This week’s news and gossip

Main photo Penny Lancaster Instagram

Vegas

Friday night was party night in Vegas for Rod’s second show and Hendrik Mulder was there to get some first class shots and Sherry Rebecca Parton also got some great photos

Marcy Braunstein was in on Saturday night and Hendrik was back for a second night

 

On Wednesday night the usual crowds were in attendance

Our old friend Wolfie’s Rod Cut Out was missing again but Sue Walton found a substitute

Iris Alexander got her first ever ball and covered the night for SMILER along with Laura Bean and Sue Walton

Fearless: The Anthology 1965 – 2025

On Friday Ronnie Wood did a signing to promote  
Fearless: The Anthology 1965 – 2025 at the Rolling Stones store, in Carnaby Street, London.

Denise Golding, Thierry Desmit, Maureen Davison, Paul Boyd, Chris Bakker and Yve Paige were among the sellout crowd that attended and here are some of the photos they got

Denise told SMILER “I went round to his side of the table and planted a kiss on his cheek. The poor guy must have wondered what was happening but I couldn’t resist the chance to express my thanks to him, for all the joyous music he and the Faces have produced over the years.”

Maureen added “A truly fabulous day in London and my mission is now accomplished” after adding Ronnie’s signature to her jacket previously signed by Rod and Kenney.

Whats On

Christmas With The Jones Gang

Come join Kenney Jones and his band for a festive celebration like no other at Hurtwood Park Polo Club! Get ready for a night of live music and plenty of holiday cheer with The Jones Gang.

Sunday 21st December

Doors open at 7pm | Music starts at 8pm

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/christmas-with-the-jones…

Meet the Author: Penny Lancaster

It looks like she’s lived a charmed life – a loving upbringing, marrying a superstar rock singer, children, strong friendships, and lately a successful career in television.

But in her new book ‘Someone Like Me’, Penny Lancaster reveals how she was bullied at school, struggled with her studies because of undiagnosed dyslexia and, as she made her way for herself as a model, experienced a harrowing sexual assault.

Determined, though, always to see the positive in life, Penny cultivated skills and talents to enable her to achieve and maintain her independence, training as a fitness instructor and then a photographer, and she’s used her struggles to inform and help others.

What’s more, since marrying and making a family with Rod Stewart, Penny has embraced every opportunity offered to her. She’s competed on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, ‘Celebrity MasterChef’, ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’. And she is a guest panellist on ‘Loose Women’.

Using this profile she is a campaigner and ambassador for a multitude of charities, speaks widely and passionately about menopause issues and volunteers as a Special Constable with the City of London Police.

She is a warm, engaging and inspiring speaker and we’re thrilled that she’s joining us at The Riverside in Woodbridge for this special evening event. She will be in conversation with Catherine Larner and signing copies of her book.

Tickets are £20 to include a signed copy of her book ‘Someone Like Me’ (RRP £20). One further ticket can be purchased for £12 (without the book).

Please book at The Riverside in person or on the website www.theriverside.co.uk and be sure to include your name with your booking so that we can allocate your book on the night.

Photography credit to Robert Wilson.

Programme Type: Live Show On Stage

Director: Catherine Larner

Cast: Penny Lancaster

Certificate: 12A Live

Running Time: 90 minutes

Certificate: 12A Live

Running Time: 90 minutes

Begin Again

Penny also joined Davina McCall on her podcast Begin Again on Wednesday

Maggie May: Pure music history and the beginning of a global career

By Martin Heidt
​
​‘Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you…’ – a line of lyrics that has become second nature to millions of music fans in general and Rod Stewart fans in particular. A line of lyrics that not only marks the beginning of a song, but also represents the start of one of the greatest careers in the music business.

‘Maggie May’ represents Sir Rod Stewart’s global career like hardly any of his countless other hits from over six decades. Without good old Maggie, we would probably never have enjoyed ‘Baby Jane’, never sailed across the oceans in our minds to “Sailing”, or danced our first clumsy blues in our parents’ party cellars to ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’.
But Rod Stewart gave us ‘Maggie May’ and the music world one of the biggest hits of the 1970s, which has lost none of its charisma and power to this day.

