The "Piano Man" is coming to Maui.

Superstar Billy Joel will play the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's A&B Amphitheater at 7:00pm on December 18th, 2006.

Art Vento, the center's executive vice president and general manager, was elated at the announcement.

Recalling the sell-out appearance by The Eagles at the MACC last December, he said, "With all the success and enjoyment of the Eagles, everybody's been asking when is the next megastar coming? We've been working for a year to procure the next megastar."

Joel, the third-most-popular musical artist touring now, fits that bill.

The award-winning Billy Joel musical Movin' Out - conceived, directed and choreographed by "The Times They Are A-Changin'" creator Twyla Tharp - will air on PBS stations in 2007, as part of the acclaimed "Great Performances" series.

According to WNET/Thirteen's "Great Performances" 2006-2007 season brochure, the musical - which played 1,303 performances at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre - will air on PBS some time in winter/spring 2007.

It probably wasn't what most people were expecting: a large, unkempt roadie, charging up and down the stage in black shorts and sleeveless T-Shirt, belting out AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" with headbanging relish.

Welcome to Billy Joel's maiden night out in Cape Town, South Africa…

The roadie in question was a huge man named "Chainsaw," and inserting him into the evening's performance for an impromptu solo was just the kind of quirk that Joel revels in. And it wasn’t a bad addition - "Chainsaw" has a fair set of lungs on him - but the show was firmly stolen by Mr. Joel himself, who might just have produced the finest evening out that the Bellville Velodrome has seen yet.

The night before, Live had put on an outstanding performance; with apologies to Ed and the boys, Joel was something else entirely. Grinning his way through the night, and lapping up an exuberant crowd, he wound his way through a string of hit singles, from "Honesty," "Zanzibar," and jazzy Big Apple anthem "New York State of Mind," to "The Entertainer," the gospel-tinged "The River of Dreams," and "We Didn't Start The Fire," which was almost drowned out by the crowd singing along.

But it wasn"t simply the music that makes Joel such a fantastic entertainer. The wry sense of humour ("I wrote this song for my first ex-wife…"), the playful delight in being on stage, the laidback presence - a Billy Joel concert isn't so much a night at a stadium with a superstar, as it is an evening round the piano with an old mate, which is no mean feat on Joel's part in a packed stadium.

And playing off that intimacy is Joel's habit of darting off into new songs at a moment's notice, throwing out a couple of bars to gauge crowd response, and then heading off to another song, another album. Playing in Joel's band must be a nightmare… But it's also clearly great fun, with Crystal Taliefero, Mark Rivera, and Richie Cannata superb in tandem on saxophones, broad smiles in between some outstanding solo efforts.

Joel spent most of the evening at his grand piano, but wandered around the stage from time to time, juggling his microphone stand with glee (who knew Joel had always dreamt of being a drum majorette?). He was back at the ivories for his finale after leaving the stage to howls of protest, and the final number was only ever going to be one song: the iconic "Piano Man."

And on an unforgettable night, the finale produced a spine-tingling moment - several verses in, Joel and his band stopped playing completely on cue, and listened as the crowd belted out the chorus as one hugely belligerent choir, house lights up to reveal a massed Billy Joel karaoke night. Perfect moment, perfect finish, perfect night - it's taken Joel a while to get to South Africa, but in one magical evening he made the wait more than worthwhile.

And unless I'm very much mistaken, the American superstar and his band will be back - with a large, metal-loving roadie called "Chainsaw" in tow. I can't wait.

The rock world's most famous "Piano Man" showed Perth last night that he's much, much more than just a guy who occasionally tinkles the ivories.

And he left 16,000 jubilant fans at the Burswood Dome convinced that he's also much, much more than just an entertainer.

From the moment Billy Joel appeared under flashes of white light that lit up the dome like a mirror ball he was the consummate professional who has earned every bit of his status as a superstar.

Wearing the ageing rocker's uniform of grey blazer and jeans he launched into "Prelude/Angry Young Man" and warmth immediately began filtering through the auditorium.

Respect, admiration and sheer joy at being in the audience was the general feeling among those who had forked out hundreds to hear this winner of six grammys who has sold over 100 million albums.

The crowd began singing with him on the opening bars of "My Life" and didn't stop 'til he finally came good with "Piano Man" at the end, leaving them all still in the mood for a melody as they went off into the night.

