Billy Joel fans couldn’t help but notice the “Piano Man” returned from the lockdown looking extremely svelte — and undoubtedly the leanest he’d been in the past two decades.
While promoting his upcoming shows Down Under, Billy appeared on Australia’s 60 Minutes and revealed how he shaved off a whopping 50 lbs., joking: [“Anyone who needs to go on a diet should have back surgery. I highly recommend it. I had to have hip replacement, too. My hips were shot and the pain makes you stoic. It also makes you lose your appetite — but it’s a good way to lose weight. Now, over this pandemic, a lot of people I know gained weight because they were doin’ nothin’ but sittin’ around at home and packin’ it in. And I. . . (laughs) So I say, ‘Well, I see you’ve found what I’ve lost.'”] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . what I’ve lost)
- Billy Joel tour dates (subject to change):
August 11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Concert At PNC Park
August 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
September 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
September 23 – Houston, TX – Minute Maid Park
October 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
November 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
December 3 – Auckland, New Zealand – Eden Park
December 10 – Melbourne, Australia – Melbourne Cricket Ground
TL; DR
- Billy Joel appeared on Australia’s 60 Minutes and attributed back and hip surgery for his 50 lbs. weight loss.
SIDE NOTES
- Out now is a Billy Joel 50th anniversary streaming collection featuring a half-dozen rarities.
- The new 50-track, 50 Years Of The Piano Man, not only includes the rare 1980 single version of Glass Houses‘ “Sometimes A Fantasy” — but a 1994 Boston Gardens take of River Of Dreams‘ “All About Soul.”
- The main draw are the four tracks recorded on December 5th, 1976 at New London, Connecticut’s Palmer Auditorium, which were recorded and videotaped by CBS Records as a promotional concert named, Tonight.
- The ’76 tracks are: “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid,” “Summer, Highland Falls,” “New York State Of Mind,” and “Souvenir.”