This week’s news and gossip

Main Photo Ashley Davis Hansen

Estadio La Corrgidora in Queretaro, Mexico.

We start this week where we left off last week in Mexico with Rod playing the second of two shows Rockeando con Matt got some good shots and here are the thoughts of Martin Heidt

Sir Rod’s return after 36 years: A night for free hearts​​ on Thursday evening, around 34,000 fans experienced a night of musical superlatives at the packed Estadio La Corrgidora in Queretaro, Mexico.

The organiser presented the passionate Mexicans with not only two hours of pure Rod Stewart, but also Paul Young, the Earth, Wind & Fire Experience and UB40 as support acts.

For Sir Rod, it was his first return to the Mexican metropolis of 860,000 inhabitants since April 1989, when the British singer with Scottish roots made music history in front of 100,000 visitors.

Now Stewart has returned to the place where he once ensured that the country reopened its doors to mega music events with two gigantic performances. Previously, Mexicans had to endure an almost two-decade drought when it came to live events. Today, experts refer to these performances as ‘the Mexican Berlin’ or ‘the fall of the Berlin Wall of rock’.

Yesterday, Paul Young opened the long evening and immediately whipped the stadium into a frenzy with his hits such as ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat’ and ‘Every Time You Go Away’.

Then the tribute band ‘Earth, Wind & Fire Experience by Al McKay’ took to the stage and brought the sound of the disco and funk era of the 1970s to the euphoric audience.

Hits such as ‘September’ and ‘Boogie Wonderland’ really got the crowd going and had the masses on their feet.

UB 40 then took over and created just the right atmosphere with their mix of reggae, dub and pop before the main act of the evening took to the stage.

At 10.55 p.m. local time, Rod Stewart entered the stage to thunderous applause and boundless cheering.

Dressed in a golden suit with glittering accents, Sir Rod kicked off the show and captivated the audience right from the start.

Young Hearts be free tonight: the London musician had fans dancing and singing along to his hits, with many in the vast crowd forgetting their everyday worries and starting a huge party. Whether it was ‘Baby Jane’, ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’ or ‘Sailing’ – the 80-year-old left nothing out on stage and really got the fans going with his endless dance routines. Sir Rod hardly gave the vocal cords of young and old in the stadium a break.

Teenagers celebrated with their parents, people in their mid-50s with their grandparents – the atmosphere was a mix of emotion and gratitude. Rod admired the activity and repeatedly thanked the audience for their seemingly endless energy. The entire concert, which lasted a good hour and a half, became a journey through time full of nostalgia and vitality.​

Sir Rod was impressed with the crowd!…

Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, TX, USA

On Saturday Rod played a set at Fort Worth Zoo Ball, in Fort Worth, Texas Michelle Miles [Fort Worth Woman] and Charles Lauersdorf were at the big event and got some brilliant photos

Rod was joined on stage by his daughter Ruby for a duet of Forever Young

Belinda Nixon took this great photo and commented 80 years old, Sir Rod Stewart is a consummate entertainer; fun, connected, and gracious. What a treat to see him at the greatest zoo in our nation @fortworthzoo ~ it’s THE best gala in the state! What an amazing night!

The King’s Trust

On Thursday evening Penny joined Trinny Woodall at The King’s Trust Ultimate Designer Sale Gala evening at The Vinyl Factory in London

On Monday Penny attended the Menopause Mandate survey event in London

For more information go to https://www.instagram.com/menopausemandate

And on Wednesday it was a return to Vanessa Feltz on Channel 5 with guests Jeremy Edwards and Eve Pollard

Rod On TV

Sky Arts will be showing Discovering: Rod Stewart from 5:35 AM to 6:00 AM on Sunday 19 October

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 5:35 AM, Sunday 19 October. (Subtitles.)

Henley Literary Festival

On Saturday Penny appeared at the Henley Literary Festival

henleylitfest posted.. “If me talking about my experiences helps someone else who’s buried a trauma, then that’s a good thing to come out of it.” 💛

Last night [Saturday], @penny.lancaster closed out the @gowercottage Town Hall Stage with an incredibly moving conversation with @gabyhuddart

Model, photographer, Lady Stewart, Loose Women panellist, Special Constable — Penny truly wears many hats, and we’re so grateful she shared her highs and lows with such honesty, both on stage and in her book Someone Like Me.

We’ve had incredible feedback from audience members who found her story powerful, inspiring and full of heart. A wonderful way to end the evening.

And on Thursday was at the Cheltenham Book Festival joining Jane Garvey and Fi Glover for a live recording of their Times Radio show to discuss her powerful new memoir, Someone Like Me. She opened up about navigating fame, family and life with husband Rod Stewart and the challenges she’s faced, from childhood bullying and trauma to her role as a Special Constable on the streets of London.

