0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11MUSIC: "Piano Concerto No. 1" by Tchaikovsky
0:00:11 > 0:00:14As long as I can remember, the prevailing political climate
0:00:14 > 0:00:17was the Cold War.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23The Soviet Union were the bad guys.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25And it was scary.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29I had a fear of the Soviet Union, I had a fear of Russians.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31I thought they were this monolith...
0:00:31 > 0:00:36warlike people who just wanted to destroy the United States.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41In school we had air-raid drills to practise what we should do
0:00:41 > 0:00:42in case a bomb goes off.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Dive under the desk until the "All Clear" sounds.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Even when we were little kids, we knew - "That isn't going to help.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52"If there's a war, the whole place is going to go up in flames.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57"We are all going to get incinerated by... radioactive fire."
0:00:57 > 0:00:58Yes, it was scary
0:00:58 > 0:01:02and it really never went out of your consciousness.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03It was always there.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07There was always some kind of crisis between the United States
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and the Soviet Union, even though there were periods of warming,
0:01:10 > 0:01:13it always went back to the same paranoia.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18There was a moment, though, that I remember very well
0:01:18 > 0:01:21when I was a little boy,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24in the '50s, when all of a sudden, we became aware of the Russians
0:01:24 > 0:01:28as people. There was a famous classical pianist named
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Van Cliburn,
0:01:29 > 0:01:35who went to the Soviet Union and played at a piano competition
0:01:35 > 0:01:39and he won. All of a sudden, they liked our guy and we...
0:01:39 > 0:01:43sort of... well... "They can't be that bad, they like our guy."
0:01:43 > 0:01:45There was a moment of hope
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and warmth in this Cold War and it was caused by a musician.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51That had a big impact on me.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I thought, "Wow, this music stuff is really powerful.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58"This crosses across cultural lines, political lines..."
0:01:58 > 0:02:03And when we were asked if we wanted to perform in the Soviet Union,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06that's the first thing that popped into my head.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09MUSIC: "Back In The USSR" by Billy Joel
0:02:24 > 0:02:27The cultural exchange idea with the Soviet Union was at a point
0:02:27 > 0:02:30where it was time that you could bring in a major
0:02:30 > 0:02:32rock'n'roll artist.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34I said, "Billy Joel's the guy."
0:02:34 > 0:02:38He was at the height of his popularity and I think it was...
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Russians were really ready to experience
0:02:41 > 0:02:45and be open to an American artist.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49He is an American treasure and I think most people
0:02:49 > 0:02:54have a Billy Joel song that is officially part of their DNA,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57part of their life, part of their family.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00The invitation came from the Soviet Ministry of Culture.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
0:03:03 > 0:03:05and I said, "I'm going to do this,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07"but I'm going to take my family with me."
0:03:07 > 0:03:11The idea of a major American rock'n'roll artist
0:03:11 > 0:03:16going into the Soviet Union when, for decades, there had been a policy
0:03:16 > 0:03:20of anti rock'n'roll, was a big step.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Are you at all concerned that your trip will be used
0:03:23 > 0:03:26by the Soviets to whitewash the human rights situation?
0:03:26 > 0:03:30I'm not a politician and I don't think me
0:03:30 > 0:03:33not going there is going to help the situation. I'm going
0:03:33 > 0:03:35there as a musician.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Er, I want to get more communication going between us.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42People over there like pop music, they like rock'n'roll.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46I think this kind of communication can only help things.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48'When we did the press conference in New York,'
0:03:48 > 0:03:50I didn't want to make an announcement at that time that -
0:03:50 > 0:03:54"We're hoping to make a cultural breakthrough, we are hoping to warm things up."
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Because that would have given me feet of clay.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59I would have been dead from the get-go.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03I didn't want expectations to be that high.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05It's so funny, what you grow up thinking...
0:04:05 > 0:04:08that they were the enemy, they hated us,
0:04:08 > 0:04:09we hated them.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13When he announced it, I think it was at New Jersey...
0:04:13 > 0:04:15the people booed.
0:04:15 > 0:04:16They were like "Boo! Boo!"
0:04:16 > 0:04:20And Billy said, "Hey, they love music too.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22"That's why we're going to play music for them."
0:04:22 > 0:04:25We have the opportunity to bring our whole show there,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28lock, stock and barrel, exactly the way we do it in the States,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31over there. And it's not even cos it's the Soviet Union...
0:04:31 > 0:04:35to be able to do that in another country, that's, that's great,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37I love that idea.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40The Russians had really never staged a rock'n'roll concert.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43They really didn't know how... we had to teach them.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46When the Russians saw the trucks coming to the venue
0:04:46 > 0:04:47they were shocked.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51There were close to half a dozen semi-tractor trailers pulling in
0:04:51 > 0:04:53- with equipment. - And it had never been done before,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57going across the Eastern Bloc. Between the six trucks of
0:04:57 > 0:05:02equipment and probably 130 to 140 people,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05it was an impressive caravan.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Billy took the entire show - full staging, full lights,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12so it was what he was doing round the rest of the world,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16it was a contemporary rock show, so, surely, they had never seen anything like that.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20When the stuff started coming out of the trucks, people in the street started getting excited.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- IMITATES RUSSIAN ACCENT: - "Look at this, what's that?"
0:05:22 > 0:05:24They had never seen anything like that.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Billy was the first to bring over the American rock'n'roll machine.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Once you get the rock'n'roll machine in - I've always said,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33"Once the machine starts rolling, you're not stopping it."
0:05:35 > 0:05:36Rock'n'roll was forbidden,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and it was forbidden not only play rock'n'roll in a concert,
0:05:39 > 0:05:43officially, but also make records with the songs
0:05:43 > 0:05:46which they don't confirm.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50If you do it, they could put you into prison.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55They could do different things, make your life sad and very difficult.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59Sometimes... political news...
0:05:59 > 0:06:01they could show...
0:06:01 > 0:06:07a very short piece of, of somebody's rock'n'roll concert
0:06:07 > 0:06:11to show how terrible is the capitalistic art.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14How it's...
0:06:14 > 0:06:17"They behave themselves like animals.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19"They look like monkeys.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22"They are not dancing, they are shaking."
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Anything that made people emotional, whether it was
0:06:25 > 0:06:28religion or whether it was behavioural science that would
0:06:28 > 0:06:30teach them a different way of looking at things,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34or whether it was rock'n'roll they didn't like - number one.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39Number two... anything that gathered people together was also a problem.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42If you make that kind of a life choice - "I will be
0:06:42 > 0:06:43"a rock'n'roll musician,"
0:06:43 > 0:06:47you will have to find your way between the authorities
0:06:47 > 0:06:50who think rock'n'roll is another propaganda weapon
0:06:50 > 0:06:53of the world imperialist
0:06:53 > 0:06:58and your artistic aspirations when you know that rock'n'roll is great.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The things that were being talked about in the songs -
0:07:01 > 0:07:04the behaviours were just... they were
0:07:04 > 0:07:06just contrary to what an authoritarian regime
0:07:06 > 0:07:08would feel comfortable with.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13In wasn't paranoid but I didn't know what kind of a reception we were going to get.
0:07:14 > 0:07:20TRADITIONAL GEORGIAN CHANTING
0:07:27 > 0:07:30THEY SPEAK IN GEORGIAN
0:07:30 > 0:07:32All right.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Thank you.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40'But we were greeted very warmly, we hit it off with everybody.'
0:07:40 > 0:07:44The first place we went to, which turned out to be my favourite place,
0:07:44 > 0:07:45was Georgia.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49You know, it was almost like flying into Southern California.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51The reason why we go to Tbilisi is because there's
0:07:51 > 0:07:54these guys that do these Georgian chants up in this
0:07:54 > 0:07:56monastery way up on a hill.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59GEORGIAN CHANTING
0:08:04 > 0:08:08They actually were hundreds of years old, these chants.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10They would heal the sick.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13So, we would listen to them, do something
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and then Billy would start...
0:08:16 > 0:08:17CLICKS FINGERS
0:08:17 > 0:08:19..that, you know, that American doo-wop thing.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26SINGS DOO-WOP
0:08:26 > 0:08:29CHANTING
0:08:40 > 0:08:41LAUGHTER
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Mark, you knew that one.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- I knew that one!- You knew that one. - I knew all the moves.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47I forgot the words, though.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50All right, so tonight...?
0:08:50 > 0:08:51ALL: Yeah!
0:08:51 > 0:08:52..we can do this stuff.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Are you going to be at the opera house tonight, right?
