October 26, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
BILLY Joel might not play his hit song Uptown Girl at his Johannesburg concerts, but with songs from 15 albums and about 50 number one hits to choose from, that shouldn't be an issue for fans.
Speaking candidly to the media at a press conference ahead of his first concert in Johannesburg, this evening, Joel said
Uptown Girl became famous by chance and he would only do justice to it if he was still in his prime.
"That song is very difficult to sing. It's got to be done in that tone that takes a lot of energy out of you, and if I do it I might not be able to perform the rest of the show," he said jokingly.
He has, however, promised to play
Piano Man, the stirring song he wrote about his days as a piano player at a bar in Los Angeles and his claim to fame.
"Don't think you're going to hear me play the guitar. I'm terrible at the guitar," he said when asked whether he would be playing the instrument for his performance of
We didn't start the fire. "That's why they call me the Piano Man," he added.
Some of his other hits to expect are
Tell her about it,
River of dreams and
New York state of mind.
Having sold more than 100 million records over the past three decades, Joel ranks as one of the most popular recording artists and respected entertainers in the world. His current world tour has sold out every night in every city he has played in, and he also recently set a world record for selling out New York's Madison Square Gardens for 12 consecutive nights, beating Bruce Springsteen's 10 nights.
"I am looking forward to a receptive audience and just an evening of great musical entertainment," Joel concluded.
His second concert takes place on Saturday, 29 October. Both concerts are at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate. Tickets are priced from R250 and are available from Computicket on 083 915 800, on the
Computicket website, and from all Computicket outlets nationwide.
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