Music

Born in London in 1945, he's undoubtedly one of the last living legends of English rock. He celebrates his 80th birthday today…

Since his first notable musical experiences, with the Jeff Beck Group (1967) then with the Faces (1969) and their unforgettable "Stay With Me", Rod Stewart has gradually become known under his own name with a solo career that is, to say the least, versatile, surfing on the trends of the moment. 

He has also managed the feat of placing his songs at the top of the dance charts ("Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" on the album "Blondes Have More Fun" in 1978 or "Baby Jane" in 2003). Not bad for a rocker! But he's best known for his ballads, sometimes stripped down like "Maggie May" (1971), sometimes made to be sung in chorus by the crowds like "Sailing" (1975). And of course, as a great football fan, in the lyrics of "You're In My Heart" (1977), he compares the one he loves to "United" (Manchester) and "Celtic" (Glasgow), his two favorite teams.

A great seducer before the Eternal, Rod Stewart wrote this title from the album "Foot Loose & Fancy Free" in homage to the Swedish actress Britt Ekland, whom he frequented assiduously at the time. It's not known whether the young lady enjoyed being compared to two football teams (even top-level ones), but a few years later, we have not lost anything of the legal battle between the knight in shining arm - admittedly a notorious unfaithful man - and his blonde sweetheart. During their resounding breakup, the actress and model in fact demanded 12 million dollars from her partner because she was allegedly the "source of inspiration for his most popular songs". Now that is less romantic! 

Married three times, Rod Stewart has been living quite discreetly since 2007 with the model and TV presenter Penny Lancaster, 26 years his junior. And it's not known whether he sometimes whispers "You're In My Heart" in her ear...

After his recent European tour aptly titled "One Last Time" and a residency at Cesra's Palace in Las Vegas, Rod Stewart judges "cross of wood, cross of iron" that this is his last trip to the world's stages. The last part of this tour will take place in North America in 2025.

Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in October 2016, it's not known whether the troubadour prefers this prestigious but dusty honor to the two nominations ("induction" in English) to the famous Rock'n Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland (in 1994 as a solo artist and in 2012 for his participation in the Faces). 

A true music fanatic, "Rod the Mob" (as his fans affectionately call him) has no intention of depriving himself of sporadic small pleasures like these jazzy covers alongside pianist Jools Holland on the album "Swing Fever" released in February 2024. At the same time, he continues to close a few doors by selling, also in 2024, the publishing rights to his catalog for the tidy sum of 100 million dollars. Obviously, we don't consider this kind of transaction when we still have our artistic future ahead of us...

(MH with AK - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Rod Stewart on stage at Forest-National in Brussels (Belgium) on October 10, 1986