0:09:01 > 0:09:05We was just going to jam with the other players
0:09:05 > 0:09:09but I don't know how everybody found out and everybody came, you know?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14SHE SPEAKS IN GEORGIAN
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Billy got duped because he was told that "it will be a jam session".
0:09:18 > 0:09:20MUSIC: "My Life" by Billy Joel
0:09:20 > 0:09:22# I don't need you to worry for me
0:09:22 > 0:09:25# Cos I'm all right... #
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And it was, basically, a full-scale concert.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31# I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home... #
0:09:31 > 0:09:34The PA was so bad that Billy blew out his vocal cords.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Right in the beginning he pushed really hard,
0:09:37 > 0:09:41the crowd went crazy, they loved it and Billy gave it his all
0:09:41 > 0:09:45and he kind of suffered for the rest of the tour because of that.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53CHEERING
0:09:53 > 0:09:57BILLY SPEAKS IN GEORGIAN
0:09:57 > 0:10:01The reaction was fantastic, he felt, and the guys in his band,
0:10:01 > 0:10:02they felt a warmth
0:10:02 > 0:10:08and when they feel this warmth, you know, this is a two-way road,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11you just cannot say no to the people who just give you everything
0:10:11 > 0:10:13they have and they are so hospitable.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Boy, they rolled out the red carpet.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26It was so kind, so warm, so welcoming...
0:10:26 > 0:10:32so much wine rolling and vodka, and dancing and music and singing...
0:10:32 > 0:10:35GEORGIAN SINGING
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I've been all over the world for many, many years...
0:10:38 > 0:10:40HE TRANSLATES
0:10:41 > 0:10:43..and I've never been to a place
0:10:43 > 0:10:47where people have gone so much out of their way to be warm
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and hospitable to us
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and I didn't realise I was going to be this glad to be here...
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It was incredible that the environment was so amazing.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12They were incredibly gracious. They wanted to give everything they had.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20CHEERING AND WHISTLING
0:11:33 > 0:11:36What's the maximum benefit you would like to achieve out of this
0:11:36 > 0:11:38entire two-week experience?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41If you could produce a result of your dreams, what would it be?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Make a lot of friends.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Make a lot of contact with people here.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Have them know what kind of people we are.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Make some people happy with my music
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and get something that can be continued
0:11:55 > 0:11:57more and more, maybe it will grow?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59MUSIC: "Big Man On Mulberry Street"
0:12:01 > 0:12:05We had to bring in staging equipment, cartons, chairs...
0:12:05 > 0:12:08they didn't have enough chairs. They had to go to churches,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11union halls, schools, to get the chairs.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22# Why can't I lay low?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26# Why can't I say what...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30# And get myself into some boring routine
0:12:30 > 0:12:31# Why can't I calm down? #
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- Well, that's Pete's anyway, right? - Yeah, but I can usually
0:12:35 > 0:12:37hit it on my own.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43So do you want to do She's Always A Woman, or what?
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Er, I'll know what's going on as I go through the show.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48We supposed to start in two hours?
0:12:48 > 0:12:51How's your throat feel?
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- Feels like it hurts. - Are you ready for the press?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- When do you want to do them? - As soon as you're ready.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58But if I'm dressed for the show and doing interviews -
0:12:58 > 0:13:00it's like a show in itself.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- By the time the show starts I'll be a wreck, overloading.- Yeah?
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I'm beginning to overload.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- CAMERAS CLICK - Please stay on this side. - Wait, let me answer...
0:13:08 > 0:13:12How has the audience been responding? I hear you had a surprise when you were downstate.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15In Georgia, down in Tbilisi. We set up a little jam session
0:13:15 > 0:13:17and it turned into a concert, which kind of ripped me up,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19cos it wasn't my PA, I couldn't hear my voice.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24The show could drop dead. I mean, some countries don't know me as well as other countries
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and I've got a sore throat, I'm, like, ragged,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28which is why we're trying to keep these things short
0:13:28 > 0:13:31cos every time I say something...
0:13:31 > 0:13:32it's kind of killing my concert.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35In that case, let me just ask you one more thing...
0:13:35 > 0:13:38It was a lot of pressure to be there, you know.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41This was a big challenge that we took on. We didn't know what we were getting into,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44he didn't know what he was getting into.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48So, I went out and saw the audience.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- How did they look?- Very quiet.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52HE CLEARS THROAT
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- I figured that. - So don't get thrown, you know?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57< Huh? You?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01You need new buddies, guys...
0:14:12 > 0:14:14HE CHUCKLES
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- Can you do it?- I don't know... till I get up there.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31MUSIC: "Angry Young Man"
0:15:10 > 0:15:13# There's a place in the world For the angry young man
0:15:13 > 0:15:14# With his working class ties
0:15:14 > 0:15:16# And his radical plans
0:15:16 > 0:15:18# He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
0:15:18 > 0:15:21# And he's always at home with his back to the wall
0:15:21 > 0:15:23# And he's proud of his scars and the battle's he's lost
0:15:23 > 0:15:26# And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
0:15:26 > 0:15:29# And he likes to be known as the angry young man... #
0:15:30 > 0:15:33We were all nervous about going on for the first show.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35We get on there and we start with Angry Young Man
0:15:35 > 0:15:38And we were noticing people in the front, like,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42putting their fingers in their ears, making faces like...
0:15:42 > 0:15:44like that and stuff like that
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and...
0:15:46 > 0:15:50I see Billy playing the piano and he looks up and goes -
0:15:50 > 0:15:52"We're dead! We're dead! It's over!"
0:15:52 > 0:15:54It started out...
0:15:55 > 0:15:59..very quiet, very attentive...
0:15:59 > 0:16:00er... polite.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05You know what, not too dissimilar to the first time we played in Japan.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11# I once believed in causes too
0:16:11 > 0:16:14# I had my pointless point of view
0:16:14 > 0:16:18# And life went on no matter who was wrong or right... #
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Jumping up and down, jumping on chairs was not acceptable.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29It wasn't just not accepted, it was prohibited.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31They had never heard volume like that.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33They had never seen lighting like that.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36The big shots who got the tickets in the front didn't like it,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39it was excruciating to them, which I kind of wanted.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41You know, we kind of drove them away.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43They left after a couple of songs.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46They gave their tickets to the kids in the back
0:16:46 > 0:16:49and outside, and then we had a real rock'n'roll show.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54# Yes, there's always a place for the angry young man
0:16:54 > 0:16:57# With his working class ties and his radical plans
0:16:57 > 0:16:59# He refuses to bend he refuses to crawl
0:16:59 > 0:17:02# He's always at home with his back to the wall
0:17:02 > 0:17:04# He's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
0:17:04 > 0:17:07# And struggles and bleeds as he hangs on his cross
0:17:07 > 0:17:09# And he likes to be known as the angry young man. #
0:17:17 > 0:17:18CHEERING
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Billy's trying desperately to connect, this is, you know,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26it's rock'n'roll, get up and, and come up to the stage.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Most people think... you know, "There's us and there's them."
0:17:29 > 0:17:30Billy's like - "Hey,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34"the closer you are to your audience the more you can relate."
0:17:34 > 0:17:35MUSIC: "The Longest Time"
0:17:35 > 0:17:39# If you said goodbye to me tonight
0:17:39 > 0:17:43# There would still be music left to write
0:17:43 > 0:17:45# Ah-ah-ah
0:17:45 > 0:17:47# What else could I do?
0:17:47 > 0:17:50# I'm so inspired by you
0:17:50 > 0:17:54# That hasn't happened for the longest time... #
0:17:54 > 0:17:56I took a wireless mic, jumped off the stage
0:17:56 > 0:18:00and ran down the aisle to the back of the room where all the real fans
0:18:00 > 0:18:03were and they started crowding around me and then I led them back
0:18:03 > 0:18:07the stage, being the Pied Piper.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09As the people started to go, he was like...
0:18:10 > 0:18:12"Come on, come on!"
0:18:12 > 0:18:16He kept bringing them in, and ultimately, they came.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21# For the longest time... #
0:18:21 > 0:18:24He was trying everything that he could to
0:18:24 > 0:18:29engage the people and once the Soviets got it, they got it.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34# I have been a fool for lesser things... #
0:18:34 > 0:18:36All right!
