Billy's 88 ways to woo a goddess

Billy's 88 ways to woo a goddess
The Sunday Times - UK
... Can we do a Cream song tonight?” Three hours before the first show of this greatest hits tour, Billy Joel sounds out anyone within earshot about the ...

 Billy's 88 ways to woo a goddess

How did Billy Joel get Elle and Christie? By being the Piano Man, Pete Paphides learns

 

 “Birmingham — it’s an R&B town, right? Didn’t Cream come from Birmingham? Can we do a Cream song tonight?” Three hours before the first show of this greatest hits tour, Billy Joel sounds out anyone within earshot about the possibility of a last-minute cover version.

 

“I don’t think Cream came from Birmingham,” suggests his guitarist. “How about Black Sabbath?” Looking more like a member of the road crew in his baseball cap and khaki shorts, the 55-year-old singer pads off to the dressing room doing a surprisingly good impression of Ozzy Osbourne on War Pigs. Joel is in ebullient form. His only palpable vice since last year, when he checked out of the Betty Ford Centre after being treated for alcohol addiction, is an occasional cigarette.

 

He won’t be joining his band for the soundcheck, which means that while a stand-in gives his piano a thorough workout he can ponder the thorny subject of tonight’s set list. Tonight, apparently, sees the first performance of Uptown Girl for two decades. It’s not a prospect that Joel sounds overly excited about. “Do I want to sing it again? No, I can’t say I do. It was sort of a novelty song. I mean, that whole album An Innocent Man was a homage to The Four Seasons. Frankie Valli sings as though someone’s squeezing him in the corleones, you know. It’s supposed to sound like you’re in pain. But that’s easier to do in the recording studio than night after night on tour.”

 

Still, I suggest that, as a memento of his early courtship of the supermodel (and mother of his daughter, Alexa Ray) Christie Brinkley, it must hold a special place in his heart. Judging by the reaction on Joel’s face, it’s not the heart that springs to mind. “You want to know what that song’s about?” he smiles. “I had recently gotten divorced (from his first wife, Elizabeth Weber). And now, here I was, a rock star who was suddenly single.

 

I made the most of it. I dated Elle Macpherson half a year before Christie. So the original song was called Uptown Girls. I was like a pig in s***.”

 

There’s no delicate way to approach this inquiry, but it’s worth a try. How does a short, “schlubby” ex-amateur boxer from Long Island pluck up the courage to hit on Elle Macpherson? Joel’s answer? With a piano you don’t need to. Holidaying in the Caribbean, he found himself at a hotel where Macpherson, Brinkley and a yet-to-be-famous Whitney Houston were staying. “Whitney was a model then, and there was a photoshoot. I went to the piano in the bar and started to play As Time Goes By. I looked up and there were these three gorgeous women looking at me from the other side of the piano. I looked back down at the piano and just said: ‘Thank you!’

 

” If Joel evinces the Zen candour of a millionaire in retirement, then it’s not altogether surprising. It’s been 13 years since he abdicated the singer-songwriter mantle with River of Dreams. Since then, and mostly for his own pleasure, he composes the odd classical piece. With the exception of It’s a Good Life — an anniversary present in 2005 for his current wife, the food writer Katie Lee — he has written only one pop tune since 1993.

 

Once in a while he takes to the road and bashes out a set of his most well-loved songs. But, save for a live CD, entitled 12 Gardens, and another compilation (this time entitled Piano Man) there’s nothing new to promote.

 

Joel is visibly amused by the quandary in which this leaves his record company. When he first served notice of his withdrawal from the recording process, Columbia’s response was disbelief. “Actually, they thought I was just negotiating — and this was the start-off point.”

 

Since then, Joel’s profile has been kept high by a procession of compilations. “It’s ridiculous,” he says, “If it’s not The Ultimate Billy Joel, it’s The Essential Billy Joel or Really and Truly the Very Best of Billy Joel." The lion’s share of his disdain though, is reserved for My Lives, the 2005 box set that gathered together four CDs of outtakes spanning his entire career. “The idea as it was presented to me was: ‘OK, we’re going to take everything you left on the cutting room floor, we’re going to put it in a box and charge people 50 bucks.’

 

“It’s not like I had a choice — they own it all. I read in the liner notes that I personally ‘curated’ all this stuff, which is a crock of s***. I didn’t curate a single thing.”

 

If there’s no love lost between Joel and the music business, perhaps it’s not so surprising. By the time he scored his first hit with Piano Man in 1973 — the song inspired by his six-month stint playing a Los Angeles bar — he had already accrued first-hand experience of the industry’s shady underside. When he was 20 he famously signed away his publishing rights to the (now defunct) Family Records in order to record his 1971 debut album Cold Spring Harbor. By the time the record appeared, a mastering error meant that Joel appeared to be on helium for all ten songs.

 

All things considered, it’s little wonder that this was also the year he attempted to end his life. Unable to pay the rent, he was forced to take a job in a factory. His girlfriend had left him. It was, as he tells it, a Woody Allen kind of suicide — death by furniture polish. “What does furniture polish taste like? It tastes like s***. I looked in my closet and it was a straight choice between chlorine bleach and furniture polish. They both had a skull and crossbones on, so I that was promising. I thought, ‘Hmmm, which one will taste better?’ “Well, the polish said that it was lemon-scented, so I figured it had to be that one. I didn’t die, obviously. I just farted furniture polish.”

 

He says that checking himself into an observation centre directly afterwards “was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me, because I met people who had real problems”.

 

Though Joel got better, his cynicism never quite dissipated. One notable outtake on My Lives is Oyster Bay, a 1973 vignette about a rock star who yearns simply to escape his punishing schedule and go out fishing off the picturesque Long Island coastal town. Tellingly, the song was written when he had yet to score a hit single. Even when Piano Man finally arrived, Joel followed it with The Entertainer, which suggested that his ultimate fate was “to get put in the back at the discount rack/Like another can of beans”.

 

His outsider’s perspective has served him well, though. At the show later on, the bestreceived songs are Movin’ Out and Allentown, journalistic paeans to the travails of ordinary people. Unlike Bruce Springsteen, Joel sees no innate virtue in their workaday struggles. “What Bruce does,” he ponders, “is consciously write about a working-class guy. I don’t set out to write about any particular life. It’s just how it comes out.”

 

Except, of course, that it no longer comes out — a fact that seems to cause Joel no discernible heartbreak. Now clean for over a year and free of the album/tour cycle, he says his life is better than it has ever been. Following the success of Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out — the Broadway show based around his music — he has fielded further ideas for musicals. If he is to get involved, though, he says it has to come from within.

 

An idea for a possible book suggests that Joel has some distance to go before he moderates his thoughts on the industry that brought him to prominence. Entitled A Good Career Move, the plot is predicated, Joel says, on the record industry's belief that established rock stars are much more useful dead than alive. If he gets around to writing it, then he’ll come up with some songs to go with it.

 

Right now though, music is just one of a range of outlets available to Joel. In 1996, seeking to buy himself a yacht “that didn’t look like a penis extension”, he reawakened his childhood interest in technical drawing and took his design to a Long Island boatmaker, who made the craft. The ensuing interest in Shelter Island Runabout — a modern version of the yachts used by wealthy New Yorkers for commuting to Manhattan in the 1930s — prompted Joel to go into business. Since then he has sold 42 of them at $500,000 a throw.

 

Then there’s his motorcycle design company, which takes new Harley-Davidsons and “soups them up to look like 1946 Knuckleheads. But you know, these things don’t take up a whole lot of my time. I probably spend more time with my wife or walking my two pugs around Oyster Bay.”

 

So he really did end up in Oyster Bay? Just like the guy in the song? Joel shows momentary surprise, as though the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “I did. But let me tell you, that’s where the similarity ends. I’m always on my f***ing boat.”

