelation, appearing on touring dates and producing some songs for Johnny Hallyday, Tina Arena and Cylia.

Personal life Hallyday married Estelle Lefébure on 15 September 1989; they divorced in 2001. They have two children. In 2004, he had a son with Alexandra Pastor.

Discography Albums Studio albums Title Album detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications FRA BE (WA) SWI True Cool Released: April 1988 Label: Scotti Bros. Formats: CD, LP, MC Re-released in Japan in 1989 as Your Power of Love13—— FRA: 2× Platinum Rock 'n' Heart Released: October 1990 2000 BBF(with Blind Fish) Released: 14 March 1994 Label: Scotti Bros. Formats: CD, MC———Novacaine(with Novacaine) Released: May 1997 Label: Mercury Formats: CD, MC———Un paradis/un enfer Released: 14 June 1999 Label: Mercury Formats: CD, MC97— FRA: 2× Gold Label: Mercury Formats: CD144441David Hallyday Released: 18 June 2007 Label: Mercury Formats: CD2532—Un nouveau monde Released: 15 March 2010 Label: Mercury Formats: CD91863Alive(with Mission Control) Released: 30 March 2015 Label: Self-released Formats: CD———Le temps d'une vie Released: 25 November 2016 Label: Polydor Formats: CD, digital download71132—J'ai quelque chose à vous dire Released: 7 December 2018 Label: Play Two Formats: CD, LP, digital download5714 FRA: Platinum 317"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Live albums Title Album detailsPeak chart positions FRA "Tonight Your Mine" 1985————"He's My Girl"19878——79 FRA: Silver He's My Girl (soundtrack)"Lady Beware" ————Lady Beware (soundtrack)"Rock Revival" 1988————He's My Girl (soundtrack)"Move"————True Cool"High"1———"Your Power of Love" 1989————Your Power of Love"Wanna Take My Time"11———True Cool"Listening"11———"Tears of the Earth"19906——— FRA: Silver 2016————Le temps d'une vie"Des portes entre nous" 2017————"Ma dernière lettre"2018————J'ai quelque chose à vous dire"Éternel"————"J'ai quelque chose à vous dire"2019————"Ensemble et maintenant"2020————Imagine un monde"Le plus heureux des hommes"2023————"Requiem pour un fou"————Requiem pour un fou"Sang pour sang"2024————"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

24 Hours of Le Mans results Hallyday in his final 24 Hours of Le Mans appearance in 2014. Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 2003 Courage Compétition Philippe Alliot Carl Rosenblad Courage C65-JPX LMP675 41 DNF DNF 2007 PSI Experience Claude-Yves Gosselin Philipp Peter Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1 289 28th 12th 2008 Larbre Compétition Christophe Bouchut Patrick Bornhauser Saleen S7-R GT1 306 28th 7th 2011 Team Oreca-Matmut Alexandre Prémat Dominik Kraihamer Oreca 03-Nissan LMP2 200 DNF DNF 2014 IMSA Performance Matmut Raymond Narac Nicolas Armindo Porsche 997 GT3-RSR GTEAm 323 31st 11th

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Important facts

People in David Hallyday's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped David Hallyday's

Frequently asked questions

Who is David Hallyday?

French musician and racing driver, Johnny Hallyday's son

When was David Hallyday born?

David Hallyday was born on 14 August 1966 in Boulogne-Billancourt.

What is David Hallyday's occupation?

David Hallyday is a singer, songwriter, racing automobile driver, performing artist, film actor and musician.

What nationality is David Hallyday?

David Hallyday is French and Monegasque.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: David Hallyday

· Wikidata: Q722660

· DBpedia: David Hallyday

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). David Hallyday. https://biography.guide/david-hallyday/

MLA: "David Hallyday." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/david-hallyday/.

Chicago: "David Hallyday." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/david-hallyday/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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