0:18:36 > 0:18:38# I want you so bad
0:18:38 > 0:18:41# I think you ought to know that
0:18:41 > 0:18:45# I intend to hold you for the longest time... #
0:18:45 > 0:18:47He's a shit stirrer, he likes to get in there and stir things up.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51His desire to bring the subversive aspects of rock'n'roll
0:18:51 > 0:18:54around the world, you know, that's part of his nature,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57it's like - "Come on, this is some great stuff
0:18:57 > 0:19:00"and this is freedom and let's kick up some dust."
0:19:00 > 0:19:02# Ah-hah... #
0:19:04 > 0:19:06CHEERING
0:19:09 > 0:19:11SPEAKS RUSSIAN
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Whatever you say, baby!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15LAUGHTER
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Feel good!
0:19:19 > 0:19:23# Long...
0:19:25 > 0:19:29# Yes...
0:19:29 > 0:19:34# Ti... ha, ha...
0:19:34 > 0:19:41# Chi... ha, time... #
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Was it OK that I said, "We like it when you come...?"
0:19:44 > 0:19:47It was OK, the same when I was on stage, the same situation.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- Two, three first songs, they didn't know what to expect.- OK.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- I don't like to tell people what to do.- Right.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57But I just thought they wanted to hear what I liked.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- Yeah.- And they liked it.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Everybody who was screaming, it was not just they were fans
0:20:02 > 0:20:06of Billy Joel, they never heard his songs,
0:20:06 > 0:20:10but he brought such an energy, such a freedom energy...
0:20:10 > 0:20:13his eyes, his appearance, his music...
0:20:13 > 0:20:15everything.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Brought something which they never heard
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and they felt that it was forbidden.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26And we all understand that moment - that something is changing.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29And there are all the seats empty that the kids had been in
0:20:29 > 0:20:33and the soldiers stepped up on the seats and started doing this.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- Oh, really?- And singing and dancing - all the soldiers.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39And all the kids and soldiers together
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and then this man in a black suit...
0:20:41 > 0:20:43came up and went...
0:20:43 > 0:20:46And the soldiers had to get back off the chairs and act like
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- they weren't having a good time again.- Yes...
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Music was so controlled that when Billy went there it was like,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56"You know what? It's time to have a good time."
0:20:56 > 0:20:58MUSIC: "Uptown Girl"
0:21:01 > 0:21:03# Uptown girl
0:21:03 > 0:21:06# She been living in her uptown world... #
0:21:06 > 0:21:10The music brought a taste of freedom and that's what I think Billy
0:21:10 > 0:21:12was hoping his music would bring.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17# I'm gonna try for an uptown girl
0:21:17 > 0:21:20# She been living in her white bread world
0:21:20 > 0:21:23# As long as anyone with hot blood can
0:21:23 > 0:21:27# And now she's looking for a downtown man
0:21:27 > 0:21:29# That's what I am... #
0:21:29 > 0:21:32The thing that I remember the most about the Soviet Union was
0:21:32 > 0:21:35they had nothing, absolutely nothing.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38I mean, I left blue jeans there,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40jean jackets...
0:21:40 > 0:21:43The only thing they could give us was this love
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and they kept doing this from the front of the stage...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48they kept doing this.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52I was like - "I can't believe that these are the people
0:21:52 > 0:21:55"that I feared all through school.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58"They are going like this now."
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And all we kept hearing was - "We can't believe that you're here,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03"we can't believe you came here to do this for us."
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Billy Joel was great in Moscow, his concert lasted
0:22:07 > 0:22:09three and a half hours.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11He played in a large sports hall,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15everybody in Russia was sure that it was impossible to make
0:22:15 > 0:22:19a real good sound in this sports hall because of its acoustics.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Billy Joel proved that it's possible.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28# She'll understand what kind of guy I've been
0:22:28 > 0:22:30# And then I'll win
0:22:30 > 0:22:33# And when she's walking
0:22:33 > 0:22:37# She's looking so fine
0:22:37 > 0:22:40# And when she's talking
0:22:40 > 0:22:43# She'll say that she's mine
0:22:43 > 0:22:47# She'll say I'm not so tough
0:22:47 > 0:22:49# Just because
0:22:49 > 0:22:50# I'm in love
0:22:50 > 0:22:53# With an uptown girl... #
0:22:53 > 0:22:56That was an impulsive moment. I hadn't planned that when I brought
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Alexa out on stage
0:22:58 > 0:22:59and I said - "You know what,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02"I'm going to grab her and bring her to the middle of the stage
0:23:02 > 0:23:04"and let the audience see my kid."
0:23:04 > 0:23:06There was just like a daddy moment.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08"I'm proud of my kid, look at my kid. Isn't she cute?"
0:23:08 > 0:23:12And she was dancing and rocking out and the people were cheering
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and for them it meant, "Look, he trusts us."
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Alexa represented a little bit of the future for
0:23:19 > 0:23:24our relationship with the Soviet Union. Here's our little seed
0:23:24 > 0:23:29that's going to be raised, you know, in this environment
0:23:29 > 0:23:31of friendship and openness.
0:23:33 > 0:23:34# Uptown girl
0:23:34 > 0:23:36# My uptown girl
0:23:39 > 0:23:41# Uptown girl
0:23:41 > 0:23:43# My uptown girl...
0:23:43 > 0:23:50# Oh... #
0:23:53 > 0:23:56I took my daughter to the Soviet Union
0:23:56 > 0:23:59because I wanted to show the Russian people -
0:23:59 > 0:24:02I trusted them enough to bring my own child with me there.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05"I don't think anything bad is going to happen to us.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10"And I want you to see my family and I want my family to see you."
0:24:10 > 0:24:14And it turned out to be a very important part of our trip.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23Alexa was a bit of a curiosity and everywhere we went
0:24:23 > 0:24:27all of the Russians would turn and say, "Malenki, malenki!"
0:24:27 > 0:24:30And I think it meant something like, "Little darling."
0:24:30 > 0:24:35The Russian women would lean over and give her a little squeeze.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39You know, we made friends by having our family with us.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41I wanted my daughter to do something that
0:24:41 > 0:24:44she would think was fun. We took her to the Gorky Park Circus.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46- Christie, look at her.- Wow!
0:24:53 > 0:24:55This is the first time she's riding a horse.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56Look at her, look at her!
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Yeah! Yeah.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09We watched them rehearsing and there were these twins, twin brothers who were clowns.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Victor was one of the clowns. I got to be friendly with him, turns out this guy was a huge fan.
0:25:13 > 0:25:19This guy, Victor, he had such a... It was like he had known Billy all his life.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22And he had this extraordinary connection with Billy.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23How does he like the show?
0:25:23 > 0:25:26THEY SPEAK RUSSIAN
0:25:30 > 0:25:34We like the honesty. You are absolutely honest.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36You are democratic in your behaviour.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42We do know what it is all about and we do know how much energy you put into your show.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44And for all these things...
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I really think Billy connected with the honest, and the, uh,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53just how truthful and revealing some of these people were.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57And Victor was, Victor was one of those people.
0:25:57 > 0:26:04Did, did other people in the audience say how they felt about the show?
0:26:04 > 0:26:06HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Why does he ask this question? Why is he so interested in the opinion of the audience?
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Perhaps he was surprised or shocked by something.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19I was surprised at the beginning, because it was a very quiet response.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23To me, the audience is as much of the show as I am.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25You coming here, it is not just music.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28It will be a bridge, you know, to bridge the gap
0:26:28 > 0:26:30in the relations between our countries.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32And they are not just beautiful words.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35I am not a politician, I am not talking about politics,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37that's just my own ideas, from the bottom of my heart.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41And this is why I am not making any political speeches on the stage.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43HE TRANSLATES
0:26:46 > 0:26:48Let the music speak.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53That's really great.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58When Victor said, "You could be a bridge," it confirmed what I had hoped.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01That I could make this connection.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03That we can have that kind of impact.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05That we can make a breakthrough.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09Him saying that really confirmed what I had hoped for.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22# What's the matter with the clothes I'm wearin'?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24# Can't you tell that your tie's too white?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30# Maybe I should buy some old tab collars?
0:27:30 > 0:27:32# Welcome back to the age of jive
0:27:33 > 0:27:36# Where have you been hiding out lately, honey?
0:27:36 > 0:27:40# You can't dress trashy till you spend a lot of money
0:27:40 > 0:27:43# Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
0:27:43 > 0:27:47# Funny, but it's still rock'n'roll to me
0:27:50 > 0:27:53# It doesn't matter what they say in the papers
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# It's always been the same old scene...#
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Billy was really a perfectionist and he wanted these concerts to come off right.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03The adrenaline was really flowing with him.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07He was excited to be going in there and it was also the unknown for him, too.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13# How about a pair of pink sidewinders? #
0:28:13 > 0:28:19I can't imagine being the focal point, being responsible for it all
0:28:19 > 0:28:22and then, on top of it, being responsible as a figure
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and an emissary of your culture and your country.