 

Billy Joel and Bryan Adams delight fans in Rome's Colosseum

Rome - Rome's Colosseum provided the dramatic backdrop for the meeting of two grand masters of the international music scene Monday evening.

Piano Man Billy Joel and Canadian rock musician Bryan Adams delighted a singing and dancing mass of fans, who thronged the avenue in front of the imperial forum.

The concert was the musical highlight of the summer and what's more it was completely free.

Draped in the atmospheric light over the 26-metre stage, 46-year- old Adams belted out his greatest hits including Summer of 69 and Run to you.

Then it was the turn of New York super star Billy Joel, 57, who had not performed in Italy for more than 10 years.

Hits such as Innocent Man, the ballad-like Honesty, or the rollicking We didn't start the Fire lit up the hot, Roman summer night.

To cool the fans down, volunteers distributed free bottles of water in their tens of thousands.

For those who couldn't get as far as the Colosseum, 10 enormous screens brought them a view of the action.

Over the last few years, Paul McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel and Elton John have given free concerts at the Colosseum. The events have traditionally been sponsored by Italian telecom.

BRINKLEY'S DAUGHTER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT AFFAIR

LATEST:

ALEXA RAY JOEL, supermodel CHRISTIE BRINKLEY's daughter with musician BILLY JOEL, has spoken out in support of her mother after she was cheated on by husband PETER COOK.

Earlier this month (JUL06) it was revealed that Brinkley's architect husband had an affair with his 19-year-old assistant, DIANA BIANCHI.

Joel, a professional singer like her father, told the New York Post, "I love my mom and I'm behind her 100 percent. She's doing very well considering everything that's happened." Joel refused to discuss her opinion on her stepfather Cook telling the publication, "Don't even go there. We don't need to fan the flames."

In a nod to her mother's current crisis, Joel dedicated her new song JADED to her mother at her concert in Toms River, New Jersey Friday (28JUL06), telling concert-goers the song was for "all the ladies who've been burned by their men - or should I say boys?'"

Christie Brinkley's husband Peter Cook publicly apologizes for adultery

Supermodel Christie Brinkley's fourth husband architect Peter Cook has issued a public apology to her for an extramarital affair with his 19-year-old assistant Diana Bianchi. The model had recently announced she was separating from her husband of 10 years. In a statement, the 47-year-old architect said, “I love my wife, I have loved her since the day I met her…for a lifetime I've tried to prove how much I love her. This is an aberration. I'm sorry. I'm contrite. I'm stupid. Foolish. No excuse.” Bianchi and Cook's affair spanned a year, during which the teenager worked as his assistant.

According to Cook's legal counsel Norman Sheresky, the architect is hoping that the matter does not reach divorce. “He hopes there's no divorce. If she wants one, and he certainly hopes this doesn't happen, but if (it does), it will not be nasty. She can have whatever she wants,” Sheresky said. She pointed out that with the exception of this one incident, Cook had proved to be a good husband.

“He adopted one of her other children. He's been a great husband. He wants this to go away...To beg her forgiveness. For her to take him back. He says he's married to a terrific woman,” his lawyer said, adding that so far, divorce proceedings have not been initiated by Brinkley. “Christie Brinkley has not sued her husband,” she said.

But Bianchi might be considering a sexual harassment lawsuit. According to sources, she has alleged that the relationship wasn't consensual and Cook took advantage of his professional power to involve the teenager into an affair. Bianchi said she hadn't thought their light flirtation would turn into something serious and her parents have slammed Cook for 'abusing' their young daughter. Sheresky, however, said Cook 'denies that any relationship with that person was nonconsensual'. “As he told it to me, quote, 'I took no advantage'. The idea that the other person involved didn't knowingly consent to this relationship is garbage,” she said.

Meanwhile, Brinkley's publicist Elliot Mintz said that the 52-year-old model was 'completely preoccupied with the protection of her children, trying to isolate them from all of this coverage, and trying to heal'.

After being married to artist Jean-François Allaux, singer Billy Joel, and estate developer Richard Taubman, Brinkley tied the knot with Cook in 1996. She is the mother of three children, daughter Alexa Ray, son Jack Paris and daughter Sailor Lee. Jack, the son of Taubman, was adopted by Cook when the two married while Sailor is the couple's biological child. Alexa Ray is Billy Joel's daughter.

Take a break and check out some Videos

Billy Joel: "Your questions, my answers"

Billy Joel is the first big name to have a blog on our website.

Hundreds of newspaper readers sent in questions for Billy before his Australian tour - questions they had always wanted to put to the Piano Man.

Over the weekend, Billy, on tour in Europe, reached for his laptop and answered as many as he could between engagements in Manchester and Ireland.

Readers wanted to know how songs had come about, whether Billy wrote the words or music first, why he never performs The Stranger at live shows and whether he still wears red socks.
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From: Julie S

Billy - what comes first when you write songs? The tune or the lyrics?


A- melody and rhythmic phrasing usually come first.

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From: Belinda Greenwood

In River of Dreams, you talk about searching for something - have you found it? And if so, what was it?


A-Yes, it was what I was singing about


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From: Coralee.

Hi Billy, I really enjoy your music and have done for a long time. It seems to show, even in your eyes, that you enjoy yourself and what you're doing. The question I would like to ask is "What is your favorite thing you do to relax away from all the hype and publicity?".Thanks again for all the great music. Stay well and keep safe.

Love Always
Coralee.

A-I enjoy boating and motorcycling as a way of being anonymous. Mostly I enjoy being with my wife and my pugs at home

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From: Joe Giuliani
hi Billy. could you please tell me your inspiration for innocent man. which i rate as top three bj songs also its a tough one to karaoke do you have any advice. regards joe. good luck with the up coming tour.

A-the music was inspired by the songs of Leiber and Stoller, which were recorded by Ben E. Fing and “The Drifters”. The words come from personal experience. Advice about singing it? Good luck - you’ll need to use ‘falsetto’

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From: Billy Bridge
As a singer/songwriter there are three writers who always inspire me. Your songs along with Paul McCartney's and Neil Finn's have always been my favourite tunes. You have such beautiful melodies and powerful lyrics.Always a woman, is one of my all time favourites.Is there a chance you would be able to have a writers session while in Melbourne. I would love the opportunity to hear you thoughts on writing up close.I will be at the November show, wouldn't miss it for the world.
Cheers Billy
http://www.billybridge.com

A-While I enjoy Q and A workshops regarding songwriting, I don’t think I’ll have much time while in Australia to do any.

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From: Karl D.C
Hi Billy,

How are things? Hope all is well.I've been to a number of your Australian concerts in the past (Storm Front, River of Dreams & Face to Face tours). What are you planning to perform for the Australian public this time around? One of my all-time favourite songs is "Angry Young Man". Can you please explain how this song came about?All the best for the upcoming tour.

Regards,Karl D.C.

A-I don’t yet know what our setlists will be. “Angry Young Man” is a combination of musical fragments and the lyrics are from personal experience.

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From: The McDonald Family
Hi Billy J

I first saw you in Portland,Oregon 1974 you were the warm-up act for Fleetwood Mac. WOW. I have lived in the land of OZ for 13yrs and wife and kids are Aussie. Could I ask you a favor even though we have never met? Two of my 4 kids are stuck in wheelchairs with cerebral palsy and my wife works her tail off. If we could just get away for 1 evening and maybe we could meet you for 1 minute it would be great for morale if you know what I mean. Anyway Thanks for all of the Beautiful music that makes the world have a sweeter sound.

Love,The McDonald Family


A-please contact the promoter's office with this request.

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From: Megan
Hi Billy, I have been a big fan since the seventies. I understand you now produce/create classical music. How do you find this different from pop and writing lyrics (I was always especially drawn to your lyrics).Will you be playing any of your classical music in Australia?