This New Yorker might be balding and he might refer to himself as a dinosaur but - on the first stopover in his first Australian tour in eight years - he still knows how to enrapture a crowd. And his voice, despite years of alcohol abuse and stints in rehab, seems - ironically, now that he's a teetotaller - just to improve like a good wine. That's perhaps largely due to his great backup band who he made special mention of throughout.

In a non-stop two hour performance which - in perfect sequencing - oscillated between boppy and urgent and haunting and mellow, he delivered exactly what the crowd wanted, complete with Elvis and Robert Plant impersonations and an impressive amount of microphone stand waving.

There were the upbeat - "My Life," "The River of Dreams," "Uptown Girl," "We Didn't Start The Fire," and "Only The Good Die Young."

Then there were the slowies which have earned him such accord as a songwriter, culminating in the showstopping "She's Always A Woman."

Billy Joel is part of my DNA. He was all over commercial radio in the '80s like a rash and, as if that wasn't enough, my parents would load the car stereo with his cassettes during our annual odysseys across the Nullarbor to visit the relations in Victoria.

Like one-day cricket and chainstore pizza, the "Piano Man" was a constant and only occasionally satisfying element of my existence. To this day, if "Only The Good Die Young" (a good song) or "Uptown Girl" (bad) or "The River of Dreams" (bloody ugly) come on the radio, I'll sing along, no matter what diminishing effect it has on my social standing.

That's my excuse for being among the 15,000-plus embracing Joel's mainstream rock as he kicked off his first Australian tour in eight years at the Dome on Tuesday evening. I had no choice. Anyway, as Billy would sing when he was kid, it's my life.

There's not much excavating required to unearth why so many people dig the 57 year-old entertainer. Three weddings, two divorces, an unhealthy attraction to the bottle and an unwavering allegiance to his home town mean many fans have at least one or two things in common with this unlikely rock star.

That latter factor, the "New York State of Mind," was on show on Tuesday as Joel rocked out with his seven-piece band, almost all seemingly drawn from his old gang of greasers from "New York State of Mind." “How you'se doin’?” Joel inquired in a Bronx drawl after belting through "Prelude/Angry Young Man" and using classical staple "Ode To Joy" as a segue into "My Life." It was about 30 years since the Grammy winner's first Australian visit and he was totally unabashed about the changes time had wrought. "It's not about less hair," he chuckled. "It's about getting more head."

Highlights early in the set included the most obscure song of the night, 1971's "Everybody Loves You Now," "Allentown" (with locomotive sound effects), and his other theme, "New York State of Mind." A part of the stage revolved so that Joel, as he sat at the grand piano, never had his back to a section of the audience for too long.

Baldness may have won out but his vocal cords were in robust health and fingers in nimble form. Joel had to stretch for the higher and longer notes of "An Innocent Man," which was introduced with a short medley of soul classics "Spanish Harlem," "Under The Boardwalk," and "Stand By Me."

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" had fans up for a boogie and the star got up on his feet for "I Go To Extremes" - and then used one of them to play the final notes of the late-career hit.

As if we doubted his working-class credentials, Joel invited guitar roadie "Chainsaw" on stage to roar his way through a passable cover of "Highway To Hell." This AC/DC favorite, with the pianist backing on rhythm guitar, earned the first standing ovation.

Joel kept the guitar strapped on to run through "We Didn't Start The Fire" - the US history-sampling hit that could surely use a Bush-era revise or additional verse or three. Maybe not; after all, this is Billy Joel, not Steve Earle or Neil Young.

This tour of duty is about being loud and proud rather than returning to the ballads, so the likes of "Honesty" and "Just The Way You Are" stayed in the locker. The bombastic "Big Shot" saw Joel don a baseball cap and pull some unconvincing hip-hop moves while "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" - the song that tried to bounce punk's sneer straight back at 'em - ended in a brief jetlag-induced Elvis jam.

A rocked-up "Uptown Girl" and feisty "You May Be Right" ended the lengthy main 20-song set. Joel wasted little time before returning with "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," a showcase of his quicksilver pop piano skills. One of his few guiltless pleasures in the witty "Only The Good Die Young" followed, before Joel strapped on the harmonica for his signature tune.