0:28:25 > 0:28:30And then having the glare of all that on you night and day.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32He knew that this was a historical concert.
0:28:32 > 0:28:38He knew that it was very meaningful. He'd invested some of his own funds, a lot of them, in doing the show
0:28:38 > 0:28:42and I think he was, he had a lot emotionally invested in having it come off well.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45# ..and a whole lot of money
0:28:45 > 0:28:48# It's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways
0:28:48 > 0:28:51# It's still rock'n'roll to me
0:28:52 > 0:28:55# Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
0:28:55 > 0:28:58# Funny, but it's still rock'n'roll to me. #
0:28:58 > 0:29:03CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:11 > 0:29:13He was under tremendous pressure.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17Because if they whole thing doesn't go right, it will have
0:29:17 > 0:29:22a tremendous impact on his career in the United States.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26It didn't seem that there was any time to just chill out when
0:29:26 > 0:29:29we were there. It was constantly something going on.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32I was either touring around Moscow
0:29:32 > 0:29:35or I was doing press conferences with the media
0:29:35 > 0:29:38or I was talking to my own technicians,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40or trying to do things with my wife and my daughter.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44It was constant - 24/7. And it wore me down.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46He was like a pressure cooker, ready to explode.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51# You have to learn to pace yourself
0:29:51 > 0:29:52# Pressure!
0:29:53 > 0:29:56# You're just like everybody else
0:29:56 > 0:29:58# Pressure!
0:29:59 > 0:30:04# You've only had to run So far, so good
0:30:05 > 0:30:11# But you will come to a place Where the only thing you feel
0:30:11 > 0:30:14# Are loaded guns in your face
0:30:14 > 0:30:17# And you'll have to deal with pressure! #
0:30:17 > 0:30:25The novel feeling of going to Russia, doing something special, turned into a lot of frickin' work for him.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Billy's voice was kinda ragged. He wasn't really happy
0:30:29 > 0:30:31and he had his new baby and he had his wife there
0:30:31 > 0:30:35and it was after Chernobyl and she was paranoid about drinking the water
0:30:35 > 0:30:37and the food was shitty.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39# Pressure! #
0:30:39 > 0:30:42I could tell that the rubber band was getting pulled
0:30:42 > 0:30:46tighter and tighter and tighter and something was gonna blow.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47# Pressure!
0:30:52 > 0:30:54# Oooh, pressure!
0:30:56 > 0:30:59# I need my sweet damn pressure! #
0:30:59 > 0:31:02So there was that tension there, you can feel it.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06We're just playing the songs, but I could feel Billy working it and...
0:31:06 > 0:31:09and looking around and finally it exploded.
0:31:09 > 0:31:15# What I really need is stimulation Thought it was only my imagination
0:31:15 > 0:31:17# It's just a fantasy, ooh, ooh
0:31:17 > 0:31:20# It's all you need...#
0:31:21 > 0:31:23We went there to see the fans and see the Russians,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26for the first time, enjoy a rock'n'roll show.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Where you can't see them unless you turn the lights on.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Wayne had said that, you know, he's got great coverage,
0:31:33 > 0:31:38but nobody in the world is going to know that anybody was there.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Every time those lights went on, to light the audience, so the film crew could see the audience,
0:31:43 > 0:31:44people would freeze.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48I would see people waving their arms, lights come on, boom. People just go back like that.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52# Why does it always seem to hit me in the middle of the night?
0:31:52 > 0:31:53# Stop it!
0:31:53 > 0:31:56# Tell me there's a number I can always dial
0:31:56 > 0:31:59# Let me do my show For Christ's sake! #
0:31:59 > 0:32:04I hear Billy singing and he's saying something.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06But I can't hear what he's saying.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14You're playing away and all of a sudden you hear on your monitor, "Bam!"
0:32:15 > 0:32:19You go, "What was that?" And I look over and he's just storming off
0:32:19 > 0:32:22down the stage and the piano is upside down!
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Pieces of piano go flying everywhere, I think one almost winged his wife.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31I thought that's part of the whole thing and I started clapping.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36At one point, he took the microphone and started smashing the microphone.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42I didn't realise he was so upset until you can see him hit a microphone on his grand piano.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47# Ah, sure, it would be better if I had you here to hold me
0:32:47 > 0:32:49# Be bop a loo ah
0:32:49 > 0:32:52# It's better, baby, but believe me it's the next best thing. #
0:32:52 > 0:32:56They did finally stop lighting the audience. Once I threw the piano, they went,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58"Oh, I guess he doesn't want us to light the audience."
0:32:58 > 0:32:59Thank you!
0:32:59 > 0:33:03He overreacted to the lights turning on. It was great theatre.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08It was great for a special, but, I'm sorry, Billy, I think you overreacted.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12I tear ass back to the dressing room, because I'm gonna tell him.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17I open the door and he's standing there soaking wet, drenched like a drowned rat,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and we both look at each other like we're gonna go at it.
0:33:21 > 0:33:27And there was this moment where we both completely relaxed our shoulders
0:33:27 > 0:33:28and I just started to cry. And I said,
0:33:28 > 0:33:34"Look, I'm sorry, I would never try and fuck up your show." He said, "Yeah, I know, I overreacted."
0:33:34 > 0:33:37We hugged each other and then we looked at each other and went,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40"Should we go out there screaming and fighting for the press?"
0:33:40 > 0:33:44I came all the way here, I don't want our own people ruining the show!
0:33:44 > 0:33:45I'm sorry.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48I feel so much better now!
0:33:48 > 0:33:50LAUGHTER
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Kids came up to us after the show, they really liked it, the Russian kids couldn't believe it.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57- IN RUSSIAN ACCENT: - "This is part of the show!"
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"What are you going to trash tomorrow?"
0:34:00 > 0:34:01"We'll think of something."
0:34:01 > 0:34:06With the worldwide press there, he got worldwide attention, you know,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10for different reasons than he anticipated.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14Billy Joel's show in Moscow included something new - a temper tantrum.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16I know it's shocking. My mother doesn't understand
0:34:16 > 0:34:19to this day why I would jump on a grand piano.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22But sometimes, that's how I feel.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24HE IS TRANSLATED TO RUSSIAN
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Vladimir Vysotsky was a poet and singer-songwriter.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41He was buried in the outskirts of Moscow.
0:34:41 > 0:34:48There was a line waiting to visit his grave longer than the line going to visit Lenin's tomb.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51This blew me away. I said, "Who is this guy?
0:34:51 > 0:34:56People were waiting for hours just to leave flowers on the grave.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59The lyrics. That's what it's all about, he was a poet.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04But he decided it was easier to get his message across to the people using the guitar and the music.
0:35:04 > 0:35:10He came to Russia, not just as another American. He was reading a lot about Russia.
0:35:10 > 0:35:16So, it was such a pleasure for me to talk to him about Russia, Russian history,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Russian ways, Russian culture,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21because he had the background.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Let me bring out my friend, Oleg Smirnoff, to translate.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26This is Oleg.
0:35:28 > 0:35:29He's OK, he's OK.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32We didn't accept the official translator they wanted to give us.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36One of the people who helped put the show together from outside of Russia
0:35:36 > 0:35:37found this guy for us.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42He was, kind of, a freelance guy, which is, sort of, being on the outside in Russia.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48If you're a freelancer, that's not always looked on approvingly by the authorities.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52But he was the guy, I trusted him. He would point out,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54"Watch out, that is KGB."
0:35:54 > 0:35:56"Watch out, there may be microphone there."
0:35:56 > 0:36:02My marching orders were, "Stick like a piece of chewing gum to Billy."
0:36:02 > 0:36:03And that's what I did.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06OK, let's go from here. Yeah!
0:36:06 > 0:36:08High-five, high-five.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10This is the same in Russia.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14He couldn't keep up with Billy. I couldn't keep up with Billy in English.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17And every time he'd mention Oleg, he'd be like...
0:36:17 > 0:36:21and break out into this dance. But he was great.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25If I forget to say that, in the beginning, you say that.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30I will say one word, intermission, and you will put it before Mulberry.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32And I said, "Billy, you will have to talk on stage."
