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EXCLUSIVE: A music producer who worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Johnny Mathis and Billy Ray Cyrus, has claimed Billy Joel has an ‘adamant’ opinion on his next move

Billy Joel has had a prestigious career spanning over five decades, and one man who previously worked with him has claimed to know his next move.

While the Piano Man singer, 75, continues to tour and showcase his iconic tunes, pal and fellow musician Fred Mollin isn’t so sure he’ll be releasing any new tunes. Billy last released a new song, titled Turn the Lights Back On, on February 1, 2024. The track was his first new single since Christmas in Fallujah in 2007.

But Fred, who co-produced Just Across the River with fellow Long Islander Billy, is convinced that will be his last.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Fred adamantly said: “He does not want to make another record.” He then added: “If he did, I might get the call, but he’s adamant he’ll never make another record.

“He doesn’t write songs anymore. He writes musical pieces, he doesn’t write songs anymore.”

He also explained how their bond began with their South Shore of Long Island connection. “He’s a hometown hero to me and I’ve always loved his music,” Fred said. “I was absolutely his biggest fan when his first albums came out and years later I was doing a duets album for Jimmy Webb.

“I decided to do a duet of Wichita Lineman. I remember Jimmy saying it was Billy’s favourite song and I said we’d have to do it with him and he said ‘I’m there’. We got along famously,” Fred added.

Fred was speaking ahead of the release of his new book titled Unplugged in which he opens up on his career spanning over five decades. His biggest hit comes in the form of his co-production of Dan Hill’s Sometimes When We Touch, and as well as working with Billy, Fred has worked alongside other huge stars such as Johnny Mathis, Kris Kristofferson and Billy Ray Cyrus.

The Grammy nominated star has also been a part of the music set up for huge television and movie productions, including the Friday 13th series and Beverly Hills 90210.

However, it was him time working with Disney on their popular Disney Lullaby albums that he is especially proud of. “I love doing music for children,” he gushed.

“It makes me happy, and I know it does some good. We had an idea to use Disney songs and other songs and make instrumental versions to put the baby to bed.

“I have to tell you, it is probably one of the most successful records I’ve ever done. It’s been out since 1999 and it’s gone gold. It’s also heading towards platinum and the streaming numbers are off the charts.

He has since done another six similar albums and he added: “You know, it really has become this beautiful gift that I’ve been able to give. On some levels, I feel it’s a beautiful gift to put a child to sleep and to calm down a child. I’m so proud of all of it. I really think it does good.”

Fred added: “The one thing I have to tell you is that me daughter is 38 and she has two kids of her own and she puts them to sleep with my lullaby albums, which I think is delightful.

“However, her lullaby music when she was five or four, because her bedroom was directly above my basement studio when I was doing Friday 13th part seven, part eight. You name it, I was doing all these horror music that she heard as lullabies. She never had a problem with it I guess.

“When I did the first lullaby album she must have been about 15 and she listened to it and just said ‘good timing, dad.”

Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell has opened up on overhauling his lifestyle, including his morning routine, after realising he needed to make a change upon welcoming son Eric

Having helped launch the careers of artists including One Direction and Little Mix, Simon Cowell is one of the most recognisable faces in showbiz. After starting out as a mailroom clerk at EMI Music Publishing, Simon’s career trajectory saw him become a music mogul as the creator of talent shows The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

Amid his success 65-year-old Simon has opened up on the morning routine that’s helped fuel his success, though has revealed that he’s overhauled it in recent years. Over a decade ago, the TV personality would go to bed in the early hours of the morning after his lifestyle led him to develop an irregular sleeping pattern.

“I was like a vampire. I realised I was going to sleep between 5 and 7 in the morning, and then the trouble with that is no matter if you get six hours or eight hours you always wake up tired,” he told Terri Seymour on ITV’s Lorraine in 2019. “That’s the problem, because you’re not supposed to do that.”

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During an interview with GQ magazine in 2011, Simon gave fans a peek inside his old morning routine, with the publication stating that he’d eaten the “same breakfast every day for about five years”. According to the publication, after resetting his alarm’s snooze button twice, he’d tuck into a breakfast of hot water with papaya juice and lime and then three smoothies – a spinach one, an antioxidant one, and a super smoothie containing seven fruits.

“I love to wake up in a good mood and look forward to what’s coming,” he said. “As soon as that tray is put in front of me, I can’t wait to have it. I like looking forward to things.”

However, in 2019 he revealed that he’d given his morning routine a dramatic makeover. Rather than going to sleep when many people wake up, the Britain’s Got Talent star explained how he changed his approach after becoming a dad to his son Eric, who was born in 2014.