Luckily, most of us were too busy singing along to be bothered that the harmonica was out of tune or Joel was finally out of breath. Still "Piano Man," which he introduced via "Waltzing Matilda" (another duet with the crowd), summed up this story of a big city battler who hit paydirt and didn't look back.

Right then, there was probably another struggling "Piano Man" playing across the road from the Dome in one of the casino's many bars, dreaming of commercial radio omnipotence and hoping for bread in his jar.

Billy Joel has never forgotten that Australia helped launch his career.

Billy Joel may have retired from composing rock music, but his performing of it continues to flourish.

Joel, on his first Australian solo tour in 12 years, sold-out last night's first Melbourne, Australia show. Tomorrow night's is also a sell-out.

In the US his current tour has out-sold those of U2 and Madonna.

Joel, 57, "retired" from rock music with the 1993 album "River of Dreams," before moving into classical music.

You know hell really has frozen over when you go to a Billy Joel concert and don't get "Just The Way You Are" but do get AC/DC's "Highway To Hell."

Special mention goes to roadie "Chainsaw" who handled lead vocals for the Oz Rock Classic, giving Joel the space to strap on a guitar and get a bit of 'Rock God' action happening. Maybe the Acca Dacca addition wasn't all that much of a stretch. After all, Joel's current band features Adelaide born Andy Cichon who at one time also played in Rose Tattoo.

The surprising factor of the Joel show was just how damn funny the guy is. In referring to his bald head, his best line of the night was "it's really not about having less hair, it's about getting more head".

He thanked the people in the "cheap seats". "Thanks for buying the cheap seats because all of our kids have to go to college".

There was no fancy set, no big screens…in fact as Joel put it "that's it. The Piano turns around. Big fucking deal".

Having no new material in 13 years meant that the setlist was kept to pure gold. Early in the show he played "Everybody Loves You Know" from 1971 and "The Entertainer" from 1974. "I'm getting all of the shitty albums out of the way first," he joked.

The set-list for this tour is pretty much set in concrete, although he did replace the pre-programmed "The Great Wall of China" with "The Downeaster Alexa" halfway through the show and move "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" to the encore.

It didn't matter to the audience though. They knew and loved every song. Surprisingly, it was "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" that first had them jumping out of their seats.

The show covered the entire Joel career with the exception of any material from his 1986 album "The Bridge."

What a difference a year makes.

In 2005, if you heard that Billy Joel's number was up, you'd probably think his career was in the toilet after his auto accidents, his over-drinking, subsequent rehab and his teetering romantic relationship.

It wasn't a good year for the "Piano Man."

Then the calendar flipped to 2006, and Joel was happily married, clean and sober, and keeping his car away from trees.

And his number was literally up at Madison Square Garden on April 24th, 2006, one of the most memorable moments for both the man and the famed arena - and celebrated this week on MSG Networks "50 Greatest Moments."

Joel played the last of a dozen sold-out shows that night, breaking Bruce Springsteen's long-standing record for 10 concerts in a series at Madison Square Garden. And that gave him the honor of having the only retired number by a nonathlete in the hall's 125-year history.

That performance started like the 11 previous gigs, opening with the demanding song "Prelude/Angry Young Man," but at mid-concert the music stopped and Billy stepped away from his piano under a shower of balloons and flash-lighting fanfare. With as much pomp as a rock show allowed, the Garden then hoisted a banner with Joel's name and the number "12" on it to the rafters.

It was clear that Billy was emotionally drained by the honor.

Between the thunderous standing ovation and seeing his name join the likes of "Ewing 33," "Bradley 24" and "Messier 11," he was at a loss for words. He just stood in the spotlight, soaking up the moment. There was no "thank you" speech, instead he slowly walked back to his Steinway to belt out "Everybody Loves You Now," a song that fit the moment perfectly.

At that 12th-night performance, Joel expressed his thanks to the Garden with a hit-filled performance that was nearly three hours long. Knowing that the Madison Square Garden run was nearly over, he confided to the house: "We're gonna do as many songs as we can tonight, because I don't have anything to do tomorrow."

But, in fact, he did. Soon, Joel headed to the studio to compile the double album "12 Gardens Live," one of the great live records that captured the excitement of his historic Garden party.

According to his promoter, Frontier Touring, Billy Joel has sold more tickets for shows in the past 12 months than any other artist, including U2.