Penny later met fans at a book signing

Desert Island Discs

Ronnie Wood was guest on the iconic BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs on Sunday He revealed his eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island to Lauren Laverne. On the Faces reunion Ronnie said: “We would love to do that. We’ve got these songs that we’re working on from back in the day, but it’s hard to make our times tally. “When we do get a chance to get in the studio again, we will finish off these songs. We’ve got a good body of songs going.” The programme is available on BBC Sounds now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002krbk

Whats On

NEW | ‘We all have a sense of where we’d like to be—that path is never A-Z…’ Join photographer, TV host, and now author Penny Lancaster for an intimate evening celebrating her powerful new autobiography, Someone Like Me: Lessons in Life, Love and Staying True.

Behind the glamorous life with rock legend husband Sir Rod Stewart lies a story of extraordinary resilience. From undiagnosed dyslexia and relentless bullying at school to surviving sexual assault as a young girl, Penny has navigated challenges that too many of us have faced. Yet through fertility struggles, supporting loved ones through cancer, overcoming depression and the scrutiny of living in the public eye, she discovered something profound: the power of staying true to yourself.

In this deeply personal evening, she’ll share how her journey—amongst a heady mix of royalty, rock legends, and renegades—taught her that resilience isn’t about perfection, it’s about authenticity.

Told with empathy and humour, Penny will reflect on the rollercoaster that brought her from that bullied schoolgirl to the woman she is today, offering wisdom that she hopes might light the way for others navigating their own storms and sunshine.

To book your tickets for this authentic evening go to https://www.fane.co.uk/penny-lancaster

Routes podcast

Award-winning podcast Routes from LNER is back for a second series, with broadcaster Jenni Falconer taking the helm and welcoming her first guest, Penny Lancaster.

The episode explores the journeys and destinations that have shaped Lancaster’s life, from childhood holidays to international adventures.

She recalls seaside breaks in Bournemouth and Southend, early work trips to Milan at just seventeen, and time spent living in Bermuda.

Travel has remained a constant through her life with husband Rod Stewart – whether touring with family, exploring the Scottish Highlands, or escaping together to Tanzania, Paris, and Portofino.

Away from travel, Penny reflects on how her perspective has changed over the years. Though she owns homes abroad, she says the British countryside is where she truly feels grounded. In recent years she’s added a new role as a Special Constable with the City of London Police, serving at national events including the Queen’s Funeral and King’s Coronation.

The Tribute Songs By Martin Heidt

The Tribute Songs: Storyteller presents a music album in honour of Sir Rod Stewart

We all know a lot of Rod Stewart tribute acts. Many musicians, fans and music lovers, who often bear a physical resemblance to the original, honour Sir Rod Stewart all over the world by singing his songs. Many of them are so good that they have even caught the attention of our hero. One example is ‘Rud Stewart’ alias Michael Dean, who was even booked by Sir Rod and his wife Penny for a birthday greeting to their son Liam.

The numerous tribute acts around the world were the topic of one of our editorial meetings some time ago. And we asked ourselves whether there were any tribute songs in honour of our hero. Despite a long search, we couldn’t find any. That gave us the idea to change that.

So we sat down and started writing song lyrics. Over time, we developed more and more ideas for topics that could be turned into songs. Gradually, 26 song lyrics were created.

The next step was to contact a professional musician in Germany who used his expertise to take us to the next phase. Finally, he agreed to help us match the lyrics to suitable music styles. However, we already had a clear idea of how some of the songs should sound in the end.

Finally, we moved on to the final production of the songs, with the help of the studio and artificial intelligence. Yes, of course. Some of you will turn up your noses at this. But why not use it if it makes your work easier? Admittedly, we weren’t convinced at first whether it was the wisest move, but after a few tests, we were very pleased with the results.

So we gradually completed 26 songs – a tribute to Sir Rod, his music and his career.

On Thursday, we presented the resulting songs in a radio special on Rod Stewart Radio. The two-hour programme played all 26 new songs will be presented to listeners for the first time. but don’t worry if you missed out we are repeating all the songs on Sunday afternoon 3pm UK time

You can listen to Rod Stewart Radio online at https://laut.fm/rodstewart?autoplay=1.

