GROWN women screamed like teenage girls and middle- aged men boogied like they were down the disco when Rod Stewart, no spring chicken himself, strutted on stage at Newbury Racecourse to the strains of Love Train.
With glamourous dancers, powerhouse sax players, two drummers, two costume changes and a backdrop of cleverly designed cartoon-style videos to match each song, he truly put on a show to remember – with a few knowing asides on the need to intersperse his energetic dancing to the rockier numbers with some slower tunes.
All the hits were there – Handbags and Gladrags, Will I See You Tonight, Talk About It and more, and later couples gazed into each other’s eyes as the ageing rocker crooned the (rather cheesy, yes) Have I Told You Lately into the mic.
For Maggie May, the Rodster might as well have sat down and had a breather, so strong was the chorus from the crowd, while Forever Young was a chance for the father-of-eight to show a picture of his young son, Aiden, on the screens, sporting a Celtic football strip babygro, to roars of approval.
Hot Legs and an unexpectedly downbeat encore choice of Sailing ended the evening. Despite not being a massive fan of Rod’s music, I went away buzzing and with a newfound respect for the showman.
Reproduced with thanks to Liz Crosthwaite and The Reading Chronicle
