Main photo Marc Baulisch-Steines
Rod’s New Documentary
Sir Rod was on his old stomping ground Highgate Wood last Thursday to film part of a documentary about his life and met The Pavilion Cafe manager Jacek Warmier
When Rod and his brothers played for local football team ‘Highgate Redwings’ that was set up by his dad Bob they would visit the café after training.
Rod is working on two documentary’s one on his life and one on the Faces, No official details have been released yet on either.
New Date-The OLG Stage
Rod and Fallsview Casino Resort have announced a new date on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 to the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino. Tickets go on sale on today Friday, November 28 at 10:00am through ticketmaster.ca.
Woman & Home Christmas Christmas Live
Penny started the festive season with an appearance at this years Woman & Home Christmas Christmas Live at London’s iconic County Hall
Included was a book signing for her book Someone Like me
Barclays Arena, Hamburg
On Tuesday Rod and the band were back on stage in Hamburg
Wanja Wiese and SMILER photographer Marc Baulisch-Steines took some stunning photos and here are the thoughts of Martin Heidt
He’s back: Rod Stewart rocks Hamburg
Exactly 206 days after his performance in Bremen, Sir Rod Stewart was back on stage in Germany last night.
In the almost sold-out Barclays Arena, around 15,000 fans celebrated an evening of rock, roll and plenty of entertainment.
Right on time at 8 p.m., the curtain rose and the 80-year-old, who flew into the Hanseatic city in the early afternoon and was chauffeured directly from the airport to the arena, kicked off with a bang with ‘Infatuation’.
Fans were torn from their seats
The fans were torn from their seats from the very first beat and were treated to world-famous classics such as ‘Tonight’s The Night’, ‘Baby Jane’, ‘Young Turks’ and ‘Maggie May’.
The atmosphere was electric, mainly because Stewart and his band conjured up a show in a class of its own on the stage.
Sir Rod was in high spirits, repeatedly seeking contact with the fans in the front rows, flirting and blowing lots of air kisses into the crowd.
‘Downtown Train’, ‘Have I Told You Lately’ and “Sailing” were on the set list, as were ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’, ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ and ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’. During the 1970s disco classic, the obligatory footballs flew into the audience, while during the final song, ‘Love Train’, hundreds of balloons rained down from the arena ceiling.
Critical press
The visitors to the arena got their money’s worth and went home completely satisfied. Silke from Düren, who hardly ever misses a concert by the singer in Germany, was thrilled after the two-hour show, just like many other fans: ‘It was great and the atmosphere in the arena was fantastic.’
While fans almost unanimously praised Sir Rod’s performance, opinions in the media were a little more mixed. While radio station HH2 said that Stewart had delivered an ‘inspiring performance’, the online portal Hamburg.T-Online had some criticism.
‘Stewart’s music is timeless, but his performance showed clear signs of age,’ the critic summed up, concluding: ‘It’s time to say goodbye to the stage, Rod Stewart.’ However, the writer was quite alone in this opinion, as the vast majority of visitors rated the evening as a great show of music and entertainment and would certainly not mind if Sir Rod performed on the Elbe again.
Set List
Infatuation
Havin’ A Party
Tonight I’m Yours
It Takes Two
This Old Heart Of Mine
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Tonight’s The Night
Forever Young
Baby Jane
Young Turks
Maggie May
I’d Rather Go Blind
Downtown Train
Lady Marmalade (Band only)
I Don’t Want To Talk About It
If You Don’t Know Me by Now
Mandolin Wind
Have I Told You Lately
Proud Mary (Band only)
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy
Some Guys Have All The Luck
Hot Legs
Sailing
Love Train
To see more photos from the show go to https://www.soundsandbooks.com/rod-stewart-live-in-hamburg-2025/
To see more photos by Wanja Wiese go to https://www.instagram.com/wanjawiese_art/
While in Hamburg Rod met Carsten who got a great photo
Europa League
To celebrate Alastair’s 20th birthday on Thursday a trip to Rotterdam to watch Celtic play Feyenoord in the Europa League was organised
In a private club before the match Rod met Erik Meijer who got a superb photo
Rod was also presented with Feyenoord Rotterdam shirt before the game
Here is the match report from Martin Heidt
Hamburg or Leipzig? The main thing is Rotterdam
Even at 80, this man still doesn’t spend his evenings on the sofa at home. On Tuesday he was still on stage in Hamburg, tomorrow evening he has a concert in Leipzig. And today? A little rest before the next working day? No way! Sir Rod Stewart used his day off to jet over to Rotterdam, where his favourite club Celtic played Dutch top club Feyenoord in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening. Before the match, he was warmly welcomed by the host club’s bosses and presented with a Feyenoord jersey with the number 7 and the name ‘Stewart’ on the back. But that was enough with the gifts.