“I now go to sleep at 10, I now have breakfast at 8:30. It’s almost like a complete reversal,” he said on Lorraine. When asked about how his previous sleep pattern impacted being a dad, he explained: “That was a big part of it, it just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t explain to someone his age I’d been working all night and I’m tired in the afternoon.

“It bothered me, so I thought, I’m just gonna do it’, and once I did it, it was simple.” As well as changing his sleeping pattern, in 2020 Simon revealed how he kicks off his mornings with a gruelling spot of exercise. In BGT spin-off Unseen Bits, Simon said he did press-ups “150 times before I come to work, in about three goes”.

Meanwhile, in 2022 Simon gave an update on his breakfast situation as he explained that he still enjoys a smoothie to kick off his day. But rather than reaching for three, he now tucks into a “green smoothie” and no-sugar Alpen alongside some tea with oat milk, he told The Sun.

When it comes to lunch, he added that he’d have grilled tomatoes and some soup and revealed he’d often go out for dinner but not eat a thing while there. “I’m not a big eater,” he said. “I don’t enjoy it that much. I’d rather have a beer than eat, any day of the week.

“Sometimes when we are going out for dinner because I know I’m going to hate the food, I have baked beans on toast before I go, then eat nothing. When you go to one of these ghastly big parties, or weddings, where the food is horrific, I just can’t deal with that.”

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It’s been three decades since That’s Life! was on our TV screens, but the Esther Rantzen-fronted show is still fondly remembered by many – what became of its many stars?

That’s Life! was a TV institution – one of the biggest shows of its time, regularly watched by more than 20 million viewers. A bizarre mix of campaigning consumer affairs, rudely-shaped garden vegetables and a dog who could say “sausages”, it was launched in 1973 and ran for 21 years, until it was eventually axed in 1994.

At the helm was the indomitable Esther Rantzen, later made a Dame, who presented alongside a string of co-hosts including Gavin Campbell, Doc Cox, Joanna Monro, Chris Serle and Howard Leader.

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Memorable moments from the show pervaded everyday life, with singer Allison Jordan winning a search for a star competition in an early precursor to The X Factor, even being awarded a recording contract with Simon Cowell. A campaign against child abuse also led to Esther famously establishing the helpline Childline, while a weekly jobsworth hat was awarded to officious members of the public who enforced seemingly-pointless rules because it was ‘more than their job was worth not to.’

Add into the mix the carrots that looked like penises, or parsnips resembling vaginas, and a dog who famously – and not particularly coherently – said the word ‘sausages’, and you have some idea of why the studio audience was either in hysterics or floods of tears during each week’s episode.

“Our clout came from the size of our audience,” Esther told The Guardian, “which meant that decision-makers, even prime ministers, knew we were watched by the people they answered to. It helped that Sunday night was the evening MPs were most likely to watch TV.”

But what became of That’s Life!’s many presenters? Mirror takes a look at the lives and careers of some of its best-loved faces….

Esther Rantzen

Esther, now 84, devised the show alongside two other co-creators. Sadly, in January 2023 she revealed she has lung cancer and later said she wanted to die at Swiss clinic Dignitas, while campaigning for assisted dying.

However, in March this year her daughter Rebecca Wilcox said Esther was now too unwell to travel to Switzerland for the death she wanted, and that her mum’s life-preserving drugs were no longer working.

Speaking of her proudest achievements in life, Esther said: “Childline has made such a difference to millions of children. So has the Silver Line Helpline for isolated and vulnerable older people. And I’m delighted that people are still moved and inspired by the moment on That’s Life! when we introduced Sir Nicholas Winton to the children he saved from the Holocaust. I consider myself so lucky to have been in the right place at the right time with the right brilliant teams.”

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Joanna Monro

Actress Joanna, 69, was on That’s Life! for just two years – from 1982 to 1984. She went on to become a theatre star, playing the part of Rosie in the ABBA musical Mamma Mia, spending five years in the show in London’s West End, as well as on tour. She is married to Granville Saxton, best known for playing a Death Eater in the Harry Potter franchise.

Doc Cox

Doc, 78, started on That’s Life! as the show’s warm-up man for 10 years, before switching to a role in front of the cameras, remembering: “Someone didn’t turn up for one of the auditions or something, and I was sort of pushed in”.

He’s also known by the stage name Ivor Biggun and has released four albums of humorous, smutty songs. One of his singles was NME’s single of the week in the late 1970s and reached No 22 in the UK charts.

Bill Buckley

Bill, 66, presented the show from 1982 to 1985, having been chosen from a list of thousands while he was working as a newspaper reporter. He went on to appear on the BBC’s Holiday programme as well as gameshows including Blankety Blank, Call My Bluff and All Star Secrets. When Channel 5 launched in 1997, he was a senior continuity announcer for more than five years and became a presenter on local radio.

