Billy Joel has revealed the heartwarming reason why he doesn't sell the front row tickets at his shows.
The 75-year-old singer-songwriter has had a successful career since the 1970s, selling more than 150 million records worldwide.
He has achieved 33 Top 40 hits and 23 Grammy nominations since signing his first solo recording contract in 1972 and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992.
His well-known songs include 'Piano Man', 'Goodnight Saigon', 'Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)', and 'Uptown Girl'.
Joel has been performing at Madison Square Garden, NYC, for his residency since Jan 27, 2014. He concluded his legendary 10-year run this Thursday (July 25), playing 104 sold-out shows and selling 1.9 million tickets.
Throughout his remarkable career, the award-winning star has maintained one rule: He does not sell front-row tickets to his shows.
He explained his reasoning in a 2014 interview with Billboard, stating: “We never sell front rows, we hold those tickets at just about every concert. For years, the scalpers got the tickets and would scalp the front row for ridiculous amounts of money."
“I’d look down and see rich people sitting there, I call ’em ‘gold chainers.’ Sitting there puffing on a cigar, ‘Entertain me, piano man.’ They don’t stand up, make noise, sit there with their bouffant-haired girlfriend lookin’ like a big shot,” he continued.
“I kinda got sick of that, who the hell are these people, where are the real fans? It turns out the real fans were always in the back of the room in the worst seats," he added.
Instead, Joel’s team selects fans from the back of the arena and moves them because they are the ones “really happy to be there".
Holding onto front-row tickets costs the 'Piano Man' singer every night, but he is unfazed by the financial loss as he would much rather see real fans react to his performances.
“They make the best audience, they make the most noise, they’re the most enthusiastic. It’s just hard to get to them anymore," he explained.
"I tell the audience every night, ‘I hope you didn’t pay more than face value on that ticket, because we ain’t worth more than that, and you ain’t gonna get any more than that,’” he said at the time.
The artist's history with the iconic venue dates back to December 1978 when he played for the first time after the release of his album, 52nd Street.
In over four decades, the 'Just The Way You Are' singer performed at MSG for over 100 consecutive months since January 2014, earning the record for “Most Lifetime Performances By Any Artist,” as well as “Most Consecutive Performances By Any Artist,” per NBC.
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