JOHNNY HALLYDAY 

This Gretsch G6120 Brian Setzer 125th Anniversary model dates directly from the period of Johnny Hallyday’s final major tours, during which Yarol Poupaud served as guitarist and musical director. It is part of the ‘Rester Vivant Tour’ era (2015–2016), which marked Johnny’s final chapter on stage in France and Europe, featuring a series of Zenith venues, arenas and festivals that have become iconic for audiences. Associated with these end-of-career concerts, the guitar bears witness to an artistic phase in which Johnny revisited his repertoire with a contemporary rock energy driven by Yarol’s musical direction.

Having appeared on stage alongside Johnny Hallyday when Yarol Poupaud became one of his lead guitarists, this Gretsch gradually established itself as one of the musical director’s signature instruments during those years. With its aesthetic directly linked to Brian Setzer’s rockabilly world and the imagery of Gretsch stage guitars, it fits perfectly with the sonic and visual image that Yarol crafted around Johnny: a blend of classic rock, modernity and a very distinct guitar culture. Over the course of concerts and recordings, this guitar became a recurring visual marker, recognisable in press photos, tour images and live videos, to the point where, for many fans, it came to embody the stage equipment of the ‘final Johnny + Yarol era’.

The instrument is being offered for sale directly by Yarol Poupaud himself. Beyond its regular use on tour, this guitar stands out for its association with the particularly intense live performances of the ‘Rester Vivant’ period, when Johnny, Yarol and the band played one major venue after another in a near-constant ‘final lap’ dynamic. On several key dates, notably in major French arenas, this Gretsch accompanied Yarol during moments of high emotional tension: extended encores, drawn-out solos, tributes and improvisations that left a lasting impression on the audience. 

Yarol recounts: “This Brian Setzer-style Gretsch, reminiscent of Eddie Cochran’s, accompanied me on stage throughout Johnny Hallyday’s Rester Vivant tour in 2015 and 2016. I mainly played it during the rockabilly segment, on the small central stage: a moment of returning to my roots, of closeness with the audience, almost of intimacy. It also accompanied me on the Vieilles Canailles tour, alongside Eddy Mitchell and Jacques Dutronc.”

Yarol’s central role alongside Johnny Hallyday, as guitarist and musical director, is extensively documented in the press, interviews, biographies and audiovisual accounts. Several interviews reflect on how their collaboration profoundly shaped the final years of Johnny’s stage career, describing Yarol as a key musician in crafting the live sound and shaping the concerts of that period. Even if this specific guitar is not always named, these sources confirm Yarol’s central place within the stage setup and validate the sentimental significance of a working instrument taken directly from his set.

The authenticity of the guitar, as Yarol’s stage instrument during Johnny’s final tours, is reinforced by the existence of numerous images in which it appears clearly. Concert photographs, press shots, live videos and tour recordings repeatedly show Yarol with a Gretsch of this model on stage, as part of the full band line-up behind Johnny.

Gretsch G6120 Brian Setzer 125th Anniversary model, a Nashville-style hollow-body guitar featuring a laminated maple body with ‘1959 trestle bracing’, bound F-holes and a glossy flamed orange finish. The set maple neck features an ebony fingerboard with ‘Neo-Classic Thumbnail’ inlays, a 24.6" scale length and 22 frets, offering that typical Gretsch playing comfort. The electronics consist of a pair of TV Jones / Filter’Tron-style humbuckers, combined with a 3-way selector switch, individual volume controls and a master volume control, all complemented by a wood-based Adjusto-Matic bridge, a Bigsby B6 vibrato and locking tuners, creating a package designed for the stage and rockabilly / rock playing.