A-I always wrote music before lyrics, so writing thematic pieces isn’t that different for me. I won’t be performing any classical music on our Australian tour(except for some hidden Beethoven motifs)

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From: Cate
Can you tell us more than you've told us already; are there any updates on Brenda and Eddie?...Do you play 'Scenes from an Italian Restaurant' at your concerts? - I believe it's one of the greatest songs ever written and would love to see it performed live in Australia...Fingers crossed!


A-For an update on Brenda and Eddie-see the show “Movin’ Out” It continues the story of their lives. We usually include ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’ in our setlists.


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From: Lloyd Poole
The song "Just The Way You Are" is my favourite song of all time. The drums on this track are strange or should I say quite different. How did you decide on using the drums this way?

A-The drum pattern on that recording was actually suggested by our producer at the time-Phil Ramone.

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From: Inga Binga
I really liked your classical album. Do you have any plans for some more?

A-I don’t have any recording plans at this time. I do plan to continue composing music until I kick off.

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From: Geoff Triplow
Dear Billy, I have been playing piano for many years but one song I love to play regularly is ‘just The Way You Are. It is a superb song with great chord progressions and melody. So simple but effective e.g mm –mm Am7 – D7. My question is – how did you write this song and how did you start it off. To me it is up there with some of the best songs ever crafted. I look forward to your reply.

A-I dreamt the melody and chord progression and wrote the lyrics over a few days after the dream reoccurred to me

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From: Glenn Leslie
Dear Billy

I have admired your work for a very long time. Two songs in particular are treasured favourites. One is Streetlife Serenader. What was it like working with Emory Gordy and Wilton Felder back in the mid 70's ? The other song is And So It Goes, from Storm Front, a very moving composition. Is this a song you sing very often? It sensitively addresses how people must sometimes feel. In your view, is it up there with your best achievements? Look forward to seeing you later in 2006. Regards, Glenn Leslie

A-Emory Gordy and Wilton Felder were inspiring musicians to work with. I perform “And So it Goes” now and then in concert. I have a great affection for that song.


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From: Glenn Drodge
Hey Billy.

Been a huge fan of yours since around 1977 and I think one of the best songs you've ever written was "The Starnger" i.e. the song, not the album. Just wondering what your opinion of that song is. Do you like it? Are you bored of it or does it drive you crazy like Uptown Girl and Just The Way You Are? You never play it live anymore and I was just wondering why. I think it's an amazing song! Glenn


A-I like the piano theme and I still like the lyrics, but song never played well in a live setting. I don’t know why

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From: Dave
I remember listening to a BBC Radio interview you did with your brother Alex many years ago. You were asked what your own favourite song was, and you said it was Laura. Which song that you have written is your all time favourite, and why?

A-I have a love/hate relationship with all the songs I have written. I can’t single out one above the others anymore.

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From: Dog
I love your music and look forward to your tour, but haven't caught up with any of your music of recent times.Do you plan to play new material during your concerts here, and if so what do you expect will be the percentage mix of old and new material?

A-What new material? My last album of new songs was released in 1993 “River of Dreams” I will be doing material from that album as well as all others


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From: Pam
Just hoping that Billy is going to sing "Summer Highland Falls" on his tour - and if not, please why not? This song speaks to so many people, and I would dearly love to hear it live once again.

A-I’ll keep it in mind-but I can’t possibly play every song requested


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From: Mark
With the likelihood of your shows selling out very quickly in Australia, can you offer fans extra shows to meet with demand? I for one would hate to miss out.


A-We have limited time to be in Australia. We’ll be in South Africa just before and in Japan right after

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From: Andrew
As well as your musical ability, your strong lyrics about personal experiences and feelings are obviously a great and important part of your songs. Is there a particular song over your career that you are most proud about lyrically, and if so, for what reason?

A-Right now I have the most pride in the lyrics to the songs on the ‘River of Dreams’ album. I feel I made the biggest stretch of my career writing the words on that album.

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From: Bill Muller
I saw your show in Southampton in England last week which was fantastic. I thought it was interesting you did some of the really early stuff even Zanzibar a lesser known song off 52nd street. Will all the songs you have to choose from, how do you decide which of 22 or 23 make it the play list?

A-It’s pure guesswork, experience, self-indulgence and luck

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From: Deano
Hi Billy! Love your music! Saw the musical, "Movin' Out" in San Francisco in 2004. Any plans to tour it in Australia? Was spectacular and would see it again. Thanks for coming Down Under again, can't wait to see you live!Dean

A-I hear there are plans to bring ‘Movin’ Out” down under soon

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From: JB
Hi Billy,I really love the song "We Didn't Start the Fire", and I sing along to it every time I hear it on the radio. However, I've always wondered what "the fire" is. Could you tell us please ?JB

A-‘The fire’ refers to the blazing mess the world is always in

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From: Amanda
Do you still wear red socks?

A-no

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From: Neil Andrews
Billy just wanted to ask you of the time you spent in boxing who were your heros and do you still follow the sport do you have a favorite boxer now

A-My hero was Sugar Ray Robinson. I no longer follow boxing

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From: James
Hey Billy,Thrilled that you're touring again. Can you tell us, which of Elton John's songs is your personal favorite?
A-“Goodbye Yellowbrick Road”

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From: Anthony Bergin
Hi Billy, Since "We didn't start the fire" was a huge world wide hit, would you ever consider re-releasing it based upon your reflection of what has happened in the last, say 20 years ?. I ask because a lot has happened for the good and bad since you penned the song.

Regards Anthony

A-Been there, done that…………It’s actually a capsulization of the ‘cold war’ years

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From: Andrew
With your songs such as Big Shot, Tell her about it, The longest time etc, did you write this from a broad experience perspective, or do you usually write them with a specific person in mind?

A-yes and yes

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From: Craig Wright
Hi Billy,

Very excited to hear you are coming to Australia! I have so many questions, but will limit them to two:- I recently read that you have a love of show music, and I was curious how the Movin' Out concept was pitched to you and your reaction to it? Did you have any creative input to the script or were there any ideas you had they ended up using in the end? Are you going to check out any venues in Australia to recommend to producers so that the tour production of Movin' Out comes further south than Japan?-

You have had a great rapport with so many artists, and in the recent past, Elton John. I've also noticed you have released an album based on your classical influences. Elton has previously done a tour and a live album with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Would you consider something similar to compliment you?

Is a DVD of your Australian tour a possibility??Looking fwd to seeing you in November.Craig

A-yes

Take a break and check out some Videos

Billy Joel blogs on our site

THE Piano Man has shared his thoughts ahead of his upcoming Australian tour, on The Courier-Mail's website.

Billy Joel is the first big name to have a blog on our website.

Over the weekend, Billy, on tour in Europe, reached for his laptop and answered as many questions as he could between engagements in Manchester and Ireland.

Readers wanted to know how songs had come about, whether Billy wrote words or music first, and why he never performs The Stranger at live shows.

He has one show in Queensland on November 21 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

Take a break and check out some Videos

Joel Heads Under

Currently in the midst of a European summer tour, Billy Joel has added a four-date Australian arena trek to his fall calendar.

Joel will play Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane on the visit, which will run from November 7-21. His remaining U.K. and Euro dates include a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome July 31.

Earlier this year, the piano man embarked on a sold-out tour of the U.S., including a full 12 nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden Arena. A 32-track live album was compiled from the NYC shows and released in June as 12 Gardens: Live.

Prior to this year's shows, Joel had not toured as a solo act since 1999, focusing instead on a number of co-headlining collaborative tours with Elton John.

Take a break and check out some Videos

EXCLUSIVE: SUPERSTAR BILLY JOEL ON LIFE WITHOUT MUSIC

MUSIC legend Billy Joel yesterday told how his songs saved his life.

The piano man from New York beat the odds and a tough up-bringing to sell more than 100 million records around the world.

Billy fears only his music prevented him from ending up in jail, addicted to drugs, or insane.

The straight-talking musician - born in New York's notorious South Bronx - says his life would have been very different if he'd not written a string of classic hits.