That's a testament to the buying power of nostalgia and to the enduring appeal of Joel's biggest hits - most of which were written between 35 and 15 years ago. Either way, it's not a bad effort for a 57 year-old piano man from New York.

The key motifs of Joel's career remain: the grand piano, which rose out of the stage and executed 180-degree spins; and New York, a recurring character in many of his best songs.

But his seven-piece band, with horns, percussion and banks of cheesy-sounding synths, came close to shifting the whole thing to Vegas-style, golden oldies territory.

It was rescued from cornball by Joel's casually hammy stage banter, with jokes often at his expense. "Hi, I'm Billy's dad," he said, telling the crowd up the back that he is in fact tall and slender with long flowing hair.

Joel is none of those things, but he is a well-seasoned entertainer, with a gift for writing songs that push all the crowd-pleasing buttons.

The first half of the set suffered from a slight excess of filler, and perhaps too many ballads - hardly anybody goes to see Joel play "Zanzibar," do they? Nor the rather awful synth-rock of "Pressure." But the peppering of classics - "My Life," "New York State of Mind" - kept the momentum from flagging.

The piano's descent into the stage signalled a major shift in gears. Joel solemnly introduced his portly roadie "Chainsaw", who was to sing "a religious song". It was AC/DC's "Highway To Hell," with Joel on rhythm guitar.

After that, the audience in his hands, a sweating but energetic Joel paced the stage, flinging a mic stand like a baton twirler. Then it was hits and memories: "An Innocent Man," "Big Shot," "She's Always A Woman," "We Didn't Start The Fire," and "You May Be Right."

Joel delivered the 1983 classic "Uptown Girl" in the encore, and tabled his trump card in the inevitable finale of "Piano Man," which he's been playing for 33 years. Some songs don't age: the crowd almost drowned him out singing along.

Billy Joel is alone on stage, and as he takes one step to the right, 15,000 people are going nuts.

When he looks the other way and takes a step left – away from the piano – the audience also changes direction and the cheers turn to (good-humoured) boos.

Joel, who would be the first to admit he's no Bono in the charisma department, is enjoying this game.

Or enjoying it as much as a 57 year-old guy can enjoy anything after running the equivalent of a performer's marathon under blazing lights for 2½ hours and 24 songs.

Step right. Yeeeeahhhh! Step left. Boooooooo! He's playing them like a conductor. Yea! Boo! Yeaboo! Yeaboo!

Correction.

If 15,000 people were going nuts before, that's nothing compared with the sound they make when he actually plonks himself down on the piano stool at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia and straps on the harmonica stand – everyone in this building knows and tens of millions like them around the world know exactly what that means – and plays those jazzy opening chords to you-know-what.

It's been eight years since Joel has played Australia on the outdoor stadium tour with Elton John, 12 since his last stadium tour, 13 since his last album of original pop songs – an eternity in the music business – but the absence has only made his audience hungrier to hear Joel and his stories again.

In the afternoon before the show, down on the floor of the arena, he faces a media scrum and the questions he's probably answered a thousand times before.

That same likeable, knockabout persona – he looks more like the guy with the pencil behind his ear who might serve at the hardware shop than a rock star – bubbles through.

Singer/songwriter Billy Joel has slammed reports he refused permission for one of his songs to be used on a BBC charity appeal.

The "Piano Man" hitmaker insists he knew nothing about the request for Scottish newsreader Jackie Bird to perform a version of his song "We Didn't Start The Fire" on last Friday's telecast for "Children In Need," and therefore couldn't have said, "No."

He also resents the fact the BBC have made him look like "a jerk" for publicizing the mistaken information.

He fumes, "I didn't know anything about it, but there's a couple of questions I have.

Pop legend Billy Joel yesterday denied snubbing the BBC's "Children In Need" appeal.

The star, whose hits include "An Innocent Man" and "Uptown Girl," said he had never been approached for permission to use one of his songs on the show.

And he complained that the BBC going public with the snub claim had made him look "a jerk".

Joel, 57, said he was shocked to read claims he blocked newsreader Jackie Bird's request to use her rewritten version of his song "We Didn't Start The Fire."

It was to be sung by Jackie's Reporting Scotland colleagues on last Friday's "Children In Need" show - whose mascot is Pudsey Bear.

