How old is Rod Stewart, is he on tour, who’s his wife and what are his biggest songs?
SIR Rod Stewart is a musical legend who has been in the industry since the swinging 60s.
The 74-year-old has fathered eight children, been knighted by the Queen and survived thyroid and prostate cancer - here's the lowdown on the star.
Who is Rod Stewart? What's his background?
Rod Stewart was born in Highgate, North London, on January 10 in 1945.
The youngest of five children by eight years, Rod was born at home during World War II.
A strong supporter of Arsenal FC in his youth, Rod and his family were football obsessed and Rod pursued professional football at the encouragement of his father.
In the summer of 1960, he attended trials for Brentford FC (a third division club at the time) but never received a call back so started pursuing music instead.
In his 2012 autobiography, Rod spoke of his attempt to be a professional footballer: "Well, a musician's life is a lot easier and I can also get drunk and make music, and I can't do that and play football.
"I plumped for music ... They're the only two things I can do actually: play football and sing."
He's now a keen follower of Celtic and the Scotland national team.
How did Rod Stewart's music career start and grow?
The singer's musical career began by touring Europe alongside folk singer Wizz Jones in the early 60s.
However, during this time he found himself deported from Spain for vagrancy in 1963.
Upon his return to the UK, he joined Birmingham based blues group Jimmy Powell & the Five Dimensions as a vocalist/harmonica player.
It was also in 1963 that Rod Stewart started sporting his signature spiky-haired look while touring with the band.
After moving back to London in 1964, Rod joined Long John Baldry's band, the Hoochie Coochie Men.
They recorded one song Good Morning Little Schoolgirl but it failed to chart.
The band then evolved into Steampacket who supported the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Walker Brothers before disbanding in the mid-60s.
He then joined Shotgun Express, who split, and following that he joined the Jeff Beck Group which is where his rise to fame began - they pioneered what is now known as heavy metal.
After two albums and countless hit records the group disbanded in 1969 and Rod replaced the departed guitarist and vocalist for Small Faces - later shortened to just Faces.
At this time he also had a solo contract and released his first solo album, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down, in 1969, which failed to chart in the UK.
Rod continued as part of Faces but also released his own solo work.
Faces were popular, with a No1 hit All Or Nothing in 1966, but it was Rod's third solo album, Every Picture Tells a Story, that made him a household name.
It reached the top of the charts in both the US and UK charts.
His solo success proved too much for Faces and in 1975 the band split.
Rod had released his third and fourth solo albums by this point, both of which mirrored the success of his second
He continued to work in the music business both in the UK and America for many years.
In 2000 he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent surgery, then in 2007, he received a CBE from the Queen.
For a number of years, he released cover albums but returned to original songs with his album Time in 2013.
Rod is still writing and performing. His latest album, Another Country, was released in 2015 and he performed at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2017.
After a three-year break from music, the singer made an emotional return to the music scene with new single Didn’t I in 2018, which describes the devastating effects of drug-taking from a parent's perspective.
It was the lead single from his 2018 album Blood Red Roses, which saw Rod pick up another No1 in the UK.
What are Rod's biggest songs?
The singer has notched up quite a few hits over the years.
He has had six number one singles in the UK and 26 top 10 hits:
- Maggie May (1971) - No1
- You Wear It Well (1972) - No1
- Sailing (1975) - No1
- This Old Heart Of Mine (1975) - No4
- Tonight's The Night (1976) - No5
- The Killing Of Georgie (1976) - No2
- I Don't Want to Talk About It (1977) - No1
- You're In My Heart (1977) - No3
- Hot legs (1977) - No5
- Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (1978) - No1
- Baby Jane (1983) - No1
- What Am I Gonna Do (1983) - No3
- Every Beat Of My Heart (1986) - No2
He also had nine number one albums with:
- Every Picture Tells A Story (1971)
- Never A Dull Moment (1972)
- Sing It Again Rod (1973)
- Smiler (1974)
- Atlantic Crossing (1975)
- A Night On The Town (1976)
- Greatest Hits (1979)
- Time (2013)
- Blood Red Roses (2018)
Is Rod going out in tour in 2019?
Hot Legs is on tour NOW.
Rod headed out on the road in May 2019.
You can find out where to catch him here.
Does Rob Stewart have a family?
When he was 17 Rod had a child out of wedlock. He and his then love, Susannah Boffey, put the child up for adoption.
Since then he has been married three times and has fathered seven more children by four different mothers.
His first marriage was to Alana Hamilton.
The marriage lasted from 1979-1984 and produced two children - Kimberley and Sean Stewart.
His second marriage was to model Rachel Hunter from 1990-2006.
Two children resulted from that union, Renée and Liam Stewart, and in the time between his first and second marriage, he had baby Ruby Stewart with model girlfriend Kelly Emberg.
He is currently married to model Penny Lancaster-Stewart.
They wed in 2007 and have since had sons Alastair and Aiden Stewart.