Photo: Penny Lancaster
Sir Rod Stewart has just turned 78, but he still likes nothing better than to "jump around" and sing his legendary hits as he prepares to return to New Zealand next month - but is it really his farewell tour?
Speaking to Sunday Morning's Susie Ferguson, Sir Rod says he's eager to return in April after multiple pandemic-related delays.
"This time it's working, because I started packing this morning," he says.
Sir Rod was married to Auckland model Rachel Hunter from 1990 to 2006 and a frequent visitor to these shores.
"I did spend a lot of time down there when I was married to Rachel and it is somewhat of a homecoming. Looking forward to it very much."
Sir Rod calls the shows in Dunedin, Napier and Auckland "sort of" a farewell tour - with a catch.
"I'm not retiring but I would like to retire these songs for a while and move on to something that's another challenge."
Among the new projects is a swing album with Jools Holland, but Sir Rod says he still enjoys the reception the classics like 'Maggie May' and ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ get.
"Every night's a different audience and every song gets a different response."
The recent devastation from Cyclone Gabrielle is also on Sir Rod's mind, he says. His show at Mission Estate Winery in Hawke's Bay, one of the hardest hit areas, is planned for 8 April.
"We're gonna make a donation to the New Zealand Red Cross if the show goes ahead. We're pretty sure - we're monitoring the situation, and I'm 70 percent sure it's going ahead."
Having had his 78th birthday in January, Sir Rod is up there with Mick Jagger and other rock icons trying to negotiate getting older with still rallying the big crowds.
Rod Stewart performs at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on 29 November, 2022. Photo: DYLAN MORRISON / NURPHOTO / AFP
"If you're not fit," the road takes its toll, he says, "But I pride myself in my fitness and the strength in my voice. Both things take a lot of working on, especially the voice."
"I start warming up the voice a week before the first concert. I'm always in the gym, always keeping meself fit.
"It's strenuous (being onstage) - it's two hours.
"I don't exactly stand at the microphone and sing. I like to jump around, dance - if you could call it that - get involved, make people happy."
While he takes care of himself, he still takes time to enjoy life, sipping a glass of wine when RNZ speaks to him.
"I haven't joined the pipe and slipper club yet."
Back in the '70s and '80s, Sir Rod was known as one of music's great playboys and partiers, but says things are quite different now and he doesn't miss those days.
"I've grown up now. I have a wonderful wife, seven lovely kids, I really couldn't be happier.
"It had its moments - when one is young, one enjoys life's rich tapestry."
"I did it, I did it, and I enjoyed it, and I've lived a good life."
Sir Rod looks back on those times "with fondness" but admits the freewheeling lifestyle of the 1970s wouldn't fly today.
"Too many cameras and things. One gets caught doing everything.
“Not that I did anything illegal, but you know, you can't get away with much nowadays. Literally, you can't get away with anything."
Does he have any regrets?
"I suppose I could have treated women a little bit more with respect in my early twenties and early thirties. I try and teach my children, my boys, that women must be treated with respect."
Sir Rod says family is the most important thing to him now, with a wide range of children from several different partners.
"I find I have to be a different father to all of them because they're all such different ages."
Rod Stewart performs at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on 29 November 2022. Photo: DYLAN MORRISON / NURPHOTO / AFP
The best thing about getting older is being able to pass on advice to younger people, "even if they don't listen".
"I've done it all. I try to give advice and some people listen, some people don't. Especially in the music business, because they already think they know it all."
Sir Rod's top advice for young bands is to watch where the money is going.
"I find it hard to trust people, and I'm working on that.
"In the first part of my career I was stolen from and my advice to upcoming bands and singers is you must trust somebody with the money otherwise they'll just run away with it, like has happened with a lot of artists."
The music industry has changed massively in Sir Rod's more than 50-year career, with the latest change the rise of streaming - which leaves fees for artists that are far too low, he says. There’s also less opportunities for young artists to grow from record labels.
"Record companies now, they don't give you a future. They say we'll give you one album and if you don't sign you're out the door.
"Whereas when I signed with Mercury it was a three-album deal, and whatever happened to the first album, they have to do the second and the third, which is a career.
"You can build on a career, be given the chance to build on a career."
Sir Rod isn't quite saying farewell yet, but he is very aware of the time passing. The youngest of five children, he's recently suffered losses.
"I was brought up in a council house with a very, very loving family.
"I’ve just lost two of my brothers in the space of three months. One was 95 and the other one was 88, and we were all very close, so that is a great loss for me.
"I still have my sister around me, and she reminds me of my roots.
"And I go to the hairdresser and we cut the locks, and my roots are showing,” he laughs.
* Sir Rod Stewart will play Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium 5 April, Napier’s Mission Estate Winery 8 April, and Auckland’s Spark Arena 9 April.
