The entire tour was professionally filmed and the concerts were simulcast on radio worldwide.ĭuring their stay, Billy and his family, along with musicians, staff, and a huge press entourage spent their days interacting with the Russian people, forging true bonds of friendship wherever they went.
The tour began with a small acoustic concert in Tbilisi, followed by three electrifying stadium shows in Moscow and three shows in Leningrad.īilly Joel's historic visit to Russia became a worldwide news event, with journalists and writers covering the tour, its progress, and the effect Billy, his band and his family were having on the Russian people. As America's pop rock musical ambassador, Billy Joel brought the Soviets their first fully staged high energy rock show. When the Kremlin invited Billy Joel to perform in the Soviet Union, he jumped at the chance to realize a long-time dream of performing for the Russian people. Though selling out concerts around the world, Billy and his music were, like much of western pop culture and rock 'n' roll itself, unheard behind the Iron Curtain (except for black market bootlegs and faint shortwave radio).īy the late 80s, The Cold War between the USSR and the West had begun to thaw in the light of Russian head-of-state Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, designed to bring openness and transparency to the Soviet Union while promoting political reform and cross-cultural exchanges. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Billy Joel was building a catalog of timeless songs while enjoying a string of consecutive hit albums and singles. Earlier this year, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings announced that all of the artist's studio albums had been newly Mastered For iTunes ( /BillyJoel) and would be available individually or as part of Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection, a specially priced bundle which includes a bonus anthology of 17 rarities. The CD, DVD/Blu-ray and Deluxe Editions of A MATTER OF TRUST-THE BRIDGE TO RUSSIAmay be pre-ordered at Amazon ( ).Ī MATTER OF TRUST- THE BRIDGE TO RUSSIA: The Music (2CD) is available digitally on iTunes ( ).