In rainy and miserable weather, Sir Rod, who was accompanied by his son Alastair (who celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday – Storyteller wishes him all the best for the new year of his life), saw his Hoops make a strong start, but Luke McCown only hit the crossbar after eight minutes.
Feyenoord then took advantage of a slight lapse in concentration in the Celtic defence through Ayase Ueda to take a 1-0 lead (11th minute). Rod did not look too happy in his seat in the VIP box at his Bhoys in green falling behind so early.
Celtic pushed for the equaliser, but the Dutch defended skilfully against the Scots’ attacks at first. However, after half an hour, green and white cheers erupted on the pitch and in the VIP box: Hyun-Jun Yang converted a cross from Reo Hatate from a tight angle in the 31st minute to score a deserved equaliser. Sir Rod, who hid his magnificent head of hair under a tartan scarf wrapped around his head, jumped out of his seat. A deserved equaliser for interim manager Martin O’Neill’s men.
And the mood under the tartan scarf was about to improve even further. Shortly before half-time, Hatate, who had set up the equaliser, scored from around 20 metres to put the visitors ahead (43′), and after stoppage time, the Hoops went into the dressing room with a 2-1 lead and the Stewart family went to the VIP area to warm up and have a small snack.
Both teams went into the second half after the 15-minute break without any personnel changes, and Rod and Alastair had also taken their seats in the stands in time for the restart.
Celtic controlled the early stages of the second half and worked towards a third goal, which was noted with approval by the gentlemen in the stands. The home fans were less pleased with the way the game was going and expressed their displeasure with increasingly loud whistles as the game progressed.
Coach O’Neill’s men clearly set the tone, and in the stands, Rod and his companions even forgot about the icy cold and the rain-accompanied wind that swept through De Kuip stadium. Feyenoord offered nothing more at this stage.
But the players of coach and former Arsenal star Robin van Persie were not willing to go down without a fight. In the final stages, the Dutch stepped up a gear and Celtic were lucky that Celtic captain Callum McGregor was able to clear Jordan Lotomba’s shot off the line in the 72nd minute.
Upstairs, Rod and Alastair were becoming increasingly restless in their seats, with Celtic’s victory looking increasingly under threat as Feyenoord launched attack after attack in the final stages.
Then came the 82nd minute: Celtic with one of their increasingly rare counterattacks. Daizen Maeda cleverly laid the ball back in front of the Feyenoord goal and Benjamin Nygren thundered the ball from about eight metres with full force and his left foot under the crossbar, from where the ball hit the net (82′). Sir Rod, who had meanwhile retreated to a warm VIP room, cheered behind a glass pane at De Kuip.
That sealed the game, and the first Rotterdam fans left the stadium minutes before the final whistle. In contrast, the atmosphere in the Hoops fan block was electric, with Celtic supporters singing non-stop and celebrating their team’s strong performance at De Kuip. With these three points in the Netherlands, Celtic climb to 17th place in the Europa League table and now have an excellent chance of at least reaching the play-offs for the round of 16.
Another Good Early Steps Review
Here is the review of Early Steps by the brilliant The Vinyl Cut reproduced with thanks to Ned Lannamann
Faces: Early Steps
Review by Ned Lannamann
An archival release from the Faces should be cause for jubilation. The band—one of the most purely enjoyable acts of the 1970s—emerged from the ashes of another very fine band, Small Faces, the legendary British mod group featuring guitarist/vocalist Steve Marriott. The remaining Small Faces needed to replace Marriott’s mighty presence with not one but two megastars-in-the-making: singer/bum-shaker Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood. Early Steps is a collection of some of the first-ever recordings by this new outfit, including rehearsal tapes recorded during the summer of 1969 in the Rolling Stones’ rehearsal space in the Bermondsey section of southeast London. There are also some rough mixes from their first studio session, taped in September 1969 at Olympic Studios with Glyn Johns, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the debut Faces album, 1970’s First Step (which was released in the US and Canada under the name Small Faces, but we’d figure it out eventually).
The Olympic session on Side 1 is previously unreleased and sounds quite good indeed, with punchiness, clarity, and ample bass in these rough stereo mixes. It’s a real treat to hear the between-take banter from these ne’er-do-wells, and there’s even a previously unheard song, “Train,” a nasty, upbeat rocker—written by the unlikely trio of Stewart, Wood, and drummer Kenney Jones—that seems to predict the groove of the Rolling Stones’ “Bitch” more than a year before that song was recorded. But the best thing here might be the early take of “Flying,” which doesn’t quite match the refinement of the album version but finds the band already locked into their strengths, with Ian McLagan’s organ providing atmosphere over Wood’s guitar arpeggios and the band’s backing vocals sounding a sweet counterpart to Stewart’s raspy tenor.
