New Year news and gossip

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Rod on TV

Plenty of Rod on TV coming up in the UK, First up Sky Arts is showing Discovering: Rod Stewart today Wednesday 31 December 4:45 AM to 5:10 AM

Music critics reflect on the life and career of the former Faces frontman, one of the best-selling artists of all time

Discovering: Rod Stewart airs on Sky Arts HD at 4:45 AM, Wednesday 31 December. (Subtitles.)

BBC One is showing Rod Stewart at Glastonbury 2025 later 12:45 AM to 2:15 AM [Thursday 1 January]

Clara Amfo and Lauren Laverne present Rod Stewart’s Pyramid Stage performance from June, his first appearance at the festival in over 20 years, having previously headlined in 2002. Songs include The First Cut Is the Deepest, You Wear It Well, Maggie May, I’d Rather Go Blind, Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?, I Don’t Want to Talk About It and Stay with Me

Rod Stewart at Glastonbury 2025 airs on BBC One London at 12:45 AM, Thursday 1 January. (Subtitles, repeat.)

BBC Four are showing Rod Stewart: Radio 2 in Concert tonight Friday 9th January 10:05 PM to 11:05 PM

A 2013 performance at the BBC Radio Theatre by the singer, featuring hits including You Wear It Well, I Don’t Want to Talk About It and Maggie May Rod Stewart: Radio 2 in Concert airs on BBC Four HD at 10:05 PM, Friday 9 January. (Subtitles.)

Then Rod Stewart at the BBC gets another showing on the same channel 11:05 PM to 12:05 AM

A tribute to the singer’s career with a selection of his performances and interviews at the BBC. Songs include Sailing, You’re in My Heart, I Don’t Want to Talk About It and Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? Plus, Handbags and Gladrags from Rod’s set at Glastonbury in 2002, his cover of Dorothy Fields’ classic I’m in the Mood for Love and a song from his Radio 2 concert in May 2013

Rod Stewart at the BBC airs on BBC Four HD at 11:05 PM, Friday 9 January. (Subtitles.)

On Saturday 10 January Rod Stewart at the BBC: Volume 2 gets another showing on BBC Four 12:05 AM to 1:05 AM

A second collection of archive appearances by the singer, featuring clips of recent appearances and exclusive live shows, as well as rarely seen BBC performances of hits including Tonight’s the Night, It’s a Heartache, Have I Told You Lately and Sailing

Rod Stewart at the BBC: Volume 2 airs on BBC Four HD at 12:05 AM, Saturday 10 January. (Subtitles.)

Followed by Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park 1:05 AM to 2:05 AM

A concert by the singer that closed Radio 2’s annual Festival in a Day, held in September 2015 in London’s Hyde Park. Featuring a selection of hits from his back catalogue including Angel, In a Broken Dream, The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II) as well as Faces classics including Ooh La La and blues standard Rollin’ and Tumblin’

Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park airs on BBC Four HD at 1:05 AM, Saturday 10 January. (Subtitles.)

And don’t miss Ronnie Wood tonight on Jools’ Annual Hootenanny BBC Two 11:30 PM to 1:40 AM Wednesday 31 December

Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra welcome in the new year with a stellar line-up of guests, including Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, chart star Olivia Dean, veteran singer Lulu – performing her 1974 version of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World – and Jessie J, with her crowd-pleaser Living My Best Life. Also appearing are torch singer Imelda May, garage star Craig David, soul diva Heather Small, Brighton band the Kooks, boogie woogie queen Ruby Turner, Mercury Prize-nominated pianist Joe Webb and swing drummer David Hemlin

Jools’ Annual Hootenanny airs on BBC Two HD at 11:30 PM, Wednesday 31 December. (Subtitles, new.)

Rhythm of My Heart

Rhythm of My Heart is the definitive account of one of music’s great careers. Marc Jordan’s songs have been recorded by Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Ross, Joe Cocker, Cher, Bette Midler, Natalie Cole, Chicago, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes, Shawn Colvin, and many other internationally known recording artists, and Jordan’s own recordings (including his hits “Marina Del Rey” and “Survival”) are masterworks of songcraft. Rhythm of My Heart tells the story of a Brooklyn-born Canadian’s journey from dyslexic schoolchild to sought-after hitmaker; it’s also a guided tour through a tumultuous half-century of popular music. Including exclusive interviews with acclaimed musicians and industry insiders, it shines new light on an uncompromising, singular artist. Now available on Amazon in paper and Kindle editions.

