Billy Joel's tragic past - car crashes, addiction battle and suicide attempt
Billy Joel, affectionately known as the Piano Man, has been a beacon in the music world for more than 20 years, selling millions of records and mesmerising listeners far and wide. Yet despite his monumental success, the famed rocker has grappled with numerous personal tragedies.
The 76-year-old, who hails from The Bronx, New York, paved the way for music during the 1970s and 80s, becoming one of the most successful artists with hits like Uptown Girl, Piano Man, and We Didn't Start the Fire. Offering the chance to look back on his best performances and moments over the years, 'Billy Joel at the BBC ' will air tonight at 8.40pm, honouring the talented musician.
But away from fame and success, Billy has been involved in several car crashes, confronted addiction demons, endured mental health issues, and eventually decided to step back from songwriting.
When reflecting on what he cherishes most about his journey, Joel once remarked: "My ability to move on with life. I've had difficulties in my life, but it never stopped me from continuing."
He added: "Troubles with business didn't stop me from doing business. I have no bitterness about anything, even people who rip me off, I let it go. I'm content with that I'm happy. I'm having a happy ending."
The legendary 'Vienna' singer hasn't had an easy ride, literally – he's encountered alarmingly frequent mishaps behind the wheel, causing concern among his supporters over the years. Joel found himself embroiled in three separate motoring incidents in the early 2000s.
His most recent scrape occurred in 2004, when he accidentally propelled his vehicle into a house in Long Island. Thankfully, there were no other victims, and the star emerged with nothing worse than a nick on his finger.
In January 2003, Joel had a car crash in Sag Harbor, driving his Mercedes -Benz into a tree and sustaining minor head injuries, with paramedics whisking him off to hospital. Fast forward to June 2004, and the singer was involved in another prang in East Hampton, this time hitting a fire hydrant and post, again suffering minor injuries and declining medical help.
Opening up about his battles with alcoholism, Joel admitted that his substance abuse issues, particularly with alcohol, were an obstacle to achieving his full potential. In a candid chat with Parade.com, he confessed: "If I couldn't be as good as I wanted to be, I'd just drown it with booze. I know I've got a reputation that I'm this depressed guy. I'm not - I'm a happy guy. I was in rehab twice."
He remarked: "It was one of the best things I ever did."
Joel also revealed to Howard Stern his forays into drug experimentation, noting that heroin was the drug that frightened him the most due to its addictive nature. This fear, he explained, fuelled the creation of his track Scandinavian Skies.
The artist opened up about his mental health battles, including a suicide attempt detailed in his autobiography, which occurred during career struggles in his 20s. Despite the hurdles, Joel emerged as a musical legend, boasting 13 studio albums and an impressive repertoire of over 121 songs that resonated through generations.
Yet, the hitmaker confided to the LA Times that he hung up his hat on creating new tunes, finding the process "excruciating". Joel elaborated: "I didn't have the same motivation anymore. You need inspiration to create good new music, and if you don't have it, don't bother. Get off the treadmill, for Christ's sake."
Then last month, the iconic singer cancelled his gigs after he was diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) - a condition that leads to fluid accumulation in the brain. In a social media update, Billy explained to fans that it causes issues with hearing, vision and balance.
In a further update this week, his close friend and radio host Howard Stern, 71, revealed that the Piano Man singer is "doing fine" as he relayed a message from the star. Speaking on his Sirius XM show, The Howard Stern Show, Howard said: "He does have issues, but he said, 'Yeah, you can tell people, I'm not dying'. He wants people to know that."
Howard and Joel recently enjoyed a dinner together a few weeks before, and the radio presenter said: "He's got to deal with some medical stuff, but he was delightful." He added to co-host Robin Quivers that he had a "great conversation" with Billy and that the singer "brought out a guitar" while celebrating Billy's birthday in early May.
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Shortly after, John posted in a statement: "Although I haven't heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay - I am seeing and reading that I've been 'sacked' from MasterChef and I repeat that I have no recollection of what I'm accused of. The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong. "I'd hoped that I'd have some say in my exit from a show I've worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in last few days seem to have prevented that. Over the past few months, I have been considering my life and the shape of it now and in the future. "Celebrity MasterChef, which I recently filmed with Grace Dent along with two fantastic Christmas specials will be my last. Personally, I have loved every minute working on MasterChef, but it's time to pass the cutlery to someone else. For whoever takes over, love it as I have. "I will watch fondly from afar as I now focus on the many other exciting projects that I have been working towards. My tummy will be grateful for a rest after 20 years of eating, but what a joy it has been. Life is everchanging and ever moving & sometimes personal happiness and fulfilment lay elsewhere. Thank you for the many years of MasterChef." As previously reported, production company Banijay said: "The legal team at Lewis Silkin that investigated the allegations relating to Gregg Wallace also substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018. This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint. Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef." Prior to the news of his departure, John had confirmed that he was the subject of an upheld complaint. He said: "For the sake of transparency I confirm that I am the individual who is alleged to have used racial language on one occasion. "The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards. "I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I've always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment. I'm shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence."
