The booze-fuelled feud between Billy Joel and Elton John: “There was bad blood”Billy Joel has always felt like one of the last people trying to pick a fight with his fellow musicians. But when looking at the trajectory of Joel’s career, it always comes back to his similarities with Elton John. It wasn’t like anyone could ignore it, but Joel wasn’t really looking for a Beatles/Stones-style rivalry with John whenever they played. He did end up having a real problem, but Joel swore off speaking to John for a while because of what he had heard him say, recalling, “Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab. A lot of it may have seemed like tough love, but when Joel eventually did clean up his act, he had a better understanding of what John was trying to say.