Photo: Getty Images
Billy Joel has given a thumbs up to Fall Out Boy's remake of his "We Didn't Start the Fire" that features verses covering 1989 to 2023.
Joel told BBC Radio 2 he's heard the Fall Out Boy version and that “Everybody has been wanting to know when there is going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in ’49 and ended in ’89 -- it was a 40-year span."
He continued, “Everybody said, ‘Are you going to do part two? When are you going to do part two?’ And I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done part one.’ So, Fall Out Boy, go ahead. Great. Take it away."
The new version starts with the animated series Captain Planet (which actually launched in 1990), followed by references to — not exactly in chronological order — both of Michael Jordan's uniform numbers (23 and 45), Kurt Cobain, Harry Potter, Donald Trump's two impeachments, the death of Michael Jackson, Brexit, George Floyd, Woodstock '99, and the Sandy Hook, Connecticut massacre.
You can follow along with the lyric video on YouTube. The band is also selling a very limited-edition seven-inch single through its webstore.
Source: American Songwriter and Premiere