1983 in music: Billy Joel scores big with 'An Innocent Man'

American singer-songwriter Billy Joel had a big year in 1983. Already well-known and with a string of radio hits to his name, his ninth album 'An Innocent Man' and lead-off single 'Uptown Girl' were huge hits, with both the album and Joel's performance on the 'Uptown Girl' single becoming nominated for Grammy awards. (Both lost out to Michael Jackson, unsurprisingly)

'An Innocent Man' spawned a string of hit singles, including 'Tell Her About It', 'The Longest Time' and the title track 'An Innocent Man'. The album spent over a year on the UK charts, while in his native US, the album spent a staggering 111 weeks on the US pop album charts.

Joel had become something of a fixture in celebrity gossip mags for his relationship with supermodel Christie Brinkley at this time; and she appeared in the now-iconic video for 'Uptown Girl' in which Joel plays a motor mechanic, while Brinkley is the well-heeled customer. The material on the album was inspired by 1960s soul and R&B music, which the singer himself said was because of his feeling somewhat like a teenager again following his recent divorce, and high-profile relationship with Brinkley.

The video was parodied 28 years later in the BBC series 'Ashes To Ashes'; set in that period it featured Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister) as the Joel character and his police colleagues as the mechanics, with Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) as the Brinkley character. The parody proved popular and illustrated the enduring appeal of the song and video.

Billy Joel has made only three more pop albums since 'An Innocent Man', with the last ('River of Dreams') coming in 1993. He remains a big draw on the live circuit however, and continues to tour the world performing his hits.

Here is Billy Joel with 'Tell Her About It':


Bonus: the parody of 'Uptown Girl' taken from 'Ashes To Ashes' (BBC):