"Going to jail would definitely have been a possibility for me. That and drug addiction. I'd also have been homeless or ended up in an insane asylum," said Billy.

"I think I would have been a real desolate soul had I not been a musician."


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And the star revealed the person most shocked by his global success is himself.


He said: "My success is pretty bizarre - because I don't think I'm all that great.


"I think I'm just competent about what I do. I know how to write, play, sing, perform and record. There's a lot of people out there who can't do that stuff."


The 55-year-old star is heading for Scotland to play two shows at the SECC in Glasgow, tomorrow and Thursday.


He's also planning a trip to his favourite watering hole, the Horse Shoe.


"I love that bar. I had a few beers last time I was in town and I'll be back if I can."


Billy has chalked up millions of sales, won a clutch of Grammy Awards and has his own Hollywood Walk of Fame star.


No mean feat for a guy whose dreams of becoming a history teacher were dashed when he failed to graduate at high school.


I met Billy backstage at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield on his first major UK tour in almost a decade.


He reflected on a rollercoaster 35-year career which has included two failed marriages and a spell in the Betty Ford Clinic for alcohol addiction.


Billy looks more like a car mechanic than a superstar - but it hasn't affected his way with the ladies.


He's romanced some of the world's most beautiful women.


Billy married first wife Elizabeth Weber in 1971 but they divorced after 12 years. He dated supermodel Elle Macpherson - before marrying catwalk rival Christie Brinkley in 5. The couple had a daughter, Alexa Ray who is now 20. But his marriage to Christie - who inspired one of his biggest hits, Uptown Girl - ended in 1994.


Billy wed his third wife - beautiful US TV presenter Katie Lee - in 2004.


He told me: "In the early days, I'd go to a party and there would be better "1 looking guys with smooth, suave chat-up lines. I'd go into the corner, play the piano, look up and there would be - girls.


"I thought, 'This is great'. That's how I met women. I didn't think I'd be a big star. My main goal was just to make a living.


"I'm a working guy. It's just that I make a lot more money than most other people. But I still know where I came from."


Billy was bullied at school when kids discovered he was taking piano lessons.


To defend himself, he took boxing lessons and could have made the grade as a prize fighter.


"I had to walk down the street going to piano lessons with my music books under my arm," said Billy.


"My teacher also taught ballet so you can imagine the reaction of the other kids. They'd hit me in the face or knock my books out of my hands.


"I took up boxing so I could take care of myself. I went back to my school, walked up to the biggest guy who used to pick on me and clocked him pretty good. Nobody bothered me after that."


Billy's father Howard was a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Germany. He split from the singer's mother Rosalind when Billy was 10 years old and moved back to Eastern Europe.


"My dad wasn't around so I never saw him much," revealed Billy.


"I had friends who said, 'You'll never make it as a musician, you're gonna starve'.


"But my mum used to sing in an operatic company so she encouraged me.


"When I didn't graduate, I said, 'I'm NOT going to Columbia University, I'd rather go to Columbia Records'. That's what I did." Several of Billy's hits were inspired by growing up inNewYork. How did he feel about the September 11 terrorist attack?


"I grew up 25 miles from Manhattan and as a kid the first chance I got I'd jump on a train and go into the city," he said.


"There were bright lights, great stores and pretty girls. New York coloured my life so much. When the city came under attack I went into a deep depression. It was so hard to fathom that kind of monstrous hatred for humanity.


"I'm still not over it. I think New York has changed. There's a sadness there which didn't used to exist. When I go by Ground Zero, it's very moving and emotional." At the last count, Billy had scored 33 Top 40 hits since releasing his first album Cold Spring Harbor in 1971, includ ing Just The Way You Are, Piano Man, Tell Her About It and An Innocent Man.


He was inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and despite flunking high school he's been awarded honororary doctorates.


The star now funds the Billy Joel Endowment a scholarship to encourage kids to pursue a music path.


"There wasn't anything like that when I was a kid. My family didn't have any money to help me further my music education and I wasn't good enough to win any scholarships," he said.


"I just figure, the more opportunities there are out there for kids to learn to write and play, the better."


At 55, Billy has no plans to retire.


"I'm looking forward to playing in Glasgow again. The last gig I played in the city was in 1998 when I was sick with a terrible sore throat.


"So if anybody who was at that gig is reading this - I don't really sound that bad. This time, I'll sing a whole lot better."


'I think that I would have been a real desolate soul had I not been a musician'

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Samantha Cole, Diana Bianchi & Christie Brinkley: A Cooked Up Mess

Diana Bianchi, a 19-year old wannabe singer is telling anyone that will listen that she has been having an affair with Christie Brinkley's hubby Peter Cook for the last year. Samantha Cole a 29-year-old singer told the New York Post in Wednesday's editions that she and Cook had a relationship when she was 19 years old as well - ten years ago.

Meanwhile Christie Brinkley is devastated by the whole 'Cooked" up mess.

"She is totally shocked and just devastated," a close friend of Brinkley's tells PEOPLE of Cook's yearlong relationship with now 19-year-old Diana Bianchi.

"She has been extremely concerned about the impact of this situation on her children and felt it was very important to protect them and take them away for a little bit."

***

Samantha Cole revealed to The NY Post that Cook has a bad habit of bedding aspiring teenage singers from Southampton who work for him.

She speaks from experience.

"I laugh at this, because our story is exactly the same," Cole told The Post, referring to bombshell news that Cook, 47, seduced 19-year-old budding singer Diana Bianchi last year at his Southampton firm. "It's very odd."

"My mother's the one that pointed it out. She said, 'This is you, this is you 10 years ago.' It's definitely weird, it's really weird."

Sad is probably the appropriate term and Cole added that she was shocked to hear that Cook had allegedly cheated on Brinkley. "I never thought he would do something like that, being married, with his family so important to him."

***

Diana Bianchi said that Cook aggressively wooed her while she was working for him and assured the teen that his famous, 10-year marriage to supermodel Brinkley was already on the rocks.

"We started talking about things, and he was telling me that he was unhappy and that he was having problems at home," Bianchi told the Post.

The New York Post reports that they soon began sleeping together - although, she said, "We were not out dating [in public]. We didn't do anything like that."

Still, "I felt uncomfortable," the teen admitted. "I had never been with anyone who was married. I was always on the right track. This was all new to me."

Eventually, the strain of sneaking around with Cook got to be too much, Bianchi said, and she broke up with him in April.

"I just . . . it was uncomfortable for me," the teen said with a heavy sigh.

Brinkley found out about the affair from Bianchi's step-father and confirmed it by looking through through steamy e-mails that Cook and Bianchi had sent to each other.

***

This story just keeps getting layers piled on by the hour and one can't help but feel for Christie and the kids.

Bianchi is dangerously close to be dubbed a home wrecker and probably would be wise to lay low. Samantha likely figured she might as well come forward as she was outed with Fox 411 columnist Roger Friedman's really good decade old memory.

Cook has zero sympathy from observers. Christie Brinkley's mom called him "a no-good SOB" for allegedly cheating on his supermodel wife with his teenage assistant.

"He is the guilty man here. She is fine - she is doing great," Marjorie Brinkley told Star magazine in an exclusive interview. "He's a no-good SOB. We are all completely devastated, as Christie is. It is shocking how this could happen."

***

Cook appears to have gone into hiding as every major outlet mentions that he has not returned calls for comment.

PEOPLE reports that Christie has left the Hamptons and the model mom has taken her son Jack, 11, and daughter Sailor, 8, to L.A. to be with her parents. (Her other daughter, Alexa Ray, 20, with ex-husband Billy Joel, is a musician playing gigs in the New York City area.).

Meanwhile all the press for now is being pumped at the two former teen lovers of Cook. Expect this story to continue, as long as they keep talking.

And then some.

Check out some Videos

Billy Joel @ M.E.N. Arena

WITH 16,000 sweaty souls eagerly awaiting his arrival, Billy Joel didn’t exactly need a cheerleader.