0:36:32 > 0:36:36But I explained to Billy, that's the only way for them to understand
0:36:36 > 0:36:39what you want to get across, the message.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44I'd like to dedicate this next song to Vladimir Vysotsky.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47OLEG TRANSLATES
0:36:50 > 0:36:52SONG: "Honesty"
0:36:57 > 0:37:00# If you search for tenderness
0:37:00 > 0:37:03# It isn't hard to find
0:37:04 > 0:37:08# You can have the love you need to live
0:37:11 > 0:37:14# But if you look for truthfulness
0:37:14 > 0:37:17# You might just as well be blind
0:37:18 > 0:37:25# It always seems to be so hard to give
0:37:25 > 0:37:33# Honesty is such a lonely word
0:37:33 > 0:37:36# Everyone is so untrue... #
0:37:36 > 0:37:40Honesty had a whole new ring to it, a whole new meaning,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42a whole new depth.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Billy related it to Vladimir Vysotsky
0:37:46 > 0:37:49and Vladimir's truth, that the told.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53The songs that touched me the most that we performed in Russia
0:37:53 > 0:37:58were ones that related to how the audience saw his music.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01And I think the one that was most meaningful that way was Honesty.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06And I think they genuinely got that...that was the real Billy.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08They understood that that was part of his soul.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12He wanted to get the message across -
0:38:12 > 0:38:14"It's about you guys.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17"I'm not just another guy from United States
0:38:17 > 0:38:22"who just sings about great girls, bad boys and love lost.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24"I'm singing about my life, your life."
0:38:24 > 0:38:30# Honesty is hardly ever heard
0:38:30 > 0:38:38# And mostly what I need from you. #
0:38:48 > 0:38:51I'm aware of your son, through the people...
0:38:51 > 0:38:53INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:38:54 > 0:38:56..who have come to see his grave site.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01And when I ask people who were there why they were here...
0:39:05 > 0:39:08..they told me, "He spoke the truth."
0:39:11 > 0:39:13So I would like this toast to be "the truth."
0:39:20 > 0:39:24# W, X, Y and Z...
0:39:26 > 0:39:32# Be-be-be-be-be-be-be
0:39:32 > 0:39:39# Be-be-be-be-be-be-be. #
0:39:39 > 0:39:41THEY LAUGH
0:39:41 > 0:39:44I like the ending - she did a retard.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46SONG: And So It Goes
0:40:09 > 0:40:14# In every heart, there is a room
0:40:16 > 0:40:20# A sanctuary safe and strong
0:40:21 > 0:40:28# To heal the wounds from lovers past
0:40:29 > 0:40:33# Until a new one comes along
0:40:34 > 0:40:40# I spoke to you in cautious tones... #
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Yeah - pretty heroic stuff, man.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47We were kind of enchanted with Leningrad
0:40:47 > 0:40:50because we got back on the water.
0:40:50 > 0:40:51So there we were by the river,
0:40:51 > 0:40:55and of course, there's beautiful, beautiful Russian girls.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57The band was just in heaven.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03I do remember just feeling more relaxed there.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10- Oh, thank you!- OK.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13There were situations where he didn't need my translation.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16We just go out and walk around and talk to the people
0:41:16 > 0:41:20and just try to absorb Russia.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22He wanted to get out there with the people
0:41:22 > 0:41:24and it was always fun to watch Billy -
0:41:24 > 0:41:27almost like Barack Obama -
0:41:27 > 0:41:29campaigning out there in the crowd.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Is this where the rock'n'rollers hang out?
0:41:39 > 0:41:41INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:41:42 > 0:41:43MAN RESPONDS IN RUSSIAN
0:41:43 > 0:41:46All of them, you know, heavy metal guys.
0:41:46 > 0:41:47Everybody.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50- They just like heavy metal. - Yeah, heavy metal guys.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'And he just stopped and started talking to the guys
0:41:53 > 0:41:54'and they said'
0:41:54 > 0:41:58"Yeah, it's difficult to be somebody who doesn't look like the rest
0:41:58 > 0:42:03"of the guys - long hair, clothes, you know, jeans with holes."
0:42:03 > 0:42:07And Billy said, "I know exactly what you are talking about
0:42:07 > 0:42:09"because I was just a guy like you."
0:42:09 > 0:42:12He was my favourite rock 'n' roll musician.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:42:14 > 0:42:16BOY RESPONDS IN RUSSIAN
0:42:19 > 0:42:20I want you to have something.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22I'm not religious, but I wear a St Christopher medal.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24RUSSIAN INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:42:24 > 0:42:25For travelling.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27This is for John Lennon guy.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31And then a woman came from nowhere.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33WOMAN SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN
0:42:35 > 0:42:39These guys, they love rock 'n' roll, so they're great guys?
0:42:39 > 0:42:43So, rock 'n' roll guys, you think they're greatest guys?
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Those who love rock 'n' roll, you think they're the greatest?
0:42:46 > 0:42:48"This is the shame of our country", she says.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52She said, "Oh...you're the worst in this country.
0:42:52 > 0:42:53"You just betray our country.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57"Look what picture you paint for these foreigners.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59"This is not what Russia is about."
0:43:01 > 0:43:03And Billy told them, "You know what?"
0:43:03 > 0:43:05That's what my mother said about me...
0:43:05 > 0:43:07INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:43:07 > 0:43:10..when I had long hair. When I was saying, "Peace!"
0:43:10 > 0:43:11LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:43:11 > 0:43:14We had people like that in my country, too.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18The government wanted everybody to grow up and be like they were.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21But the young, they were emulating the United States
0:43:21 > 0:43:23and the rest of the world and rock 'n' roll -
0:43:23 > 0:43:25leather jackets and stuff like that.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28When Billy went in in the summer of '87, it was sort of a perfect storm.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32This, with regard to rock 'n' roll, was really the opening point
0:43:32 > 0:43:35where everything from there on changed.
0:43:35 > 0:43:36When my daughter was born...
0:43:36 > 0:43:38INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:43:38 > 0:43:43..which was New Year's, 1986...
0:43:45 > 0:43:48..I looked at her...
0:43:48 > 0:43:51I said, "What kind of world is this going to be?"
0:43:51 > 0:43:53INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:43:53 > 0:43:57When she says to me, "What did you do in the Cold War, daddy?"...
0:43:57 > 0:43:59INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:44:02 > 0:44:04..what am I going to say?
0:44:04 > 0:44:05INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:44:05 > 0:44:09I have a feeling that what's going on in your country right now
0:44:09 > 0:44:10is very much like the '60s.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19OK?
0:44:19 > 0:44:24He went into this with the same kind of, um...of belief and commitment
0:44:24 > 0:44:29that this was his personal contribution to try to do something
0:44:29 > 0:44:32to ease this enormously tense relationship
0:44:32 > 0:44:35between two countries that could blow up the world.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38SONG: "The Times They Are A-Changin"
0:44:41 > 0:44:45# Come, gather round, people wherever you roam... #
0:44:45 > 0:44:48APPLAUSE
0:44:48 > 0:44:52# And admit that the waters around you have grown
0:44:53 > 0:44:57# And accept that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
0:44:58 > 0:45:01# If your time to you is worth savin'
0:45:02 > 0:45:06# Then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
0:45:06 > 0:45:10# For the times they are a-changin'... #
0:45:12 > 0:45:15'I did a TV show and they asked if I would sing a song
0:45:15 > 0:45:19'and I sang Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin','
0:45:19 > 0:45:21cos things were really coming to a boil.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22You could tell when you went there -
0:45:22 > 0:45:24the atmosphere was fraught with change.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27Things were about to bust loose.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29The old order was going to be swept away
0:45:29 > 0:45:33and we were there at a good time for this to happen.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37# For the loser now will be later to win
0:45:37 > 0:45:41# For the times they are a-changin'... #
0:45:41 > 0:45:44I thought Gorbachev was a realist.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47He recognised that something had to give.
