Billy Joel opens up about "bad blood" with Elton John

29 July 2025, 12:03

Billy Joel says he hit "rock bottom" after Elton John publicly discussed his supposed alcoholism.

Billy Joel has spoken up about his past feud with long-time tourmate Elton John.

The singer-songwriter revealed in the new documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes that he felt "clobbered" and at "rock bottom" after reading Elton's public comments about him.

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"Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed 'real' rehab," Billy said. "He chalked it up to, 'Oh, he’s a drunk'. And that really hurt me."

Billy added: "I said, 'Wait a minute – don't you know me better than that?'. And there was bad blood for a little while.

"There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time."

John had told Rolling Stone in 2011: "At the end of the day, he’s coasting. I always say, 'Billy, can't you write another song?'. It’s either fear or laziness. It upsets me.

Elton John and Billy Joel - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

"Billy’s a conundrum. We’ve had so many cancelled tours because of illnesses and various other things, alcoholism.

"He's going to hate me for this, but every time he goes to rehab they’ve been light. When I went to rehab, I had to clean the floors. He goes to rehab where they have TVs."

Elton added: "I love you, Billy, and this is tough love. Billy, you have your demons and you’re not going to get rid of them at rehab light.

"You've got to be serious. People adore you, they love you and respect you. You should be able to do something better than what you're doing now."

It was back in 1994 that Elton John and Billy Joel went on the road together on their first Face to Face tour, playing 21 shows in North America.

They reprised the tour several times in the years that follows, with a further 12 North American shows in 1995, 28 shows in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe in 1998 and yet more legs in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010.

"We'll probably pick it up again. It's always fun playing with him," Joel initially said to Rolling Stone.

But he later told The Gainesville Sun in 2012 that John's supposed insistence that they play the same setlist "got to be a little confining", adding: "I don't think we'll do it anymore."

Bennie and the Jets Medley (Elton John Tribute) - Billy Joel - 2004 Kennedy Center Honors

Billy told The Los Angeles Times in 2023: "I did very much enjoy touring with Elton John. It was like I joined something.

"As a solo artist, it's always me, me, me — gets kind of boring. But when I hooked up with Elton, I got to play his material, which was a hell of a lot of fun. I miss that."

In the same interview, he added of his issues with alcohol: "I stopped a couple of years ago. It wasn't a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I'd had enough.

"I didn't enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed."

Joel was recently forced to postpone a pair of massive UK live shows for a full year after being diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

"It's not fixed, it's still being worked on," Billy said of his condition. "I feel good. They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder. It sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling."