Billy Joel has delighted his fans with news that he is about to release his first new single in 17 years.
The 74-year-old teased the announcement on social media with a short video clip.
“It’s TIME TO TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON,” he wrote on X, referencing the name of the song to be released on February 1.
The clip, which lasts less 30 seconds, starts with Joel turning the page of a faded notebook featuring the handwritten lyrics from his 1993 song “Famous Last Words.”
He can then be seen sitting at his Steinway piano, playing a melancholy tune.
The clip describes “Turn the Lights Back On” as “the first new single in decades,” though that may be a slight stretch. Joel’s most recent single, “All My Life,” was released in 2007, which was his first new music since his album “River of Dreams” was released in 1993.
The news has been welcomed on social media by the star’s army of fans around the world, with one saying it “certainly turned on a huge light of happiness for your fans world wide.”
According to Joel’s official website, he wrote the song along with Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler - who has worked with the likes of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Pink - Arthur Bacon and Wayne Hector.
The song, the website says, is “a classic Billy Joel-style tune, embodying the hallmarks of his signature sound and ushering in the next chapter of his story.” With only a hint of what is to come, it reveals that the lyrics include the line: “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?”
The musical legend, who has five Grammy awards and an honorary Grammy and has previously been named one of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time by Rolling Stone, is due to finish his record-breaking 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City this summer.
On Wednesday, he will play a one-night concert in Tokyo before returning to Madison Square Garden on February 9. Later in the year, he will perform in concerts alongside Sting and Stevie Nicks.
