Billy Joel is opening up for the first time about his health after revealing he had been diagnosed with a brain disorder that forced him to cancel all of his upcoming concerts.
“I feel fine,” the singer told Bill Maher during his recent appearance on Maher’s Club Random podcast. He added, “My balance sucks. It’s like being on a boat.”
In May, Joel canceled the remainder of his tour — 17 dates that were to take him through stadiums in North America and England — after receiving a diagnosis for normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). The brain disorder is caused by the accumulation of excessive cerebrospinal fluid in the brain’s ventricles, leading to a range of cognitive and physical problems, particularly issues with gait, coordination, and bladder control.
The disorder “can affect several brain-related abilities, including thinking and concentrating, memory, movement and more,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “The symptoms of NPH look very much like those of dementia, but NPH is sometimes reversible.”
While Joel told Maher that his condition is not yet “fixed,” he said, “it’s being worked on.”
Joel explained that the disorder “used to be called water on the brain. Now it’s called hydrocephalus — normal pressure hydrocephalus.” When asked what causes the disorder, Joel said, “Nobody knows.”
The musician’s last concert on this tour run took place on Feb. 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Toward the end of the show, he fell on his back after throwing his microphone stand at a crew member. But he stood back up and finished the set.
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In March, Joel revealed he was taking a four-month break from the road due to a “medical condition” that required surgery and physical therapy. He planned on returning to the stage on July 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “While I regret postponing any shows, my health must come first,” he told fans in a statement. It’s unclear if the procedure was related to his normal pressure hydrocephalus diagnosis.
“I feel good,” Joel told Maher during the new interview, where they also discussed the two-part, five-hour documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, and more. “They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
