At 79, Sir Rod Stewart, singer and guitarist, returns to the stage in Paris, after five years of absence. On June 30, the British rock legend will give a concert at the Zénith to present his latest album. Released in February and produced with pianist Jools Holland, Swing Fever is intended to be a declaration of love to great figures of jazz.
Having signed around forty albums solo or with the group Faces, author of hits that have become classics like Stay With Me (1971), Sailing (1975), Da Ya Think I’m Sexy ? (1978), Baby Jane (1983), the Londoner has sold around 250 million records worldwide. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016.
Last February, the Wall Street Journal announced that Rod Stewart had sold the publishing and recorded music rights to his catalog for nearly $100 million. The buyer is the company Iconic Artists Group, owned by businessman Irving Azoff, who also acquired certain rights to the name and image of the British rocker.
Passionate about trains, model making and football, married three times and father of eight children, the singer told his story in Rod Stewart, the autobiography (Michel Lafon, 2013). He is also a big fan of whiskey and wine. With his friend and partner Duncan Frew, in May he launched his own brand of spirits, Wolfie’s Scottish whisky, on the British market and now in France.
Do you remember your first glass of whiskey?
Yes, it was the early 1960s, I was 16. I drank so much of it that it made me sick. Then, at 18, I started playing harmonica with blues singer Long John Baldry [le bluesman a découvert Rod Stewart, un soir de 1963, alors qu’il jouait un air à l’harmonica dans le métro londonien], who introduced me to martini cocktails during our tour together. It was lighter…
Did your father, who was Scottish, pass on your taste for whiskey to you?
Although my father was Scottish, he didn’t drink. No alcohol. Nothing. I know, it’s very rare. This is why my mother didn’t need to call the police if he didn’t come home [rires]. Above all, my father passed on the love of football to my two brothers, who died today, and to me. We lived in a working-class area in north London. We played there together, and as a teenager I wanted to become a professional footballer.
Do you make a link between football and whiskey?
Yes, because it was my passion for football that led me to that of whiskey. Three years ago, while attending a match in Glasgow, between the city’s two main teams, a friend introduced me to Duncan Frew. After the match – a victory for Celtic, my favorite club, against Rangers! –, we went to a bar, we ordered food and… we never left each other. Duncan is a single malt pro. I have Scottish family roots. I would even say that Scotland is my second home. I have a passion for this nation. However, there is no drink more Scottish than whiskey. So naturally, Duncan and I teamed up to create our brand, Wolfie’s.
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