Sir Rod Stewart has shared his thoughts on the Glastonbury Legend slot, vocal health, and his ongoing passion for performing in a special episode of BBC Sounds’ Sidetracked podcast.
Speaking with hosts Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw, Rod joked about the famous Sunday slot: “I don’t mind, I think I deserve it. I just wish they wouldn’t call it the tea-time slot!”
He confirmed he’ll decide his set-list the night before the performance, revealing, “I have two guests coming on… three actually… (the set list) won’t be until the night before.”
Rod also touched on the support from his family. “Believe it or not, all my kids, three of them, bought their own tickets,” he said. “Glastonbury give nothing away.” On the inevitable flood of ticket requests: “All the time, people just come out of the woodwork… you haven’t spoken to me for 25 years, any chance of a ticket?”
Reflecting on his “legend” status, Rod said, “It’s not for me to judge… just pure luck that I’m here… had the voice and the silly looks that you need.” He added that a “simple twist of fate” got him started in music when Long John Baldry spotted him singing at a railway station in the sixties.
Rod spoke openly about the long recovery from throat cancer: “The voice completely went… the muscle memory went… I had to teach myself all over again how to sing.” He described vocal rest as essential: “I wear a sign that says ‘I cannot talk to anybody’… it works miracles. Really is the crown jewels.”
His distinctive raspy voice, he said, partly came from a broken nose: “Doctors said if you straighten your nose, you’ll breathe better but you’ll lose your voice. So I said no way.”
Despite his success, retirement isn’t on the cards. “I’m enjoying performing now more than I’ve done in my entire life and I’m in my 80s,” he said. “You’ll see it at Glastonbury – my energy and enthusiasm is overwhelming!”
On stage fashion, he predicted: “Probably more Celtic shirts,” and joked about audience traditions: “Do you still get underwear thrown at you?” asked Annie. “Why?” Rod replied, before being warned, “Because no one’s washed for three days!” His reply: “Oh, it doesn’t matter, they’re my people!”
Rod also revealed that he’s working on a country album, a Faces album, a solo album and two documentaries. As for his pick for the 2027 Legend slot? “I vote for Stevie Wonder,” he said.
Listen to three Glastonbury specials of Sidetracked with Annie and Nick now on BBC Sounds.