Bill has also spoken out about his struggle with ‘moobs’ – a condition called gynacomastia – where men develop female-type breasts even if they are not overweight or out of condition. He said: “I suffered from this until I had my moobs removed at the age of 40 and am always looking for opportunities to ‘bang the drum’ about corrective surgery.”

Howard Leader

Howard appeared on TV in shows including the popular sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo before joining That’s Life! for it’s final five years before it was axed. He went on to present for BBC local radio, including BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

Gavin Campbell

Gavin, 79, presented the show from 1982 until its end in 1994, having previously appeared in the film adaptation of TV show On The Buses. In the 1997 general election, he presented a video for Referendum Party, supporting the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Since 2003, he has been part of a company that imports wine, having retired from showbiz.

Chris Serle

Chris sadly died in September last year, at the age of 81, as the BBC paid tribute to a “familiar and cherished figure on British television screens throughout the 1970s and 1980s”. His broadcasting journey included stints presenting In at the Deep End and Points of View for the corporation. He was also at the helm of Radio 4’s Pick of the Week from 1981 to 1988, and entertained listeners on his long-running afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol.

Chris’s list of prominent shows further includes Windmill, treasured for revisiting archived BBC clips of hit series such as Blue Peter and Doctor Who. He was seen in The Computer Programme, which aired in 1982, and later in Monkey Business.

Adrian Mills

Adrian, 68, appeared on the show for seven years, until 1984. He later went on to be a location reporter on Cilla Black’s dating show Surprise, Surprise and became the face of the BBC’s daytime TV schedule.

He also presented a series of podcasts, reuniting with Esther Rantzen, called That’s Afterlife. He is currently the consumer expert on TalkTV and is the co-owner of Thai Tho, a Thai restaurant located in Wimbledon, London, awarded the Open Table Diners’ Choice Award in 2024.

Mollie Sugden

Actress Mollie, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 86, was best known for starring in the beloved TV sitcom Are You Being Served? She also famously appeared in other shows including Coronation Street, The Liver Birds, That’s My Boy and even Little Britain, alongside David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

But many TV fans don’t know that Mollie also had her own slot on That’s Life!, with a 23-week stint in 1986.

Mollie died of unspecified heart failure – her final appearance in public coming at the funeral of her Are You Being Served? co-star Wendy Richard, also known for playing Pauline Fowler on EastEnders, just a few months earlier.

Simon Fanshawe

Simon won the Perrier Comedy Award in 1989 and joined That’s Life! in 1990. After leaving the series he went on to become a co-founder of the LGBT charity Stonewall and still presents on TV. The 68 year old lives in Brighton with his husband.

Cyril Fletcher

Cyril was an English comedian, broadcaster and panto star, amongst other things – and brought his ‘Odd Odes’ to That’s Life! in 1973, also reading humorous cuttings and getting involved in the campaigning journalism of the show, staying until 1981.

He died in his sleep in January 2005 at the age of 91, after a short illness, with his wife passing away less than seven months later.

Maev Alexander

Maev is a Scottish television and stage actress known for her roles in The Gentle Touch, Sutherland’s Law, Holding The Fort and The New Avengers. She joined the That’s Life! presenting team for several years, before going on to star in a romantic thriller alongside Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

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Nicola Peltz’s reported feud with David and Victoria Beckham has reached a new level as friends of both parties spoke out about their fractured family relationship

Nicola Peltz has been described as “obsessive” for wearing Victoria’s blue and white Dolce & Gabbana biker jacket last year. It follows the explosion of Victoria and David’s reported feud with their daughter-in-law, whose friends accused the famous couple of “emotional abuse and toxic behaviour” last night.

Earlier this month, reports of a rift between Brooklyn Beckham and the rest of his family were further fuelled when the 26-year-old failed to show up with Nicola to his dad’s 50th birthday bash in Notting Hill, despite being in London at the time. A source close to Brooklyn and Nicola later claimed that Victoria and David “refused” to see the couple privately ahead of the birthday do, even though they had “travelled all the way to London specifically to try to repair the relationship”.

But after a friend of Nicola’s alleged that the American heiress had helped Brooklyn “see the emotional abuse and toxic behaviour within his family”, a source close to the Beckham has hit back. They said that the claims were a “deeply unpleasant attack” that is “ludicrous and patently untrue”. A second source also accused Nicola of using the Beckham name when it suited her.

“How the Beckhams have been cast as unsupporting is ridiculous when they have been regularly posting about her endeavours to their millions of followers,” they said, referring to Nicola’s film career.

“But what makes the current situation even more galling is how Nicola appears to relish the association with the family name when it suits her.”

