Just a little over three weeks after celebrating his 70th birthday at Madison Square Garden with help from surprise guest Peter Frampton, Billy Joel returned to the New York arena on Sunday evening and brought Def Leppards Joe Elliott along for the ride. He came out onto the stage right after Shes Always a Woman to sing his 1987 classic Pour Some Sugar on Me. Check out video of the moment right here. They previously did the song at Bostons Fenway Park in August 2018.
Joe Elliott is the latest in a very long line of guests that have played with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden since he began his monthly residency there in 2014. Previous guest have included Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Miley Cyrus, John Fogerty, Sting, John Mayer, Tony Bennett and John Mellencamp. Thats whats good about playing in New York City, Joel told Rolling Stone last month. Somebodys always in town while youre in town and if they ask, Can we come to the show? I say, Yeah bring your ax. If they dont want to, they dont have to, but theyre always invited.
Joel is the first artist to ever play a monthly residency at a venue as large as Madison Square Garden. Every show is a virtual sell-out and in the summer he goes out and plays stadiums all over America. Earlier this year, he became the first musician to get a stadium residency when he signed a deal with Philadelphias Citizens Bank Park to play there every year. He later signed a similar deal with Fenway Park.
I dont know if Id go see me in a stadium, but a lot of people do, he told Rolling Stone last month. Ill be sitting in the stadium looking out at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 people, thinking, What the hell are they all doing here? Why now? I guess, in a way, Im an anachronism. There arent that many of me left. Theres a rarity to it, which gives it value.