This week’s Rod Art

This week we feature the work of UK Digital Hobby Artist, Steve Turner who created this great comic strip art

Steve told SMILER this week “I recently started collecting vinyl records and that got me back listening to Rod Stewart (always been a fan) I do a lot of fanart for my Instagram page so I thought I’d combine my love of old comic art and my love of Rod Stewart music to make a piece of fan art”.

To see more amazing creations from Steve go to https://www.instagram.com/bezerkartwerk/

Billy Sloan

Rod and other stars of Scottish music and culture surprised radio legend Billy Sloan after his final BBC Radio Scotland show. Billy, whose broadcasting career stretches back more than 40 years, was dropped by the station after “a very enjoyable 11-year period hosting the programme.”

At a surprise party for “the one and only Guv’nor of the airwaves,” stars including Del Amitri’s Justin Currie and Still Game’s Gavin Mitchell were there to surprise him.

Rod also sent Billy a video message and promised to meet up with him soon. Saying “Billy, my dear friend, how are you, my mate?

“I hear you’re retiring from the BBC. Now who’s going to play my records North of the border?

“We go back a long way, mate. Do you remember the time me and Elton came up to see East Germany play Scotland? That’s how long ago it was.

“And then I said to Elton, “Let’s go into a pub.” He said, “I’m not going into a pub in Glasgow.” But he did anyway.

“Have the best night tonight, have a good p**s up.

“I’m coming up for the Old Firm game, maybe we can meet up for a drink then, mate.

“Have a great night. Love you.”

Celtic in crisis – Sir Rod shares his thoughts

Sir Rod was not too happy when he woke up this morning ..Martin Heidt has the full story

On 4 December, Frenchman Wilfried Nancy took over as manager of Celtic Football Club from interim manager Martin O’Neill, who had replaced Brendan Rodgers when he left in October and remained in charge of the Hoops until a new coach was appointed. A few days before Nancy was appointed, Celtic had won 3-1 in impressive fashion in the UEFA Europa League at Feyenoord Rotterdam – in front of Rod Stewart – at the De Kuip stadium.However, Nancy’s appointment marked the beginning of a crisis for the Scottish champions, with the Frenchman on the sidelines seeing the Bhoys lose four games in a row, including the League Cup final against underdogs FC St Mirren (1-3). Against FC Aberdeen, who had to play with ten men for 45 minutes, Kieran Tierney (88′) and James Forrest (90’+2) secured the first win under the new coach late in the game. This was followed by a 4-2 win at bottom-of-the-table Livingston FC, but that was more of a drop in the ocean, as Celtic suffered their fifth defeat of the season (0-2) at Motherwell FC yesterday (Tuesday).The team’s performance was particularly worrying. Last year’s champions managed only one chance on goal in 90 minutes at Fir Park, and the Hoops’ defence in particular had a very bad day.There is rumbling among the fans, with the majority already wanting manager Nancy out. Only a few still believe that the Frenchman, who came to Scotland from MLS in the USA, can turn things around in Glasgow.
Even superfan Rod Stewart is increasingly doubtful that the 48-year-old team manager can still turn things around at Paradise.After the disastrous performance in Motherwell, Sir Rod took to social media to voice his opinion. ‘I couldn’t sleep last night,’ the 80-year-old began his analysis of the situation, but admitted: ‘We played against a very good Motherwell team, who, in my opinion, played very modern football. ’ However, the words of the singer of ‘You’re In My Heart’ (a tribute to Celtic FC) also sounded very frustrated. ‘They attacked and attacked. And our defence seemed non-existent. It was humiliating,’ Rod grumbled. And he asked himself what many Celtic fans have been wondering since yesterday evening. ‘Where will it all end? Will Nancy leave or will he be sacked? Or will he continue and we’ll keep losing? It looks more like he’ll stay. It all breaks my heart. Should Nancy be given another chance in January? I don’t know.’ Rod is suffering and recalls that “I come from a family that is totally passionate about football. My mum once said, “Football has caused us more hardship and arguments than Adolf Hitler”. With that thought in mind, I’m going to Glasgow on Saturday to watch the Celtic game.‘ But Rod wouldn’t be Rod if he didn’t take a little dig before the Glasgow derby at Celtic Park. “Good luck, Rangers,” he laughed into the camera. Once a Celtic fan, always a Celtic fan, and there’s no room for Rangers in that. The 449th derby between Celtic and the Gers is even more important than usual this time around due to the champions’ precarious situation. In sporting terms, it is hugely important for the Bhoys in green if they want to stay in the race for the championship against leaders Heart of Midlothian. For coach Nancy, Saturday’s match could be crucial. ‘The worst coach we’ve ever had – John Barnes (1999/2000 season, editor’s note) – was sacked after six months following eight defeats in 29 games,’ recalled the music legend. The Frenchman Nancy may well suffer the same fate after just eight games. Even if, as things stand, it is more likely that the Celtic board will continue with the coach even if they lose the derby. Ultimately, it is also a question of money, as Nacy has a contract until 2028 and is likely to receive a hefty severance payment if he is dismissed. Money that Celtic does not currently have due to missing out on Champions League qualification in the summer.​

