Chart-topping music legend confirms shock comeback – 17 years since his last single

IT has been 17 long years since the Piano Man himself released his last single.

But Billy Joel has announced a shock comeback and will return with a new song next week, hinting it could be part of a brand new album.

Billy has revealed the track, called Turn The Lights Back On, will be released on Thursday February 1, and it appears to address his uncertainty over his return to making music.

On the tune, he questions: “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?”

During his heyday he had massive hits like Uptown Girl, Vienna and We Didn’t Start The Fire, and has continued to regularly perform - including a stellar headline set at BST Hyde Park last summer which I was lucky enough to watch.

But it is a major sea change for Billy, who is one of the most influential artists of all time and has sold over 160million albums, as he previously ruled out ever making music again.

His final album called Fantasies & Delusions was a collection of classical recordings released in 2001 and before that he hadn’t released an album since 1993’s River Of Dreams.

Speaking in 2014, he said: “Some people think it’s because I’m lazy or I’m just being contrary.

“But, no, I think it’s just - I’ve had my say. If I put out an album now, it would probably sell pretty well, because of who I am, but that’s no reason to do it. I’d want it to be good.

“I’ve seen artists on that treadmill, putting out albums year after year, and the albums get worse and worse, less and less interesting, and it’s, like, ‘Maybe you should stop.”

His last single, All My Life, was released as a promotional track on Valentine’s Day in 2007 for his then-wife Katie Lee.

Before that, he hadn’t released his own solo single since 1994’s Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel).

More recently, he has had a resurgence with Gen Z after Olivia Rodrigo sang about his track Uptown Girl on her 2021 hit Deja Vu.

With this new song, I’m sure he will be winning over a whole new generation - as well as pleasing us original fans.