SHORT TAKES : Storms Swirl About Billy Joel

Singer Billy Joel says he considered touring U.S. troop bases in the Persian Gulf before war broke out there, but military officials told him that it might not be a good idea.

“We asked if we could go to Saudi Arabia, and they said: ‘When are you thinking of going?’ ” Joel said Wednesday. “We said: ‘Well, the best time for us would be the middle of January,’ and they said: ‘Don’t come.’ ” The United States and its allies began war with Iraq on Jan. 16.

Joel is in Australia on his 16-month Storm Front tour, named for his triple-platinum album.

He may have stayed away from the Operation Desert Storm front, but his tour is living up to its name anyway. A freak storm swept Sydney on Monday, and New South Wales state Premier Nick Greiner said many suburbs looked like a “war zone.”