When the young Rod recalled his first sexual adventure as a teenager in the early 1970s and captured this memory in the form of song lyrics, he had no idea, and probably didn’t even think about it, that it would become a real hit. The song tells the story of a schoolboy who was seduced by an older woman and wants to free himself from this relationship. According to Stewart, the lyrics are based on his own first sexual experience at the age of 16; however, the woman’s name was not Maggie May. Instead, Stewart used the title of an old English folk song that the Beatles had recorded for their album ‘Let It Be’. Attentive observers will have noticed that Maggie is spelled slightly differently on the Beatles’ LP: Maggie Mae.

But we digress. Rod was assisted in writing the lyrics by Martin Quittenton, a British guitarist and composer, who also played the acoustic guitar on the track. Rod’s Faces mates Ian McLagan and Ronnie Wood were also in the studio. Ray Jackson (Lindisfarme) played the mandolin, Peter Sears played the celesta and Micky Walter was on drums.

Maggie May was first released in May 1971 as part of Stewart’s third studio album, Every Picture Tells A Story. The song was added to the album at the last minute, as the producers at Mercury Records did not like it at first. ‘They said it had no melody,’ Rod Stewart remarked in an interview. But in the end, Maggie May still made it onto the album’s nine-song track list.
Shortly afterwards, Maggie May was also released as a single – but only as the B-side to Reason To Believe.
But then there was this one radio DJ in Cleveland who, consciously or unconsciously, simply swapped sides in September 1971 and played ‘Maggie May’ instead of ‘Reason To Believe’ over the airwaves. A global hit was born.

In the weeks that followed, more and more radio stations played ‘Maggie May’ for their listeners. And that had quite an effect.
On 2 October 1971, Maggie reached the top of the US singles charts and stayed there for a full five weeks. During the same period, Sir Rod also made it to the top of the charts with his album ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’. And the enthusiasm quickly spread across the pond. Just seven days later, ‘Maggie May’ also reached number one in the UK singles charts. Virtually overnight, Rod Stewart had become a superstar in the USA with one song and thanks to the rather unique musical taste of a DJ who is still unknown today.

And ‘Maggie May’ became a bestseller – Stewart received a total of 12 platinum awards for the single, which has sold over 3 million copies to date. Not to mention the clicks on the various streaming portals.
For Rod Stewart, ‘Maggie May’ changed everything. “One Sunday afternoon in 1971, I was out and about in Tavistock when I heard on the radio that “Maggie May” had reached number one in the charts. I immediately turned around and drove all the way back to my parents’ house on Kenwood Road and hugged them to celebrate the occasion,” Stewart recalled many years later.

‘Maggie May’ has remained the global hit it became literally overnight in 1971. Even today, the song is still a must-have at any Rod Stewart concert. ‘Without Maggie May on the set list, a Rod Stewart evening wouldn’t be complete,’ said a fan who recently attended a show in the United States. ‘This song is pure music history, and we wouldn’t all be here today if Maggie had never existed.’

Lyrics Maggie May
Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you
It’s late September and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused, but I feel I’m being used
Oh Maggie, I couldn’t have tried anymore
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart and that’s what really hurts
The morning sun, when it’s in your face, really shows your age
But that don’t worry me none, in my eyes you’re everything
I laughed at all of your jokes, my love you didn’t need to coax
Oh Maggie, I couldn’t have tried anymore
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and that’s a pain I can do without
All I needed was a friend to lend, a guiding hand
But you turned into a lover and, mother, what a lover, you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And in the morning kick me in the head
Oh Maggie, I couldn’t have tried anymore
You led me away from home
‘Cause you didn’t want to be alone
You stole my heart, I couldn’t leave you if I tried
I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school
Or steal my daddy’s cue and make a living out of playing pool
Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin’ hand
Oh Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But I’m as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart, but I love you anyway
Maggie, I wished I’d never seen your face
I’ll get on back home, one of these days
Whoo-hoo-ooh!
​

Hello!

Don’t miss this week’s HELLO! magazine with a great interview with Penny to promote the book even Sir Rod is reading.. Someone like Me.

And Finally…

Happy 2nd Birthday to rock & roll royalty, the amazing Wolfie’s Whisky and anyone going to caspianslv in Vegas to celebrate on Saturday have a great night

Also anyone going to see Rod in Vegas tonight or Saturday, Tuesday in Palacio de los Deportesb Mexico City or Estadio La Corregidora, Santiago De Querétaro, Mexico please send in any thoughts or photos for next week’s news  [email protected]

See you next week…