Billy Joel, the legendary pianist and singer-songwriter, has shared his reaction to Fall Out Boy‘s newly updated rendition of his iconic single, We Didn’t Start The Fire. During an interview with BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball on the morning of July 10, Joel expressed his enthusiasm for the release, acknowledging the anticipation surrounding an updated version of the song.
“Fall Out Boy, yeah, I heard about this. Everybody has been wanting to know when there is going to be an updated version of it because my song started in 1949 and ended in 1989 – it was a 40-year span.
Everybody said, ‘Are you going to do part two? When are you going to do part two?’ And I said, ‘Meh, I’ve already done part one.’ So, Fall Out Boy, go ahead, great – take it away!”
Fall Out Boy‘s version of We Didn’t Start The Fire extends the timeline of major news events and pop culture references from 1989 to 2023, encapsulating a span of 34 years. The updated track covers a range of topics, including ‘Deep Fakes,’ ‘Earthquakes,’ and even references My Chemical Romance‘s hit album, The Black Parade.
Fall Out Boy expressed their thoughts on reimagining the classic song in a statement, saying, “I thought about this song a lot when I was younger. All these important people and events – some that disappeared into the sands of time – others that changed the world forever. So much has happened in the span of the last 34 years – we felt like a little system update might be fun. Hope you like our take on it.”
Check out the song again below and let us know what you think of it!