0:45:47 > 0:45:53The Russian people weren't content to go with the flow any more.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Gorbachev loved rock 'n' roll from his youth,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59when he was student of Moscow University.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01He recognised what was going on,
0:46:01 > 0:46:04where the old Politburo people and the old guard
0:46:04 > 0:46:06would have just clamped down.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Gorbachev opened the doors.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11If it hadn't have been for him, we wouldn't have been able to go.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15# For the times they are a-changin'
0:46:18 > 0:46:20# The line, it is drawn
0:46:20 > 0:46:22# The curse, it is cast
0:46:25 > 0:46:29# The slow one now will later be fast
0:46:30 > 0:46:35# As the present now will later be past
0:46:35 > 0:46:38# The order is rapidly fadin'
0:46:38 > 0:46:43# And the first one now will later be last
0:46:43 > 0:46:47# For the times they are a-changin'. #
0:46:50 > 0:46:52APPLAUSE
0:46:52 > 0:46:57If somebody is saying that we expected some changes,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00it's a lie, because nobody could expect what happened.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Rock 'n' roll is freedom.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06It will make you free.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11It will make you believe in the universal language of music.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15This song is about young people living in the northeast of America.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Their lives are miserable because the steel factories are closing.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29They desperately want to leave,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31but they stay because they were brought up to believe
0:47:31 > 0:47:33that things were going to get better.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35INTERPRETER SPEAKS
0:47:39 > 0:47:40Maybe that sounds familiar.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:47:44 > 0:47:46SONG: "Allentown"
0:47:56 > 0:48:00# Well we're living here in Allentown
0:48:00 > 0:48:05# And they're closing all the factories down
0:48:05 > 0:48:08# Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
0:48:08 > 0:48:10# Filling out forms
0:48:10 > 0:48:12# Standing in line
0:48:13 > 0:48:16# Well, our fathers fought the Second World War... #
0:48:16 > 0:48:20The people, they understood what was going on in Allentown in America
0:48:20 > 0:48:23which was the same as what was going on there.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27So they could relate to the lyrics and feel the music.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30# Danced with them slow
0:48:30 > 0:48:32# And we're living here in Allentown
0:48:34 > 0:48:37# But the restlessness was handed down
0:48:38 > 0:48:45# And it's getting very hard to stay... #
0:48:48 > 0:48:51And this guy Victor came to every show,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53both in Moscow and in Leningrad.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55I don't know how he got around,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57cos it was not easy for people to get around there.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00There he was, in the front row, every night, doing this - "Yay!"
0:49:00 > 0:49:01He was having a great time.
0:49:01 > 0:49:06I just feel in love with Victor. He had the most expressive face.
0:49:06 > 0:49:14I just loved to see the Russians let go and start to feel it, yo know?
0:49:14 > 0:49:17And Victor was the most expressive of all.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20He wanted to, like, throw his heart and soul.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22He was the cheerleader for this.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25He was the cheerleader for that.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28He was trying to express what he was feeling, and he just kept...
0:49:28 > 0:49:30with all his heart and soul, would go like this.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32You know, "My heart is exploding."
0:49:32 > 0:49:35I think he was just thrilled to be included in this thing
0:49:35 > 0:49:38that was happening in this country, and he had a ringside seat
0:49:38 > 0:49:40and access to the folks that were doing it -
0:49:40 > 0:49:43and knew that he was equally appreciative.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47# Hey, hey, hey
0:49:47 > 0:49:52# Hey, hey, hey, oh, whoa-oh
0:49:52 > 0:49:58# And it's getting very hard to stay
0:49:58 > 0:50:03# And we're living here in Allentown
0:50:06 > 0:50:09# Woo-ooh-ooh
0:50:09 > 0:50:12# Woo-ooh-ooh. #
0:50:18 > 0:50:20It said, "Billy, you've conquered our hearts."
0:50:20 > 0:50:24- And there was another one, "Billy, well done."- What does this say?
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- ALL:- "Billy, you've conquered our hearts."- All right.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29Did you see the one that says, "New York..."
0:50:29 > 0:50:30That's the guy in the circus.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32That we met just on the loose.
0:50:34 > 0:50:35Look at this!
0:50:36 > 0:50:39They were smiling tonight - they weren't smiling the other night.
0:50:39 > 0:50:40They were liking it, man.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42I got smiles from these cold faces I never got before.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44Usually they're very stone-faced.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I made - I think I made some friends here.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50And it's not that easy to make security guys smile, you know?
0:50:50 > 0:50:51Same thing in the States, man.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53People that never heard your music before.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55I'm writing my songs all over again.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59I'm enjoying the show more now than I have for a long, long time.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Cos I - you know, I forgot.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03I forgot what it means to people. You know?
0:51:03 > 0:51:05It's really important here.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07My friend.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08My circus friend.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10- Stop that! - HE LAUGHS
0:51:10 > 0:51:11I'm not the Pope.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN - He's the best guy in the audience.
0:51:16 > 0:51:17HE INTERPRETS
0:51:17 > 0:51:19You give me the energy to do my show.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33This is - this is my heart, here.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38They really developed a very close relationship.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43Billy saw something in him which really touched him.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I'm signing "Billy".
0:51:45 > 0:51:47Just Billy. HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN
0:51:47 > 0:51:48Cos that's me.
0:51:48 > 0:51:49HE SPEAKS RUSSIAN
0:52:00 > 0:52:03# Slow down you crazy child
0:52:03 > 0:52:07# You're so ambitious for a juvenile
0:52:07 > 0:52:09# But then if you're so smart
0:52:09 > 0:52:13# Tell me, why are you still so afraid?
0:52:13 > 0:52:15# Mmmm
0:52:15 > 0:52:18# Where's the fire what's the hurry about?
0:52:18 > 0:52:22# You better cool it off before you burn it out
0:52:22 > 0:52:27# You got so much to do and only so many hours in a day
0:52:27 > 0:52:30# Hey... #
0:52:30 > 0:52:32When we went to Russia
0:52:32 > 0:52:37and we saw this society that had suffered for so long,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41and that their day-to-day lives were so difficult
0:52:41 > 0:52:44compared to anything that we had...
0:52:44 > 0:52:50that we had known, my first impression was sadness.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54It made me realise that the world was a very big place.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56Watching people in their day-to-day life -
0:52:56 > 0:52:59that's the thing that I remember most.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03Seeing people in their environment waiting in line for food,
0:53:03 > 0:53:07breadlines, things like that - that is what I came away with.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09And I think that Billy felt the same way.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13I can't speak for him, but I think he was moved by the lack of...
0:53:14 > 0:53:20..basic necessities. And that strength in the people.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23I remember seeing a lot of people outside of a department store -
0:53:23 > 0:53:26"GUM", G-U-M, it was the department store,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29and there was a big box wrapped in brown paper in the window,
0:53:29 > 0:53:32and there was a line of people.
0:53:32 > 0:53:33We asked, "What is that?"
0:53:33 > 0:53:35Nobody knew. "It's something."
0:53:35 > 0:53:38They were on line for "something", they didn't even know what it was.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40I realised, "We're not going to have a war with these people.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42"They don't want to fight with us."
0:53:42 > 0:53:44They couldn't even get toilet paper together.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47I don't want to downplay or diminish the threat
0:53:47 > 0:53:52that the Soviet Union posed, but our politicians played right into it.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55That's how they got votes. The Red Menace, the Red Scare.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57You know, they were winding us up.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Everywhere we went, people were saying, "Viva America!
0:54:00 > 0:54:04"God bless America! We love America!" They came over and they hugged me.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08It was such an outpouring of love and affection and warmth
0:54:08 > 0:54:11that I realised the Cold War's over for me.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17# Come out Virginia don't let me wait
0:54:17 > 0:54:20# You Catholic girls start much too late
0:54:20 > 0:54:23# But sooner or later it comes down to fate
0:54:23 > 0:54:26# I might as well be the one
0:54:26 > 0:54:29# Well, they showed you a statue and told you to pray
0:54:29 > 0:54:32# They built you a temple and locked you away
0:54:32 > 0:54:35# But they never told you the price that you pay
0:54:35 > 0:54:39# For things that you might have done
0:54:39 > 0:54:42# Only the good die young
0:54:42 > 0:54:43# That's what I said. #
0:54:43 > 0:54:46The guys in the uniforms, who were supposed to be the crowd control,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48were actually out of control.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51They were jumping up and down, they were rocking out,
0:54:51 > 0:54:55and we said, "OK, this stuff really works, this rock'n'roll."
0:54:55 > 0:54:59At the time, if you were in your late teens into your 20s,
0:54:59 > 0:55:00you had to serve in the army.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03So there was a circulating group of younger men
0:55:03 > 0:55:05that were all in the army,
0:55:05 > 0:55:08and so a lot of what we experienced also were a bunch of kids
0:55:08 > 0:55:11throwing up their hats and medals and different things like that
0:55:11 > 0:55:14onto the stage and say, "Here, take my...my stuff."
0:55:14 > 0:55:19# They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
0:55:19 > 0:55:21# Some say it's better but I say it ain't
0:55:21 > 0:55:24# I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
0:55:24 > 0:55:27# Sinners are much more fun
0:55:27 > 0:55:31# Darlin', you know only the good die young... #
0:55:31 > 0:55:33How'm I doin', Mom?
