Billy Joel approves Fall Out Boy's 'We Didn't Start the Fire' cover

Billy Joel, who had previously indicated to Newsday he was aware of and delighted by the band Fall Out Boy’s updated version of his 1989 historical-event recitation “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” expanded on his thoughts in a BBC Radio 2 interview posted Monday.

“Have you heard the new verses written by, is it Fall Out Boy?” asked Zoe Ball, 52, host of the English state radio network’s “The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show,” just before the 2-hour, 7-minute mark of the three-hour program.

“Fall Out Boy, yeah, I heard about this, yeah,” replied the Hicksville-raised Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, 74. “Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in '49 and ended in '89 — it was a 40-year span. And everybody said, ‘When are you going to do Part Two? Are you going to do Part Two?’ I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done Part One.’ So, Fall Out Boy, go ahead. Great,” he said, giving his blessing. “Take it away.”

The Grammy-nominated Fall Out Boy on June 28 released its update of Joel’s No. 1 hit that recites decades of historical milestones, substituting new lyrics focusing on 1989 to now. Mentioned are political and cultural entities and events from Rodney King, Michael Jordan, Kurt Cobain and Kim Jong Un to the Arab Spring, the Sandy Hook shooting, Y2K and President Donald Trump’s impeachments to Captain Planet, Harry Potter, Iron Man and Pokémon.

Joel also told the host that when performing the song in concert, “Sometimes I’m watching people sing along, hoping they’ll guide me. Because you get one word wrong and it’s a train wreck. Which happened to me. I was in Toronto and I forgot the words and then I just stopped the song: ‘Stop the music! Stop the—!’ And the crowd made this noise like: ‘Ahhhh….’ So it’s, y’know, walking on a tightrope with that thing.”

Joel was in England headlining a sold-out, multi-artist concert Friday at BST Hyde Park, his debut at that London Royal Parks venue. At one point, American singer Joe Jonas joined him onstage for a duet of Joel’s 1983 No. 3 hit “Uptown Girl.” A video clip on Joel’s Facebook shows Jonas walking onstage, wearing brown pants and a white T-shirt with an unbuttoned brown-and-white polka-dot short-sleeved shirt.

“Bucket list. Major bucket list,” Jonas, 33, says in an Instagram video posted Friday, saying he has just come from a sound check. “Quite nervous. But the person I sang with is incredible and made me feel very comfortable.” After an edit showing the beginning of sunset, Jonas says, “I’m walking to stage; my friend is on his last song … and I’m about to go join him up there. Wish me luck!” The video then goes backstage as an announcer introduces Jonas.

“This still feels unreal” Jonas wrote in an accompanying caption. “Thank you to my friend @billyjoel for having me on stage to sing ‘Uptown Girl’ with you tonight in Hyde Park. You’ve been a big inspiration to me and this was a bucket list moment. Life made.”