Billy Joel has revealed the reason behind the ‘bad blood’ between him and Sir Elton John, stemming from comments the Rocket Man made about his struggle with alcoholism. The 76-year-old Piano Man spoke about the feud in his documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which aired its second part on Friday.
The pair had toured together on the Face to Face tour, which began in 1994. However, Sir Elton addressed several concert cancellations in an interview with Rolling Stone, suggesting Joel needed ‘real rehab’. Joel recalled being ‘really hurt’ by the comment, saying: ‘He chalked it up to, “Oh, he’s a drunk.” And that really hurt me.’
Joel was battling alcoholism at the time, which he has previously said destroyed his marriage to Christie Brinkley. The couple divorced around the start of the Face to Face tour. Joel described feeling ‘clobbered’ by the remarks and said there was ‘bad blood for a little while’.
He hit rock bottom afterwards and wrote a letter to his band saying he wanted to stop. In 2005, he entered the Betty Ford Clinic at the insistence of his then-wife Katie Lee. The Face to Face tour resumed in the 2000s, ending in 2010.
Joel recently confirmed he has completely given up alcohol. He blamed his drinking for his diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which forced him to cancel concerts this month. He and Sir Elton reconciled on stage at the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2013, when Sir Elton said: ‘Mr. Joel, I haven’t seen you tonight, but I love you dearly.’ Joel responded: ‘Is Elton still here? By the way, we’re ok. Call me, it’s the same phone number.’