0:55:35 > 0:55:36# Only the good die young... #
0:55:47 > 0:55:51This hat's been in my home for the past 25-plus years.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55I was on stage, and there was this soldier right down front.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58I remember pointing to his hat and... HE MOUTHS
0:56:00 > 0:56:03And then all of a sudden he... I said, "Come on."
0:56:03 > 0:56:07He gave me the hat, and you could see he was terrified for his life.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11And then, in the same instant, the crowd around him was like, "Aah!"
0:56:11 > 0:56:15And I took the hat, put it on my head and pranced around,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17and I'm like, just on 11.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19I walk back to him, and I was going to give it to him,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and he actually went like, "No, for you, for you."
0:56:22 > 0:56:24And I was, like, so moved, because, you know,
0:56:24 > 0:56:26I thought he was really going to get some grief for it.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29# Only the good die young
0:56:29 > 0:56:33# Only the good
0:56:33 > 0:56:35# Only the good die young
0:56:35 > 0:56:37# Woo
0:56:37 > 0:56:38# Woo-hoo
0:56:38 > 0:56:41# Woo-hoo-hoo. #
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Another night, another nation.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59They said it couldn't be done.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01MUSIC: "Big Shot"
0:57:10 > 0:57:14# Well you went uptown riding in your limousine
0:57:14 > 0:57:17# With your fine Park Avenue clothes
0:57:17 > 0:57:19# You had the Dom Perignon in your hand
0:57:19 > 0:57:22# And the spoon up your nose
0:57:23 > 0:57:25# And when you wake up in the morning
0:57:25 > 0:57:27# With your head on fire
0:57:27 > 0:57:30# Your eyes too bloody to see
0:57:30 > 0:57:32# Go on and cry in your coffee
0:57:32 > 0:57:34# But don't come bitchin' to me
0:57:35 > 0:57:39# Because you had to be a big shot didn't you?
0:57:39 > 0:57:41# You had to open up your mouth... #
0:57:41 > 0:57:44He's a rock and roller. I mean, everyone's gotta remember that.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47You can't just look at Billy Joel and levels of history.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50This guy kicked ass, and rocks.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52And he still rocks.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55But he was rockin' he was up there diving in the crowd.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57You know, hitting the guitar.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00He was just up there just going for it.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06# Yeah! #
0:58:06 > 0:58:08Billy is a great showman.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11There were times, which I think surprised the Russian audience,
0:58:11 > 0:58:12he'd be playing around with the jib,
0:58:12 > 0:58:14and then he'd throw his jacket out on the jib,
0:58:14 > 0:58:17sometimes throwing his jacket onto the camera.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19The Russians loved it.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21He was so great at reading an audience -
0:58:21 > 0:58:23"How can I show them, you know...
0:58:23 > 0:58:25"that this is fun?"
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# Aw but now you just don't remember
0:58:28 > 0:58:29# All the things you said
0:58:29 > 0:58:32# You're not sure you want to know
0:58:32 > 0:58:34# I'll give you one hint, honey
0:58:34 > 0:58:36# You sure did put on a show
0:58:36 > 0:58:40# Yes, yes, you had to be a big shot, didn't you?
0:58:40 > 0:58:43# You had to prove it to the crowd
0:58:43 > 0:58:47# You had to be a big shot didn't you?
0:58:47 > 0:58:49# All your friends were so knocked out
0:58:49 > 0:58:52# You had to have the last word... #
0:58:52 > 0:58:55The thing that I had never seen Billy do was the Peter Gabriel flop,
0:58:55 > 0:58:59and just crowd surf. And I thought that was ballsy, that was pretty big.
0:58:59 > 0:59:00I was really scared,
0:59:00 > 0:59:04because I have never seen that kind of a stunt before.
0:59:04 > 0:59:07My first thought was,
0:59:07 > 0:59:10"How are we going to get the guy back on stage?!"
0:59:10 > 0:59:13Or are we going to continue the concert out there?
0:59:13 > 0:59:17Just imagine that. They'd never had anyone crowd surf.
0:59:17 > 0:59:22And I just want every rock and roller to imagine that now - Billy Joel,
0:59:22 > 0:59:2525 years ago, was crowd surfing
0:59:25 > 0:59:29way before all these people were crowd surfing.
0:59:29 > 0:59:32I don't know if it had been done before. I'd never seen it done.
0:59:32 > 0:59:36I was on the stage, and these people were just giving us so much love
0:59:36 > 0:59:39and so much enthusiasm, I said, "You know what?
0:59:39 > 0:59:40"I'm going to just dive in."
0:59:40 > 0:59:43And I dove into the... Maybe it was the world's first mosh pit.
0:59:43 > 0:59:45I don't know. "Moshcow" pit.
0:59:45 > 0:59:49Everything became symbolic.
0:59:49 > 0:59:53Being able to literally put himself in their hands and say,
0:59:53 > 0:59:55"I trust you.
0:59:55 > 0:59:58"I know you're not going to let me fall."
0:59:58 > 1:00:01And ultimately I think that's the final message,
1:00:01 > 1:00:03is that we have to trust each other.
1:00:03 > 1:00:07I think he felt this vibe - the right vibe -
1:00:07 > 1:00:09from the very beginning.
1:00:09 > 1:00:12And... And that's what helped him.
1:00:12 > 1:00:15So - but I was really happy when he got back on stage.
1:00:18 > 1:00:20You look at Billy's insane intensity,
1:00:20 > 1:00:24which was a combination of a multitude of things.
1:00:24 > 1:00:27You could see him jumping at the crane, at the Louma crane.
1:00:27 > 1:00:29I wrote at the bottom of the of the Louma crane,
1:00:29 > 1:00:33I put white camera tape, and I wrote, "Hey, dude."
1:00:33 > 1:00:34So he sat there playing,
1:00:34 > 1:00:36you could see him singing along, "What the...?!"
1:00:36 > 1:00:39And he was, like, yelling at the camera, and doing that crap.
1:00:39 > 1:00:44So it was a mutual kind of battle that was going on.
1:00:44 > 1:00:46I think one inspired the other.
1:00:46 > 1:00:47It worked for a great show.
1:00:51 > 1:00:53Where'd I get that one from?
1:01:18 > 1:01:20Right on, Pop. Right on, Pop!
1:01:20 > 1:01:22Right on, baby!
1:01:22 > 1:01:24- That was bad, man! That was bad! - Was that bad, or what?
1:01:24 > 1:01:25That was dynamite, man.
1:01:25 > 1:01:29Real rock'n'roll, Billy Joel brought to Russia.
1:01:29 > 1:01:34But he hadn't political sense in his songs...
1:01:34 > 1:01:37But that was political action, because he brought freedom,
1:01:37 > 1:01:42and he blowed up not only who were present on the concert,
1:01:42 > 1:01:45but also, everybody in Russia,
1:01:45 > 1:01:50was official first step of American rock'n'roll to Soviet Union.
1:01:50 > 1:01:53Billy Joel's identified as the person who, I think,
1:01:53 > 1:01:56turned the rock'n'roll gates open.
1:01:57 > 1:01:59# One, uh-two
1:01:59 > 1:02:01# Uh-one, two, three, four
1:02:03 > 1:02:05CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:02:10 > 1:02:15# Some love is just a lie of the heart
1:02:15 > 1:02:20# The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
1:02:20 > 1:02:23# And they may not want it to end
1:02:25 > 1:02:28# But it will It's just a question of when
1:02:28 > 1:02:31# I've lived long enough to have learned
1:02:32 > 1:02:37# The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
1:02:38 > 1:02:41# But that won't happen to us
1:02:42 > 1:02:45# Cos it's always been a matter of trust. #
1:02:46 > 1:02:49Everyone was always looking at, is this the end of the Cold War?
1:02:49 > 1:02:53Is this the final breakthrough?
1:02:53 > 1:02:57It was like the beginning domino effect culturally of really
1:02:57 > 1:03:00making a difference.
1:03:00 > 1:03:03# ..to not lose your faith in this world
1:03:04 > 1:03:06# I can't offer you proof
1:03:08 > 1:03:11# But you're going to face a moment of truth
1:03:11 > 1:03:13# It's hard when you're always... #
1:03:13 > 1:03:15In a lot of ways, for those kids,
1:03:15 > 1:03:17it was like the first time they ever had sex.
1:03:17 > 1:03:20They had never experienced anything like this.
1:03:20 > 1:03:23It was pure, unabashed release of emotion.
