Of Hallyday, we know several houses. First Marne-la-Coquette, the house where the Taulier breathed his last and that Laeticia Hallyday decided to sell (whose interior you can discover here). But there is another house that meant a lot to both spouses: La Lorada. It was in 1989 that Johnny Hallyday built Villa Lorada (name he chose after the contraction of the first names of his first two children, Laura and David) in the prestigious district of Oumède in Ramatuelle, not far from Saint Tropez. Designed by the architect Roland Morisse, it is a sort of Mexican-style 1,000 m2 hacienda overlooking the beaches of Pampelonne, with a magnificent two-hectare park including a sensational 500 m2 lagoon swimming pool and a track of helicopter.
But this prestigious residence caused problems for Johnny Hallyday. “The house is built on rocks. When I bought the land, they had to be blown up with dynamite to have equal levels. We had a huge gaping hole. When the people of Ramatuelle saw that, they went complaining to the mayor, recalled the idol of young people on television. They were convinced that I wanted to build a supermarket.” In the Lorada, we find a typical decoration of South America and the United States, countries that Johnny Hallyday loved so much. Inside ? Five bedrooms, a recording studio, a waterfall, a petanque court but also a gym… “Johnny wanted a house in his image, giving dreams and travel. He also wanted space because he liked to receive, there were always a lot of people in this villa”, confided the architect.
Johnny Hallyday: why did he have to sell La Lorada?
“He was barefoot in his house, in jeans and a tank top. During the construction site, he greeted all the workers, always with a kind word. He was very accessible. He invited us to his concerts in the area. My parents are even went to see him at Bercy, and had access to the backstage to greet him, with a glass of champagne”, still remembered the architect of the Lorada. In 1995, it was between these walls that he recorded the eponymous album. But, yet very attached to this Var residence, Johnny Hallyday was forced to part with it. Due to numerous debts and a conflict with his record company, the singer had no other choice. “I lose the license of my name, my own name all the same, for certain merchandisings, and the ownership of my house, villa Molitor, in Paris, then of Lorada, in Ramatuelle”, he regretted. Today, the house would belong to wealthy Russians.
Johnny and Laeticia Hallyday © Chris Delmas
