French singer Hallyday awake after surgery: spokesman

(AFP/JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK)

Veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday has woken up after surgery in Los Angeles to treat complications from a back operation, a spokesman said Thursday, after he was reportedly in an induced coma.

Hallyday woke up a few hours after the operation and "the situation is stable", the spokesman said.

According to French radio station RTL, citing the singer's producer Jean-Claude Camus, Hallyday was conscious and had recognised his wife Laeticia.

RTL said Hallyday had been put into an induced coma to "avoid pain and complications" following the surgery late Wednesday.

The 66-year-old was admitted to Cedars Sinai hospital on Monday, suffering from an infection that developed after an operation on a herniated disc in Paris on November 26.

"Doctors at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles have detected lesions resulting from the November 26 operation in Paris that required reparative surgery last night," a statement from his spokesman said.

Hallyday was performing to huge audiences during a major tour, billed as his last, when he travelled to Los Angeles. His "Tour 66" show was scheduled to return to the stage on January 8 in the northern French city of Amiens.

Dubbed the French Elvis, Hallyday has sold more than 100 million records including a string of hits over more than four decades.

The singer has suffered several health problems since he was operated on for colon cancer several months ago.