But he got one anyway in the cuddly shape of Peter Kay, the Bolton funnyman making good on his promise to attend all of Joel’s first UK dates for 12 years.

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It was Kay - sitting just yards from the stage - who urged the crowd to their feet, clapping enthusiastically and mouthing the words to every song.

“Peter Kay’s here,” Joel declared. “Whaddya got, a private jet? How do you get to all these gigs.”

Kay yelled back that he only lived 20 minutes away.

Joel never was much of a pop star in the usual sense. Songs like Angry Young Man, My Wife, and The Entertainer seem as if some stubby bloke in a stage musical has just leapt up to tell you his life in song.

Broadway

Little wonder that 24 of those songs have already been recycled into a Broadway show.

That stubby bloke is still well in touch with his history has a lounge pianist.

The songs were always a bit too polished, a bit too cabaret.

But they are for Joel to critics’ praise as well as the 100 million record sales.

It’s just that timeless, old fashioned sound, which means that Joel’s songs scrub up so fresh for 2006.

Just The Way You Are

Not that he is precious about his repertoire, wise-cracking that he will ’throw up’ if he has to sing one more ’mushy’ song Just The Way You Are. (‘written for my first ex-wife’).

The Entertainer is dripped with cynicism for the entertainment business Joel had only just entered when he wrote it in 1974. But he was wrong on one score.

“And I won’t be here in another year if I don’t stay on the charts,” he sang.

The truth is, he is packing them in like last night having delivered not a single new pop song to a waiting world since 1993.

You suspect that many of last night’s crowd had waited almost that long for this gig.

In June 1998, Joel cancelled an appearance at Lancashire County Cricket Club because of a respiratory infection. It’s taken this long for him to get back to the city.

On the hottest night of this and many other years, the Piano Man was making good on one of the longest rainchecks in rock history.

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Uptown Gig for Billy Joel

Multi-superdooper-platinum selling megastar Billy Joel is returning to Australia for his first tour in eight years, and good ol' BJ has locked in a Perth date. Flip your diary pages to Tuesday, November 7, and pen in that Billy Joel will be raising the roof off the Burswood Dome. Then flick back a few pages and note that tickets go on sale at 9am on Monday, July 31. Tickets can be purchased from all Ticketek outlets, including ticketek.com.au or by calling 132 849.

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Billy may sing about coal fight

PIANO man Billy Joel's next big hit could be about the gritty plight of South Yorkshire's former pit families.

He's reading up on the closure of Grimethorpe Colliery, as our exclusive photo reveals backstage at Sheffield's Hallam FM Arena..

Joel has sung about the demise of the Pennsylvania steel industry in Allentown and the struggle of Long Island's fishermen, in The Downeaster Alexa.

Now he's planning to read Energy Is Coal - Grimethorpe Pit Closure, written more than 10-years ago by former Barnsley miners, families and school children.

The book, amongst presents sent backstage by fans, struck a chord with the music legend, who is regarded as one of the greatest social observation songwriters of all time. "I'm a history buff and I'll certainly look forward to reading this. My wife is from Virginia, which is also a coal mining area,'' said Joel, who is keen to explore his UK roots. His mother, Rosalind, was born in England and his father, Howard, was a Jewish holocaust survivor from Germany.

Mel Dyke, the former Willowgarth High School deputy head, was behind the Grimethorpe book-in-a-day project. She said: "Billy's hit, Allentown, inspired what we did. He's the greatest songwriter since Cole Porter.

"I don't know if anything will come of the present, but he sings about social issues in his homeland so it's just great to share our history with him.''

Take a break and check out some Videos

Christie Brinkley’s Hubby Always Liked Teens

Dear Readers,
When I awoke yesterday to stories that Christie Brinkley’s hubby had cheated on her with a 19-year-old, I thought I’d entered Rocky and Bullwinkle’s Way Back machine.

That’s because exactly 10 years ago, I wrote a similar story about architect Peter Cook. He was 37 years old at the time and newly engaged to Brinkley.

I had the ignominious distinction of breaking the news that throughout the spring of 1996, whilst courting Brinkley, Cook was seriously dating a beautiful 19-year-old singer named Samantha Cole. She was from Southampton, N.Y., and her mother worked at the local police station. Neither she nor Christie knew anything about each other.

Twice that spring, Cook went to Los Angeles and asked Cole to marry him. The now 29-year-old model and singer refreshed my memory yesterday.

Here are some Videos

Joel demanding bike customer

There is something inherently funny about Billy Joel volunteering to be part of a special two-hour episode of American Chopper.
The veteran musical performer has had his share of run-ins with the law regarding his tendency to, well, allegedly enjoy a few alcoholic beverages before taking the wheel.
Joel is the centre of attention tonight on Discovery as the guys from American Chopper are commissioned to build him a custom motorcycle.
If you're unfamiliar with the American Chopper reality series, which has been running since 2003, suffice it to say it's a weird show.
Orange County Choppers is a custom-bike company in Montgomery, N.Y., owned by tattoo-adorned, no-nonsense boss Paul Teutul Sr. Among the staff are Teutul's two sons, Paul Jr. and Mikey, along with employees Vinnie and Rick.
At the heart of the show are the crude, blue-collar versions of office politics that can be applied universally. Paul Sr. is the bullying dad. Paul Jr. is the lazy heir. Mikey is the goofy one. Rick is the sensitive one. The verbal battles are as predictable as they are vicious.
The 57-year-old Joel, a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, has decided he wants a "bobber," a.k.a., a "Billy Bob." He's a demanding customer, asking for something that looks like it was made in the 1930s or 1940s, then was modified in the 1950s, but with updated technology to make it purr like a 21st-century kitten.
There's a funny scene early in the show when Joel, the Piano Man, is asked if he wants any signature artistic touches on his bobber, like, say, some painted piano keys.
"Deliver me from piano keys," Joel barks. "People are always sending me frickin' scarves . . . I hate piano keys."
That, of course, gives the OCC guys the idea of making up a spoof bike, complete with a working keyboard and a microphone just in case Joel wants to break into song while he drives.
Joel's reaction when the spoof bike is unveiled is not quite as demonstrative as the producers might have liked, but it still is an amusing moment.
As work on the real bike progresses, there are problems, of course.
Joel doesn't like the way things are going. That annoys Paul Sr., who at one point says, "(Joel) has to do more concerts. He has too much free time."
There is some butt-kissing. At one point, a voice-over from Mikey states, "(Joel's) first album was released back in 1972 and he's pretty much been at the top of the charts ever since."
Well, not the charts we've been checking lately.
There really was no reason for this to be a two-hour episode. An hour would have sufficed. Some of the bits when they actually are building the bike could have been edited, but supposedly that's what keeps the gearheads happy.
The finished product is presented to Joel on stage during a concert at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
Joel announces to the crowd and to the guys from American Chopper, "I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna bring this bike back, I'm gonna ride it, man!"
Uh-oh.
IF YOU WATCH
What: American Chopper Celebrity Build: Billy Joel
When: Tonight, 8 p.m.
Where: Discovery

Billy Joel, legendary American singer/songwriter, plays Croke Park on Saturday, the 29th of July.

Billy Joel had a busy year in 2005 releasing a box set My Lives, performing a series of concerts at Madison Square Garden and recording a live album, 12 Gardens Live with the singer in his best form in nearly two decades.

Having wowed audiences on his sold out American tour, Billy Joel now comes to Ireland performing pop anthems including "Piano Man", "Only The Good Die Young", "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "River of Dreams" at a special performance at Croke Park.

Over the last three decades, Billy Joel has scored 33 Top 40 hits, sold 100 copies of his 16 albums and received 5 Grammy Awards as well as induction of Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

Having played in a number of different New York line-ups, Billy Joel broke out as a solo artist in the early '70s merging the melodies of The Beatles with Broadway classics and scoring his first big hit with "Piano Man".