My thoughts on the year and a look back to 2025 By Martin Heidt

Another year is coming to an end, the 61st year in Rod Stewart’s unique career. In 1964, he was discovered by a certain Long John Baldry at Twickenham railway station, and what followed is simply history. And even today, more than six decades later, we are still talking about Sir Rod, his concerts, his music, and participating in a very significant piece of music history.

We want to use the upcoming turn of the year to take a brief look back.
The year 2025 has been kind to us Rod fans, and it began with a milestone. On 10 January, Sir Rod celebrated his 80th birthday. And at an age when other music greats have long been enjoying their retirement or may no longer be with us, it seems that Sir Rod is really turning up the heat.
He said in an interview that he wanted to play 80 concerts in the year he celebrated his 80th birthday. Well, he didn’t quite achieve that goal, but according to the online concert portal setlist.fm, Rod still managed an impressive 74 performances in 20 countries in 2025. Music lovers can only bow respectfully before such an achievement. What worker or employee still does a full-time job at that age?
Sir Rod did it and once again thrilled crowds around the world. Almost every concert on his tour of North and South America and Europe was sold out, with audiences ranging from young to old. And everywhere, there was sheer enthusiasm after the music legend’s performances.
Particularly memorable will certainly be the performance at the legendary Glastonbury Festival in England in June and the boundless enthusiasm for Sir Rod during his three-day mini-tour in Buenos Aires in October, where fans gave him a grand welcome and he was also made an honorary citizen of the Argentine capital. His 200th performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on 12 March will also be remembered.
He’s still got it, that’s all there is to say. Yes, of course, due to his age, he’s not quite as energetic on stage as he used to be, but the singer still dances from left to right, twirls the microphone stand through the air and still makes the ladies gasp for breath with his wiggling butt and hip swings and unbuttoned shirt. Given the rousing performances, which are also supported by Stewart’s great band and allow the master behind the stage to take the occasional refreshment break, it wasn’t just the fans who were ecstatic; the media, too, joined in the – rightly – huge praise for someone who once wanted to be a professional footballer but, fortunately for this world, was given a guitar for Christmas instead.
Rod Stewart was and still is a stroke of luck for the music world. Hardly any other singer or band knows how to entertain their audience as excellently as Sir Rod. His concerts are not just music, they are a unique show, shaped by the man at the microphone with his charisma, his presence and, above all, his humour.
Fans around the world will be all the happier that Sir Rod is still not thinking about ending his career in 2026. As of today, the indestructible singer has already announced 37 concerts for 2026, and it cannot be ruled out that there will be more to come. Fans of hits such as ‘Maggie May’, “Sailing” and ‘Baby Jane’ can also look forward to new material. A new solo album (if not two) seems to have been in the works for some time, and an exciting new Faces album has been announced for 2026, which is said to include several new songs by the legendary British rock band. And in an interview with the BBC shortly before Christmas, Sir Rod casually mentioned that he is planning a major tour of the United Kingdom for 2027.

So 2026 can come for the average Rod Stewart fan and is likely to be another very exciting year. Amid all the hype, however, we should not forget that our Roderick David will be turning 81 in a few days. We will never get the Rod of yesteryear back, but the Rod of today can absolutely hold his own with his younger self from 30 years ago.

With this in mind, we wish everyone – especially our magnificent Sir Rod – a happy, healthy and, above all, successful New Year in 2026.​

And finally…

You will have noticed we have gone early this week and that is because…The team hope you all have an amazing New Years Eve and would like to wish you all a fantastic 2026

See you next week…