The Tribute Songs (in honour of Rod Stewart) – Track list

Stewart’s The Name (Ballad Version)

Roll On Rod

We Love Rod (Arena Anthem Version)

Forever The Voice

Sing It Again Rod

We Love Rod (Arena Anthem Ballad Version)

Chasing With Rod

Stages Of The World (Unplugged Version)

The Man In The Suit And Smile (Great American Songbook Version)

The Man In The Suit And Smile (Orchestra Swing Version)

Under Latin Skies

Viva Las Vegas (Residency Country Version)

The Celtic Man (Stadium Anthem)

Sing It For Rod (Ooh La La Version)

Run Baby Run (inspired by Young Turks)

Viva Sir Rod (Legend Version)

Rod Stewart: Forever Young (Ballad Version)

Coming Home To You (inspired by Sailing)

Long Live Rod Stewart

Through The Decades (Encore Version)

Rod’n’Ronnie

Wolfie’s Song (Rascal Version) – Party Edition

A Voice Like No Other (Ode to Rod Stewart)

Rio Nights (Copacabana 1994 Version)

All For Maggie May

Tartan Pride

​​Promo Video:

​https://youtu.be/fCSPK0UfdsA

This weeks Rod Art

This week we feature a brilliant pencil sketch of Rod by Chris Burns a pencil artist from the North West of England

​And the good news is you can own a copy of this portrait or even the original one Chris is selling 20×16″ prints at £50 each, Price includes Free Postage within the UK, All signed mounted sleeved.
As we post this week the original artwork is for sale at £1200.

Speaking to SMILER this week Chris said “I Thoroughly enjoyed drawing this portrait of Rod and I hope it shows to you and the members. Its certainly getting lots of attention on the social platforms, I live in Oldham and I have been producing my Portraits and artworks now since 1997. The likes of Elvis Presley The Beatles and my portrait of Freddie Mercury was Official merchandise with Queen back in the year 2000”

Adding “My favourite Rod Stewart song is
The killing of Georgie”.

To contact Chris or see more stunning portraits go to https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067303029955

​​A$AP ROCKY MILESTONE

This week saw A$AP Rocky’s “Everyday” hit 900 MILLION streams on Spotify!

The track was released on May 8, 2015, as the second single from his second studio album At. Long. Last. ASAP (2015), to make up for the delay of the album. The song, co-produced by Mark Ronson alongside a sample appearance from “In a Broken Dream” by Python Lee Jackson (featuring vocals from Rod ), also features singer Miguel.

The Softball Stadium of the Olympic Center of Santo Domingo

On Tuesday was in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for a rescheduled concert, José Hamle Sánchez Rosario got a brilliant photo with Rod, Isella Carrera Lamadrid got a couple from the show and here are the thoughts of Martin Heidt

Rod Stewart in the Caribbean: An unforgettable experience

There are certainly worse places to work than Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The atmosphere of the capital city of the Dominican Republic, with its Plaza Espana and Alcázar de Colón palace, probably contributed to Sir Rod Stewart once again putting on a spectacular show yesterday evening, sending 50,000 enthusiastic visitors home after around two hours of top-class musical entertainment.
‘Rod Stewart proved that rock doesn’t age,’ cheered the online news magazine El Caribe. ‘This evening was one that will shape generations.’ With so much euphoria and enthusiasm from the writer, we’ll generously overlook the fact that the magazine made Rod Stewart 84 years old in its article. Dear El Caribe, we’re not quite there yet. Our Rod is only 80 years old.

80 or 84 – the main thing is that the show goes on. And it did. The evening opened with ‘Infatuation’, and with ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ and ‘It Takes Two’, Rod and his once again magnificent band got the fans into party mode early on. Of course, the sentimental songs such as ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ and ‘Tonight’s The Night’ were also a must – under the Caribbean sky, it was the slow songs in particular that created a very special atmosphere. But Rod didn’t give the 50,000 people in the stadium much of a break, immediately launching into ‘Forever Young’, ‘Baby Jane’ and ‘Young Turks’.

Of course, the good old ‘Maggie May’ had also travelled to the Caribbean; the song that basically started it all is simply a must-have when spending an evening with Rod Stewart.

The audience’s enthusiasm grew from minute to minute, from song to song. ‘Downtown Train’, ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’, ‘People Get Ready’ and ‘Have I Told You Lately’ – Sir Rod didn’t leave out anything the fans wanted to hear. As usual, the band took over during the refreshment breaks and kept the audience at operating temperature with the classics ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘Proud Mary’.
With ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’, Sir Rod then entered the home stretch of the evening and scored two more big points at the end with “Sailing” and ‘Some Guys Have All The Luck’.

‘Rod Stewart shaped the evening with a lot of love and lots of music,’ sums up El Caribe. ‘It was simply an unforgettable experience.’
​

And finally…

Need signed copies in America?

We have had a few US members asking where to buy signed copies of Penny’s book Someone Like Me, Linghams Booksellers and West End Lane Books are posting to US but be warned postage to America is expensive for details go to https://linghams.co.uk/product/someone-like-me/ or https://www.welbooks.co.uk/shop/p/someone-like-me-by-penny-lancaster-signed

Don’t forget if you attending Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay tonight, Claro Arena Las Condes, Chile on Sunday, Movistar Arena Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday or Thursday please send in any photos for next weeks news, See you next week…