1:03:23 > 1:03:27He was motivated so deeply by an oppression of people.
1:03:27 > 1:03:31He put a wedge in there and slammed it home.
1:03:31 > 1:03:34It was like he brought the first colour television.
1:03:34 > 1:03:37They weren't going back to black and white after that.
1:03:37 > 1:03:40# ...You have doubts
1:03:40 > 1:03:43# But for God's sake, don't shut me out. #
1:03:45 > 1:03:48You know, we came, we conquered, we kicked ass.
1:03:48 > 1:03:52There's no question in my mind that, beginning with Billy,
1:03:52 > 1:03:56rock'n'roll came in and exploded everyone's mind.
1:03:56 > 1:03:59These kids go, "We want to rock! We want to do that."
1:03:59 > 1:04:03A kid even came up to me after the first show and he said, "Nothing
1:04:03 > 1:04:07"like this has happened since 1917", which was the Russian Revolution.
1:04:07 > 1:04:11Once the genie is out of the bottle, you can't put it back in.
1:04:11 > 1:04:13It happened in America.
1:04:13 > 1:04:16# And some might have learned to adjust
1:04:16 > 1:04:19# But then it never was a matter of trust. #
1:04:21 > 1:04:27Finally, everybody was a part of the movement.
1:04:27 > 1:04:31Everything that we felt that it was our little team doing,
1:04:31 > 1:04:37it wasn't any more. Everybody in the room was a part of the same message.
1:04:37 > 1:04:41It was all of us together.
1:04:41 > 1:04:44# We've both had our share of
1:04:44 > 1:04:47# Believing too long
1:04:49 > 1:04:52# When the whole situation was wrong
1:04:54 > 1:04:57# Some love is just a lie of the soul. #
1:04:57 > 1:05:00I think it had a lot to do with how things changed over there,
1:05:00 > 1:05:04because not too long after that, the wall did come down,
1:05:04 > 1:05:07and the Communist Party was kicked out.
1:05:07 > 1:05:10I think there were a number of dynamics going on at that time.
1:05:10 > 1:05:14We were just one of them. But it was an important one.
1:05:15 > 1:05:19# The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
1:05:20 > 1:05:23# But that won't happen to us
1:05:25 > 1:05:28# Cos it's always been a matter of trust
1:05:30 > 1:05:32# It's a matter of trust
1:05:35 > 1:05:36# Wuh-oh
1:05:38 > 1:05:41# It's a matter of trust
1:05:43 > 1:05:45# Uh-oh
1:05:46 > 1:05:49# It's always been a matter of trust
1:05:49 > 1:05:52# Yeah, yeah
1:05:52 > 1:05:53# Wuh-oh-oh. #
1:05:59 > 1:06:00CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:06:07 > 1:06:10The world is changing, and here we are, pretty soon no more Communist
1:06:10 > 1:06:16Russia, but this was also kind of the end of the band as we knew it.
1:06:19 > 1:06:23The band was slightly changing, and I think everybody kind of had
1:06:23 > 1:06:27an idea that this might be our last hurrah together.
1:06:27 > 1:06:31I kind of had that inkling, and it was kind of bittersweet.
1:06:35 > 1:06:40I'd played with Billy since 1982 on three major tours, and I sensed that
1:06:40 > 1:06:43this was maybe coming to the end of an era for me
1:06:43 > 1:06:45and maybe for the band that was performing with him,
1:06:45 > 1:06:51and that gives you a mixture of feelings, and I really have a strong
1:06:51 > 1:06:54affection and had a strong affection for the people I was working with.
1:06:54 > 1:06:57You bond with people, it's almost like being in the army or something
1:06:57 > 1:06:59when you go on these tours,
1:06:59 > 1:07:05and I felt Billy was an incredible leader and I felt that it was
1:07:05 > 1:07:09a great opportunity to have gone and done something like this.
1:07:09 > 1:07:11Pretty unbelievable,
1:07:11 > 1:07:16what that concert did to the Russian people,
1:07:16 > 1:07:20and at the same time, it would be unfair to not point out what that
1:07:20 > 1:07:23concert did to me as a human being,
1:07:23 > 1:07:28seeing how much they didn't have and how much they appreciated.
1:07:28 > 1:07:30When I go back and look at this Russian project and see
1:07:30 > 1:07:33it as a moment in time that...
1:07:35 > 1:07:42That you just can't ever be grateful enough for.
1:07:43 > 1:07:48The memories and the feeling of accomplishment afterwards
1:07:48 > 1:07:54so overcompensated for the exhaustion and for the missed opportunities
1:07:54 > 1:07:58of family life and for all the things that you have to sacrifice to
1:07:58 > 1:08:01do this sort of existence.
1:08:01 > 1:08:04MUSIC: "Leningrad" by Billy Joel
1:08:23 > 1:08:24# Viktor was born
1:08:25 > 1:08:28# The spring of 44
1:08:29 > 1:08:31# And never saw
1:08:32 > 1:08:36# His father any more
1:08:36 > 1:08:38# A child of sacrifice
1:08:39 > 1:08:41# A child of war
1:08:43 > 1:08:47# Another son who never had
1:08:47 > 1:08:50# A father after Leningrad
1:08:50 > 1:08:51# Went off to school... #
1:08:51 > 1:08:54I wrote a song about the trip. It's called Leningrad.
1:08:54 > 1:08:59It was the story of Viktor and of me, and how
1:08:59 > 1:09:05he made my daughter laugh, and we recognised we have friends here.
1:09:05 > 1:09:09We never knew what friends we had until we came to Leningrad.
1:09:11 > 1:09:14In a way, that song kind of encapsulates
1:09:14 > 1:09:16how that trip changed me.
1:09:16 > 1:09:18# ..Was life in Leningrad. #
1:09:20 > 1:09:22It wasn't just another concert.
1:09:22 > 1:09:28Everybody who was part of this event, I think they can be very proud.
1:09:28 > 1:09:31At that time, in 1987, when Russia had a choice,
1:09:31 > 1:09:34they tried to make their contribution.
1:09:36 > 1:09:38They tried to give this feeling to the people,
1:09:38 > 1:09:41that things can get better, that they can be free.
1:09:41 > 1:09:47The whole tour was about passion and communication between people.
1:09:47 > 1:09:52When we got on the plane to come home, people cried,
1:09:52 > 1:09:55because we thought we would never see the people that we
1:09:55 > 1:09:58met in the Soviet Union.
1:09:58 > 1:10:01We had gotten so close to them.
1:10:01 > 1:10:03# ..Became a circus clown
1:10:05 > 1:10:08# The greatest happiness
1:10:08 > 1:10:10# He'd ever found
1:10:11 > 1:10:15# Was making Russian children glad
1:10:15 > 1:10:18# And children lived in Leningrad. #
1:10:20 > 1:10:23It's hard in the entertainment business to really do
1:10:23 > 1:10:26something that makes a difference in people's lives,
1:10:26 > 1:10:29and being with Billy during these concerts,
1:10:29 > 1:10:33I feel like I actually was part of something that made a difference.
1:10:34 > 1:10:38# And in that bright October sun
1:10:38 > 1:10:41# We knew our childhood days were done
1:10:41 > 1:10:45# And I watched my friends go off to war
1:10:45 > 1:10:48# What do they keep on fighting for?
1:10:51 > 1:10:57# So my child and I came to this place
1:10:58 > 1:11:02# To meet him eye to eye
1:11:02 > 1:11:04# And face to face
1:11:05 > 1:11:07# He made my daughter laugh
1:11:08 > 1:11:11# Then we embraced
1:11:12 > 1:11:16# We never knew what friends we had
1:11:16 > 1:11:19# Until we came to Leningrad. #
1:11:20 > 1:11:27The trip to Russia was probably the biggest highlight as a performer.
1:11:27 > 1:11:30Everything after that was anti-climactic.
1:11:30 > 1:11:34I'd met these people and they weren't the enemy, and what I
1:11:34 > 1:11:38also hoped was that people in America
1:11:38 > 1:11:40would be able to see what we did.
1:11:46 > 1:11:48What happens when your kid turns to you and says,
1:11:48 > 1:11:51"What did you do in the Cold War, Daddy?".
1:11:51 > 1:11:52Now we had something to say.
1:12:01 > 1:12:02Be safe.
1:12:10 > 1:12:14WOMAN'S VOICE: Well, this is what's left of the front rows.
1:12:15 > 1:12:18It was pretty wild tonight.
1:12:19 > 1:12:21MUSIC: "Stiletto" by Billy Joel