She rewrote the lyrics to the song, which outlines 40 years of American history, to reflect 2000 years of Scottish history.

Yesterday, Joel spoke to the Record from Australia, where he is in the middle of a sell-out tour, to say no one had approached him for permission.

The six-time Grammy Award-winning singer said he would have approved the request. And he wants to find out who turned it down.

He said: "I didn't know anything about it but there's a couple of questions I have.

The legendary entertainer Billy Joel will perform a series of North American concert dates in February 2007 and March 2007. Tickets for all dates will go on sale Saturday - December 2nd, 2006 at 10:00am [EST].

Currently in the midst of a concert tour of Australia, Japan, and Hawaii, Billy Joel continues breaking sales and attendance records around the world. "No American artist has performed to more Australians than Joel," wrote Australia's The Age (TheAge.com.au), "and over the next few weeks he will perform before another 100,000 people around the country." A review of Billy's concert at the Acer Arena in Sydney led with the observation that "According to his promoter, Frontier Touring, Billy Joel has sold more tickets for shows in the past 12 months than any other artist, including U2."

In April 2006, Billy Joel broke the Madison Square Garden record for the longest sequence of sold-out shows by a single artist. At the twelfth show of his sold-out run, Madison Square Garden celebrated the event in true New York style, raising a banner to the venue's rafters emblazoned with "12," the number of Billy's consecutive SRO performances. As Billy's banner joined the ranks of the Rangers and the Knicks, the Bronx-born, Long Island-raised show business icon became the first non-athlete ever to be honored with a "retired" number on the rafters of the Garden.

In June 2006, Columbia Records released "12 Gardens Live," a 2-CD collection of the hottest performances culled from Billy Joel's record-breaking 12 sold-out concert run at Madison Square Garden. Produced by Billy Joel and Grammy-winning "Producer of The Year" Steve Lillywhite, "12 Gardens Live" has been heralded by AllMusic.com as "... an unexpectedly compelling and entertaining listen...his most enjoyable album in 20 years."

Billy Joel's concerts are filled with greatest hits, personal favorites, musical surprises and more, never failing to prove why Billy Joel's music endures through the decades, becoming ever more popular and vital with time. Having sold more than 100 million records over the past quarter century, Billy Joel ranks as one of most popular recording artists and respected entertainers in the world.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday (December 2nd, 2006) for a run of Billy Joel dates in the Southern US in February and March. Joel will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida on February 4th, 2007, and the tour starts February 7th, 2007 at the Jacksonville (Florida) Arena.

Also on the route are the TD Waterhouse Arena in Orlando, Florida (February 10th, 2007), American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida (February 12th, 2007), Colonial Center in Columbia, South Carolina (February 14th, 2007), the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina (February 17th, 2007), the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee (February 21st, 2007), JPJ Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia (February 23rd, 2007), and the Birmingham (Alabama) Jefferson Civic Center (February 26th, 2007).

In March, Joel will play Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia (March 1st, 2007), RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina (March 3rd, 2007), and the New Orleans Arena (March 6th, 2007).

Joel has just concluded a sold-out tour of Australia and begins a six-city dome tour in Japan this week. The "Piano Man" returned to the road as a solo headliner in 2006 for the first time since 1998, grossing $50 million from 37 shows, including a record-setting run of 12 sell-outs at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Joel is booked by Dennis Arfa at Artists Group International.

Billy Joel just wrapped up a sold-out Australian Tour, his six-city tour of Japan begins today, and now he's rolled out dates for the US in 2007.

Joel's swing through the South starts February 7th, 2007 in Jacksonville, Florida. So far, there are nine concerts on the itinerary. It looks like he's going to do a high-profile tour warm-up by singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida on February 4th, 2007.

The new dates are just another leg of a phenomenal tour for Joel. In January of this year, he launched a worldwide tour through North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Japan.

The trek broke house records along the way, including a record 22nd lifetime appearances at the Hartford (Connecticut) Civic Center and a full 12 nights at New York City's Madison Square Garden. A 32-track live album was compiled from the New York City shows and released in June 2006 as "12 Gardens Live."

Prior to this year's tour, Joel had not toured as a solo act since 1999, focusing instead on a number of co-headlining collaborative outings with Elton John.