Billy Joel followed up on the success of "Piano Man" with a string of hit singles like "New York State of Mind", "Just the Way You Are", "She's Always a Woman" and "Uptown Girl" and a host of hit ablums like Streetlife Serenade, The Stranger and Glass Houses.

The singer's musical evolution from his early 60's Long Island bar bands to his biggest hits to his most recent classical composition is documented in his new box set, My Lives, the first Billy Joel collection to explore the entirety of the artist's career.

A veritable treasure throve for Billy Joel fans, My Lives brings together rare demos and alternate takes from all phases of the artist's career, live performances and Joel's covers of songs by Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Leonard Cohen.

A night of classic rock anthems, Billy Joel plays Croke Park on Saturday, the 29th of July.

Billy Joel To Tour Australia

July 17 2006

Billy Joel is to return to Australia for the first time in eight years.

Joel holds the record for having sold more tickets to Australians than any other American performer.

His last Australian tour eight years ago was with Elton John/ His last solo tour of Australia was the River of Dreams tour in 1994.

Most recently, the 'Piano Man' performed 12 consecutive sold out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was a first for any performer. The event was captured for his new album '12 Gardens Live'.

Tickets for Billy Joel in Australia go on sale on July 31st.

Dates are:
Tuesday 07 November Burswood Dome, PerthFriday 10 November Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Wednesday 15 November Acer Arena, SydneyTuesday 21 November Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Billy Joel returns

THE Piano Man is set to return to Australia for his first concert tour here in eight years.

With the recent release of his greatest hits album, 12 Gardens Live, Billy Joel will do one show in Queensland on November 21 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

The last time he performed on his own was in 1994 with his River of Dreams tour. In 1998 he toured with Elton John on the Face to Face tour.

Joel has entertained more Australians than any other American artist, selling more than a million concert tickets in Australia during his career.

According to Pollstar's annual Top 100 Tours report, he has sold more tickets to his shows in the last 12 months than any other artist in the world, including Madonna and U2.

Joel will also perform in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. Tickets will go on sale 9am on Monday, July 31.

Piano Man Billy Joel to play here

PIANO Man Billy Joel is coming to Australia for his first tour in eight years.

The singer, songwriter and pianist extraordinaire last played in Australia with Elton John in 1998, but the show at Rod Laver Arena on November 10 will be his first solo Melbourne show since 1994.

Although Joel retired from writing pop music after that tour, the past year has been something of a renaissance for the 57-year-old.

A report yesterday said Joel had sold more tickets in the US in the year ending June 30 than any other artist -- including Madonna, U2 and the Rolling Stones. While Joel sold more than twice as many tickets as top-earner Madonna, she and the Stones earned more because of much higher ticket prices.

Tickets to Joel's Melbourne shows will cost $128 to $189. Joel's tour will be his first since a stint last year at the US Betty Ford Centre to treat alcohol abuse.

Billy's on the boil

IN a career spanning almost 40 years, Billy Joel has sold more than 100 million albums, circled the globe countless times, achieved wealth and fame beyond his wildest dreams and survived just about every rock'n'roll cliche in the book.

So why, well into his 50s and with a young wife at home – is the Piano Man still working his guts out for more than two hours a night for his global legion of fans?

"Because I still can," says Joel, relaxing in his dressing room before a packed-out show in Britain a few days ago ahead of his first Australian tour in eight years.

"I'm 57 years old now and I don't know when the hand of time is going to say: No more, Stop.

"And my voice is holding up OK."

A couple of hours later, the pianist extraordinaire will charge around the stage in front of a six-piece band, tossing microphone stands, pounding the keys with his behind and tearing through an impressive back catalogue of tracks from his 1971 debut Cold Spring Harbor through to his 1993 River of Dreams.

With no new material to promote these days, Joel hits the road only when the mood takes him. Most artists tour when they put an album out. In Joel's case, the new album – recorded over his record-breaking 12-night stand at New York's Madison Square Garden – was born out of the tour.

"The tail wags the dog now," Joel says, "but that's kind of where it all started – none of us were recording stars when we started out, we were just playing for an audience in clubs, schools, dances and parties, so it's all come back to that."

Joel is somewhat ambivalent about the procession of repackaged releases from his record company.

"I haven't had a new album out since 1993," Joel says.

"They keep putting out these compilations The Best Of and The Greatest Hits and The Ultimate Collection, The Essential, The Really, Truly Best Of – there is nothing I can do about it. They own the recordings so they can do what they want, but I hope people don't think I'm putting this shit out."

Joel's self-assessment is a little harsh – the live CD is a good one as far as live CDs go, a sprawling mix of hits, album tracks and Joel's personal favourites.

"It's kind of an oxymoron, isn't it: a live recording? But let's face it, I haven't given them anything new in 13 years, so that's all they got and I suppose there are some people interested in that."

While his fans and his record company might be lamenting his decision to retire from writing pop music, Joel says it was time. "The danger for people who want to be musicians or people who want success in the entertainment industry is that sometimes you want it so much that you sell little pieces of yourself without even realising it," he says.

"You give away too much of yourself and then at the end of the day, what do you have? I got to a point at the end of the River of Dreams album with Famous Last Words, which is basically the last song I ever wrote, and I wanted to close this book. I didn't want it so bad that I was willing to give up all of me.

"Joni Mitchell said the same thing when she walked away from recording albums. You are really cutting off pieces of yourself and throwing it out there and you have to leave something or else you are gone."

No doubt contributing to the decision to give it away were the frequent dramas that saw Joel in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. From his marriage and subsequent divorce with supermodel Christie Brinkley (the two remain friends), to financial disputes with managers, car crashes and battles with the booze, Joel has done it the hard way. But he remains level-headed, saying that he was homeless as a young man and suicidal at 21, so anything since then has been water off a duck's back.

He had a stint in rehab last year to treat alcohol abuse, and says he has given up drinking. He knew he had a problem at the time when he realised he was chugging wine rather than drinking it.

Joel still writes, but these days he prefers classical music. He released a collection of piano pieces, Fantasies and Delusions, in 2001, which topped the classical charts in the US.

Occasionally he records basic versions, but for the most part his compositions are fragments in his head, which might one day turn up on a movie soundtrack or in a symphonic score.

"It's really not important to me that they are published or recorded or even heard by anybody," he says.

"It's just important to me that I am able to write this stuff for my own gratification and productivity."

Yet there's a glimmer of hope for diehard fans. Joel has written his first pop song in 13 years, which he hopes Tony Bennett will record and release. Joel played him the tune when the two teamed up to record The Good Life for Bennett's coming album of duets.

Billy Joel plays the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on November 21. Tickets on sale 9am, Monday, July 31. Ticketek 132 849 or http://www.ticketek.com.au/

Billy Joel Loves Hamptons Living

Billy Joel may have a New York state of mind, but he¹s just as at home in the Hamptons as in the Big Apple. Currently, the six-time Grammy winner resides in a renovated 18th-century residence in Sag Harbor. Joel tried to sell his Sag Harbor home and leave the Hamptons in 2005, even lowering the asking price from $5.4 million to $4.2 million, but he just couldn¹t get away.

The 4,000-square-foot mansion has harbor views and features four fireplaces that Joel had installed, as well as two boat docks. Ex-wife Christie Brinkley recently purchased a Sag Harbor cottage of her own down the street from Joel¹s home. Previous Hamptons homes have also made headlines for Joel. In 2002, he sold a 4,000-square-foot mansion in North Haven for $5.5 million, far less than the $7 million he paid. Joel reportedly never lived there. He wanted to tear the house down and build something larger, but couldn¹t get the required building permits. The 1950s mansion had a deepwater dock, pool and tennis court.

Jerry Seinfield purchased an East Hampton home from Joel in 2001 for a record $32 million. The residence overlooks a nude beach, something Joel apparently neglected to tell Seinfield before selling it.

A 2003 car accident in Sag Harbor linked Joel to the Hamptons in a major way. However, these days he¹s known more for frequenting notable East Hampton eateries like Della Femina, Nick & Toni¹s, Rowdy Hall and the Palm.

Wife Katie Lee shares Joel¹s love for the Hamptons. In 2003 she helped open a hot dining spot, the Jeff & Eddy¹s Restaurant, and also writes a culinary and lifestyle column called the ³East End Girl² for Hamptons Magazine. Lee married Joel in 2004.

Joel was born May 9, 1949 in the Bronx, New York. The son of a Holocaust survivor and a British émigré, Joel soon moved to the Long Island suburb of Hicksville where he grew up.

At a young age, Joel¹s interest in music led to classical training in piano. His teenage years, however, led him to street gangs and boxing. Joel won 22 of his 24 fights in the Golden Glove amateur circuit, but he quit the sport after sustaining a broken nose.

Joel joined his first band at the age of 14, originally called the Echoes and later the Lost Souls. At 16, he joined the Hassles and then helped form the heavy metal group Attila. Though Attila scored a record deal, the album flopped and the depressed Joel attempted suicide by drinking furniture polish.

Four years later, in 1971, Joel was back in the studio with a solo record contract with Artie Ripp of Family Productions. A faulty album recording and a bad contract convinced Joel to run away to Los Angeles. There, he performed in the Executive Lounge under the name Billy Martin. Joel¹s experiences in Los Angeles would become the inspiration for ³Piano Man.²

Joel connected with Columbia Records in 1973, but he really started to achieve success with the release of The Stranger in 1977. The album earned Joel his first two Grammy awards.

Subsequent hits, including ³It¹s Still Rock and Roll to Me² and ³We Didn¹t Start the Fire,² guaranteed Joel success throughout the 80s and 90s. Upon his retirement from pop music recording in 1993, Joel had recorded 15 albums and sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Joel¹s personal life often eclipsed his musical career, with high-profile marriages to model Christie Brinkley in 1985 and Katie Lee in 2004. He also endured a very public battle with alcoholism and legal battles with his manager and lawyer. Brinkley and Joel¹s 20-year-old daughter Alexa Ray, who was raised in the Hamptons, recently chose to leave her studies at New York University and follow in her father¹s footsteps for her first concert tour.

Billy Joel vs. Christie -- Who's Worse Off Now?

With word that supermodel Christie Brinkley is separating from her fourth husband, we couldn't help but wonder: Who's had a harder life post divorce -- Christie or her second ex, Billy Joel?
Brinkley's rep confirmed on Tuesday the split from Peter Cooke, her husband of 10 years. She has a daughter with Cooke, a daughter with Joel, and a son with third husband Richard Taubman.

Actually, a tragedy brought Taubman and Brinkley together. They met when both were passengers in a helicopter that crashed in Colorado in 1994. Ironically, they married near the site of the chopper crash but the union lasted for less than a year. Brinkley reportedly had to pay Taubman $2 mil as a parting gift to end the marriage.

As for Joel's misfortunes, he was also married before and after Brinkley, though the latter nuptials in 2004 with then 23-year-old Katie Lee is still going.

Joel has encountered several other bumps in the road -- literally. "The Piano Man" was involved in three infamous car accidents within a two-year span. In June 2002, Joel crashed his car in Long Island -- escaping serious injury. In 2003, he crashed his car into a tree, also on Long Island. And in early 2004, he crashed his car again, on Long Island, again -- this time into a house.Joel checked himself into rehab shortly after the first accident and then again in 2005.

Christie Brinkley Separates From Fourth Husband

LOS ANGELES -- Former supermodel Christie Brinkley is separating from her husband, architect Peter Cook after nearly 10 years of marriage.

Brinkley and Cook's separation was first reported by the syndicated entertainment show "The Insider." Brinkley's publicist, Elliot Mintz, confirmed the separation in a statement Tuesday.

"Her immediate concern is for her children, and she's hoping during this obviously difficult time that people will be kind enough to respect her privacy," Mintz said.

Brinkley, 52, has been married three other times, most notably to rock legend Billy Joel, from 1985 to 1994.

She was also married to Jean Francois Allaux from 1973 to 1981 and Richard Taubman from 1994 to 1995.

Brinkley married Cook in September 1996. They have an 8-year-old daughter, Sailor Lee. She had a son, Jack, with Taubman and another daughter, Alexa, with Joel.

In addition to her modeling gigs, Brinkley has appeared in movies like "National Lampoon's Vacation" and fitness informercials.

She also painted the cover to Joel's 1994 album "River of Dreams," and is the subject of Joel's hit "Uptown Girl."

Christie Brinkley divorcing husband number four

Ex-model Christie Brinkley, 52, is divorcing hubby number four, architect Peter Cook.

The two were together for nearly 10 years, and have one child, a daughter.

According to Brinkley’s spokesperson, Elliot Mintz, the split was confirmed on Entertainment Tonight.

"Yes, it's true. The couple has separated. Christie's primary interest at this difficult time is for the protection of her children and (she) would be most appreciative if people would be good enough to respect her privacy."

The gorgeous blonde spokesperson for the “Total Gym” with Chuck Norris also had a part in National Lampoon's Vacation, teasing a hapless Chevy Chase.

Brinkley has two other children from her previous marriages, Alexa Ray, 20, and Jack, 11.

The Detroit native and vegetarian was once married to singer Billy Joel, and became his Uptown Girl muse, also appearing in the music video.

Billy's 88 ways to woo a goddess

How did Billy Joel get Elle and Christie? By being the Piano Man, Pete Paphides learns
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“Birmingham — it’s an R&B town, right? Didn’t Cream come from Birmingham? Can we do a Cream song tonight?” Three hours before the first show of this greatest hits tour, Billy Joel sounds out anyone within earshot about the possibility of a last-minute cover version.

“I don’t think Cream came from Birmingham,” suggests his guitarist. “How about Black Sabbath?” Looking more like a member of the road crew in his baseball cap and khaki shorts, the 55-year-old singer pads off to the dressing room doing a surprisingly good impression of Ozzy Osbourne on War Pigs. Joel is in ebullient form. His only palpable vice since last year, when he checked out of the Betty Ford Centre after being treated for alcohol addiction, is an occasional cigarette.

He won’t be joining his band for the soundcheck, which means that while a stand-in gives his piano a thorough workout he can ponder the thorny subject of tonight’s set list. Tonight, apparently, sees the first performance of Uptown Girl for two decades. It’s not a prospect that Joel sounds overly excited about. “Do I want to sing it again? No, I can’t say I do. It was sort of a novelty song. I mean, that whole album An Innocent Man was a homage to The Four Seasons. Frankie Valli sings as though someone’s squeezing him in the corleones, you know. It’s supposed to sound like you’re in pain. But that’s easier to do in the recording studio than night after night on tour.”

Still, I suggest that, as a memento of his early courtship of the supermodel (and mother of his daughter, Alexa Ray) Christie Brinkley, it must hold a special place in his heart. Judging by the reaction on Joel’s face, it’s not the heart that springs to mind. “You want to know what that song’s about?” he smiles. “I had recently gotten divorced (from his first wife, Elizabeth Weber). And now, here I was, a rock star who was suddenly single.

I made the most of it. I dated Elle Macpherson half a year before Christie. So the original song was called Uptown Girls. I was like a pig in s***.”

There’s no delicate way to approach this inquiry, but it’s worth a try. How does a short, “schlubby” ex-amateur boxer from Long Island pluck up the courage to hit on Elle Macpherson? Joel’s answer? With a piano you don’t need to. Holidaying in the Caribbean, he found himself at a hotel where Macpherson, Brinkley and a yet-to-be-famous Whitney Houston were staying. “Whitney was a model then, and there was a photoshoot. I went to the piano in the bar and started to play As Time Goes By. I looked up and there were these three gorgeous women looking at me from the other side of the piano. I looked back down at the piano and just said: ‘Thank you!’

