Billy Joel revealed he “can’t drive” or perform anymore after being diagnosed with a rare brain disorder.
“I’m not allowed to drive,” the 77-year-old music icon said in a Hollywood Reporter interview published Thursday, also noting that he has to “take a series of tests” before he knows if he can perform again.
Since he can’t drive, Joel said he’s auctioning off over 70 of his motorcycles.
“I ended up having over a hundred motorcycles, and the truth is you can only ride one at a time,” the “Uptown Girl” singer said. “I’m into my 70s now, and I realized I can’t ride as much as I used to.”
“I don’t want to die like a bug on a windshield,” he added. “So I thought I’d put a lot of them on auction.”
The Grammy Award winner noted that his normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) diagnosis “makes driving a little bit iffy,” so he “realized it’s time for me to turn it over to somebody else.”
“I love motorcycles. I love biking. I love driving. I love the anonymity of it,” Joel said. “And I love the customization of these bikes, the modifications, the messing around with things. I was not a collector. I was actually a rider. So I figured it was just time to let it go.”
Last year, Joel was diagnosed with NPH, a disorder that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain, disrupting cognitive functioning, per the Cleveland Clinic.
In the interview, Joel explained that he can’t perform right now because his neurologist told him that “every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion.”
He told THR the reason for that is “the volume” of his concerts.
“Rock and roll is loud, man,” he said. “Rock and roll made me deaf already. So it’s the lighting, the sound, the stress of the show, the audience, the energy of the performance.”
Joel continued, “There’s a lot going on when you’re onstage. 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.”