The source referred to Nicola wearing the same blue and white Dolce & Gabbana biker jacket last February that Victoria had famously worn to watch Manchester United in 2001. While outlets at the time had reported that Nicola had been “granted access to her mother-in-law’s personal archive of noughties fashion”, friends of the Beckhams have said that this was not the case.

“If not obsessive, it was definitely the most bizarre behaviour especially given relations weren’t the greatest anyway in the wake of the wedding,” one friend alleged.

Meanwhile, friends of Nicola claimed that the jacket was bought for her by her mum in September 2023, “not knowing Victoria had worn it”. They added: “Nicola however did recognize the jacket and thought it was sweet to wear something her mother in law had worn. Nicola has only ever attempted to be close to the Beckhams as she’s close with her own family.”

Managing her ex Liam Payne’s £24m fortune for their son is a huge added pressure for heartbroken Cheryl, a source has revealed following the One Direction singer’s tragic death

Seven months after Liam Payne tragically fell to his death from a hotel balcony, his ex partner Cheryl Tweedy has been given the responsibility of managing the £24m fortune he left behind. Court documents published last week revealed the 31-year-old One Direction star didn’t make a will prior to his death, and Cheryl and music industry lawyer Richard Bray now have responsibility for administering his estate, including his property, money and possessions.

Cheryl, 41, and Liam were together for two years until 2018 and split just over a year after their son Bear was born. Shortly after Liam’s death, a heartbroken Cheryl wrote on Instagram she was “navigating this earth shattering event” and “working through her grief at this indescribably painful time”.

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A source claims the Girls Aloud singer is now relying on a close-knit circle of friends and focusing on trying to be “the best possible mum” to Bear, now eight. “Liam not leaving a will means Cheryl is front and centre of what’s happening now,” they told us. “It’s a really sad situation and a lot for one person to handle.”

Maria Bailey, founder of Grief Specialists, a social enterprise supporting anyone experiencing grief, says when a loved one doesn’t leave a will – or a will doesn’t match expectations – it often sparks feelings of confusion, hurt and anger, on top of the sadness of the loss itself.

“You can’t have a conversation with the person, so you can’t find out their wishes, or their reasoning,” she explains. “This can feel overwhelming. Going through a bereavement is already emotionally complex, and unexpected responsibilities, like being named executor of an estate, can intensify that experience.

“When there’s no will, you can be thrust into emotionally and legally charged situations, which can lead to feelings of shock, resentment, guilt or anxiety, especially if family dynamics are strained, or if decisions are unclear.”

Liam died of “internal and external haemorrhage” and multiple traumatic injuries after falling from the third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires on 16 October. The Argentinian prosecutor’s office said shortly afterwards that tests found traces of cocaine, alcohol and a prescription antidepressant in his body.

In December, five people were charged in connection with the tragic death, including the hotel’s manager and the receptionist, and a friend of Liam’s, but these charges were dropped earlier this year.

Two other hotel employees were also charged with supplying cocaine to the Liam on the night he died.

His funeral was held in Amersham in Buckinghamshire in November, and was attended by a string of A-listers including his former bandmates Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, as well as Simon Cowell, Cheryl and Bear, and his girlfriend at the time, Kate Cassidy.

Cheryl, along with Richard Bray, now has responsibility for managing the estate – which totals £24.3m once debts and expenses have been paid – but can’t distribute it just yet.

Maria believes it’s important for someone in a position like Cheryl’s to find “emotional space to grieve” as well as practical help, to work through the logistics of managing an estate without a will.

She adds, “Grief isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ experience, but people often cycle through emotions such as anger, sadness and confusion, especially when there are unresolved issues, or surprises relating to the estate.

“Being made responsible for another person’s legacy can stir up additional emotions, such as doubt, or heaviness, and might also raise questions, such as ‘Why me?’ or ‘What would they have wanted?’”

After splitting from Cheryl, Liam had a three-year relationship with model and actress Maya Henry, who told a magazine earlier this year that her ex was “unrecognisable” when he took drugs and she ended their relationship because “staying in his world meant losing herself”.

At the time of his death, Liam was dating model and influencer Kate Cassidy, who claimed a week after the fall that the pair had hoped to marry. Posting a tribute to Liam on her Instagram account, the 26-year-old wrote, “A few weeks ago, we sat outside on a beautiful evening manifesting our lives together.

“I keep your note close, even though you told me not to look at it. It said, ‘Me and Kate to marry within a year/engaged & together forever.’”

It’s been speculated that Kate won’t receive any money from Liam’s estate. In UK law, spouses and children are usually first to claim an estate, which means Cheryl is likely to put the money in a trust for Bear.

The Newcastle-born performer will be making the decisions alongside lawyer Richard Bray, who has “represented many high profile artists, performers, managers, record labels, publishers and senior executives” in the 36 years since he qualified, according to Bray & Krais legal practice.

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