” If Joel evinces the Zen candour of a millionaire in retirement, then it’s not altogether surprising. It’s been 13 years since he abdicated the singer-songwriter mantle with River of Dreams. Since then, and mostly for his own pleasure, he composes the odd classical piece. With the exception of It’s a Good Life — an anniversary present in 2005 for his current wife, the food writer Katie Lee — he has written only one pop tune since 1993.

Once in a while he takes to the road and bashes out a set of his most well-loved songs. But, save for a live CD, entitled 12 Gardens, and another compilation (this time entitled Piano Man) there’s nothing new to promote.

Joel is visibly amused by the quandary in which this leaves his record company. When he first served notice of his withdrawal from the recording process, Columbia’s response was disbelief. “Actually, they thought I was just negotiating — and this was the start-off point.”

Since then, Joel’s profile has been kept high by a procession of compilations. “It’s ridiculous,” he says, “If it’s not The Ultimate Billy Joel, it’s The Essential Billy Joel or Really and Truly the Very Best of Billy Joel." The lion’s share of his disdain though, is reserved for My Lives, the 2005 box set that gathered together four CDs of outtakes spanning his entire career. “The idea as it was presented to me was: ‘OK, we’re going to take everything you left on the cutting room floor, we’re going to put it in a box and charge people 50 bucks.’

“It’s not like I had a choice — they own it all. I read in the liner notes that I personally ‘curated’ all this stuff, which is a crock of s***. I didn’t curate a single thing.”

If there’s no love lost between Joel and the music business, perhaps it’s not so surprising. By the time he scored his first hit with Piano Man in 1973 — the song inspired by his six-month stint playing a Los Angeles bar — he had already accrued first-hand experience of the industry’s shady underside. When he was 20 he famously signed away his publishing rights to the (now defunct) Family Records in order to record his 1971 debut album Cold Spring Harbor. By the time the record appeared, a mastering error meant that Joel appeared to be on helium for all ten songs.

All things considered, it’s little wonder that this was also the year he attempted to end his life. Unable to pay the rent, he was forced to take a job in a factory. His girlfriend had left him. It was, as he tells it, a Woody Allen kind of suicide — death by furniture polish. “What does furniture polish taste like? It tastes like s***. I looked in my closet and it was a straight choice between chlorine bleach and furniture polish. They both had a skull and crossbones on, so I that was promising. I thought, ‘Hmmm, which one will taste better?’ “Well, the polish said that it was lemon-scented, so I figured it had to be that one. I didn’t die, obviously. I just farted furniture polish.”

He says that checking himself into an observation centre directly afterwards “was probably one of the best things that could have happened to me, because I met people who had real problems”.

Though Joel got better, his cynicism never quite dissipated. One notable outtake on My Lives is Oyster Bay, a 1973 vignette about a rock star who yearns simply to escape his punishing schedule and go out fishing off the picturesque Long Island coastal town. Tellingly, the song was written when he had yet to score a hit single. Even when Piano Man finally arrived, Joel followed it with The Entertainer, which suggested that his ultimate fate was “to get put in the back at the discount rack/Like another can of beans”.

His outsider’s perspective has served him well, though. At the show later on, the bestreceived songs are Movin’ Out and Allentown, journalistic paeans to the travails of ordinary people. Unlike Bruce Springsteen, Joel sees no innate virtue in their workaday struggles. “What Bruce does,” he ponders, “is consciously write about a working-class guy. I don’t set out to write about any particular life. It’s just how it comes out.”

Except, of course, that it no longer comes out — a fact that seems to cause Joel no discernible heartbreak. Now clean for over a year and free of the album/tour cycle, he says his life is better than it has ever been. Following the success of Twyla Tharp’s Movin’ Out — the Broadway show based around his music — he has fielded further ideas for musicals. If he is to get involved, though, he says it has to come from within.

An idea for a possible book suggests that Joel has some distance to go before he moderates his thoughts on the industry that brought him to prominence. Entitled A Good Career Move, the plot is predicated, Joel says, on the record industry's belief that established rock stars are much more useful dead than alive. If he gets around to writing it, then he’ll come up with some songs to go with it.

Right now though, music is just one of a range of outlets available to Joel. In 1996, seeking to buy himself a yacht “that didn’t look like a penis extension”, he reawakened his childhood interest in technical drawing and took his design to a Long Island boatmaker, who made the craft. The ensuing interest in Shelter Island Runabout — a modern version of the yachts used by wealthy New Yorkers for commuting to Manhattan in the 1930s — prompted Joel to go into business. Since then he has sold 42 of them at $500,000 a throw.

Then there’s his motorcycle design company, which takes new Harley-Davidsons and “soups them up to look like 1946 Knuckleheads. But you know, these things don’t take up a whole lot of my time. I probably spend more time with my wife or walking my two pugs around Oyster Bay.”

So he really did end up in Oyster Bay? Just like the guy in the song? Joel shows momentary surprise, as though the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “I did. But let me tell you, that’s where the similarity ends. I’m always on my f***ing boat.”

Big back catalogue

Big back catalogue

London Free Press - Canada

As its title suggests, Billy Joel's 12 Gardens Live -- his second concert recording in six years -- was culled from a dozen sold-out shows at New York's ...

12 GARDENS LIVE

BILLY JOEL; COLUMBIA/SONY BMG

As its title suggests, Billy Joel's 12 Gardens Live -- his second concert recording in six years -- was culled from a dozen sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. Now, there are plenty of rockers who could sell out that many nights. But few besides Joel have a back catalogue so vast they could likely play the whole stint without repeating themselves. Fewer still have so many hits they could release a 152-minute double-live CD with 32 tracks and still leave off more than a dozen classics. So you won't find Just the Way You Are, Pressure, Uptown Girl, Honesty or Longest Time, to name a few. But you will find My Life, Allentown, Don't Ask Me Why, She's Always a Woman, We Didn't Start the Fire, Big Shot, You May Be Right, Piano Man, Only the Good Die Young and a hidden version of It's Still Rock & Roll to Me. In keeping with Joel's recent desire to showcase his work beyond his chart- toppers, you'll also find a generous portion of oldies and album cuts such as The Great Wall of China, Laura, Goodnight Saigon, Everybody Loves You Now, The Ballad of Billy the Kid and The Entertainer. And you'll hear them all serviceably reproduced by a reasonably enthusiastic Joel and a capable if unremarkable octet. You won't hear anything new, of course, since Joel turned his back on pop following 1993's River of Dreams.

Other rockers might be able to sell out a dozen nights at the Garden. But how many could do it 13 years after their last disc?

 

Dancer files second $100 million suit

Dancer files second $100 million suit
United Press International – USA

... In March, the 29-year-old dancer with the touring company for Billy Joel's "Movin'Out" show sued choreographer Twyla Tharp and producers who allegedly ...\See all stories on this topic

 

MIAMI, June 30 (UPI) -- Dancer Alice Alyse has filed a $100 million suit in Miami, saying New York Actors Equity failed to defend her against harassment because of her breasts.

 

The suit, the second $100 million claim she has filed in months, said the union did not protect her against bosses who harassed her because of her large breasts, the New York Post said.

 

She also claims she had been discriminated against for her national origin. Alyse's mother is from Nicaragua.

 

In March, the 29-year-old dancer with the touring company for Billy Joel's "Movin'Out" show sued choreographer Twyla Tharp and producers who allegedly criticized her breasts, which grew from C-cup to D-cup size, the New York Post said.

 

Alyse said she was humiliated, and even the costume designers were put out by having to alter her outfit to her changing proportions.

 

"Those (epithet) boobs are huge ... We hired you at a C, and now you're a D," she said the stage manager shouted, according to the Post.

 

Thursday's suit claimed the union had violated its grievance procedures by ignoring her, damaging her financially, emotionally and physically.

 

Joel was not named in either suit.