Further, "The neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it's like you're getting a concussion," Joel shared in a new interview.
Billy Joel at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. Gilbert Flores/Billboard
Billy Joel is saying goodbye to his motorcycle collection as he continues to navigate his normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnosis.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Thursday (Oct. 15), the New York native opened up about selling his bikes while giving a rare health update. He’s still unsure of whether he’s able to perform onstage, revealing, “I have to take a series of tests before I know.”
“I can’t drive right now,” he continued. “I’m not allowed to drive. And I can’t do performances because what the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion.”
Joel attributed the dangers of performing to “the volume” playing rock concerts requires. “Rock ‘n’ roll is loud, man,” he told the publication. “Rock ‘n’ roll made me deaf already. So it’s the lighting, the sound, the stress of the show, the audience, the energy of the performance. There’s a lot going on when you’re on stage. And they said, “Well, you really shouldn’t be doing that right now.’ So they have to test me further to see if I can go back and do performing again, which I would like to be able to do.”
The Piano Man first announced that he had normal pressure hydrocephalus in spring 2025, canceling his previously scheduled 2025-2026 tour. According to the Cleveland Clinic, NPH is a brain disorder that happens when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain, affecting “several brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more.”
“It sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling,” Joel assured fans in an interview on Bill Maher’s Club Random Podcast in July last year.
In addition to performing, the disorder has also kept him from riding his many motorcycles. (He told THR that he has amassed more than a hundred over the years.) There’s also the fact that Joel turned 77 this year.
“I’m into my 70s now, and I realized I can’t ride as much as I used to,” he explained. “I don’t want to die like a bug on a windshield.”
The bikes will go on sale at Gooding Christie’s Rétromobile auction on Nov. 20-21 at the Javits Center in New York.