The second side of the LP is devoted to the earlier Bermondsey rehearsals, which McLagan recorded on mono cassette. Needless to say, these are not high-fidelity recordings, just raw mic captures of the room, with plenty of ambient hiss and Kenney Jones’s snare occasionally vibrating noisily when someone plucks a note. Three of the tracks were already released on the excellent Faces box set, 2004’s Five Guys Walk into a Bar…, so seasoned fans will know what they’re in for—although on that set the rehearsal tapes were not consecutively sequenced, allowing all the other, better-sounding recordings to elevate them as part of a bigger whole. The unreleased song here, “Pineapple and the Monkey,” does noticeably suffer from inferior sound, so maybe the cassettes had good patches and bad patches, or this particular one had deteriorated by the time it was transferred for this release.
Still, what’s here is lively, spirited music, enjoyable well beyond its historical significance. The band runs through two blues numbers, Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Feel So Good” and Willie Dixon’s “Evil” (which absolutely cooks), plus two of their own compositions, the aforementioned “Pineapple” and a swell version of “Shake, Shudder, Shiver.” So, four songs in total. And that’s where the problem with this vinyl version of Early Steps lies. The CD version includes six songs from these Bermondsey rehearsal cassettes, with performances of “Stone” and “Devotion” that are nowhere to be found on the vinyl. Side 1 is barely over 15 minutes long, so I think the LP could have been configured to include them somehow.
The CD version also has a booklet full of liner notes. Not the LP, I’m afraid, which has just a single-sleeve jacket with the disc inside. Apart from a small paragraph of text on the back cover and the pertinent recording info, there’s no context, historical background, or any other insight into these recordings. That means that Faces diehards will need to get the CD for the complete package, and considering the raw Bermondsey tapes don’t exactly need high-quality vinyl to get their points across, the CD may be more than enough.
The source tapes were restored, mastered, and assembled to a digital file by Nick Robbins of Sound Mastering in London. Henry Rudkins of AIR Studios then cut the lacquer, and the US copies were pressed at GZ’s Memphis Record Pressing. (European copies may have been pressed in the Czech Republic, but I can’t verify that.) The inferior sound of “Pineapple and the Monkey” notwithstanding, I appreciated how these raw tapes come alive in the vinyl format, with surprisingly rich, full-spectrum sound and all band members fully audible despite the recordings’ limitations. My pressing was clean and free of noise (bonus points for the disc coming in a poly-lined sleeve), but unfortunately it was dished pretty badly, although that did not affect playability.
All told, I think that with the addition of the liner notes and the two extra songs from the CD version, the Early Steps vinyl could have earned a high recommendation (the dishing on my copy notwithstanding). As it is, it’s a minor disappointment. Since this release is aimed at Faces fans who’ll likely want everything, denying them some of the components was a poor decision.
Early Steps | Rhino 1-LP 33 RPM • restored and mastered by Nick Robbins of Sound Mastering • lacquer cut from digital file by Henry Rudkins of AIR Studios • pressed at GZ’s Memphis Record Pressing • black vinyl
Listening equipment
Table: Technics SL-1200MK2
Cart: Audio-Technica VM540ML
Amp: Luxman L-509X
Speakers: ADS L980
To read more reviews from Ned and the team go to https://www.vinylcut.net/
What’s On
Penny is doing an In conversation at Quayside, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 on 1BH on December 4th
MEET THE AUTHOR: PENNY LANCASTER – Thursday 4 December at 7.30pm
The Riverside is delighted to announce an evening event with Penny Lancaster, in conversation with freelance journalist and presenter Catherine Larner, to discuss her new book ‘Someone Like Me’ – Lessons in Life, Love and Staying True.
Tickets are £20 to include a signed copy of Penny’s book (RRP £20) – a further ticket can be purchased for £12 (without the book).
Please book at www.theriverside.co.uk or call 01394 382174.
Simply Rod
For fans in North Lanarkshire, Scotland extremely limited tickets are available for the next tribute evening at Mackinnon Mills, Coatbridge which is going to be a cracker, Book now to avoid disappointment
Rod Stewart Tribute night Friday 28th November by Simply Rod -A tribute to Sir Rod by James Frew
Tickets £25 which includes a meal and entertainment plus 20% off shopping discount voucher to be used on the night only perfect for picking up some early Christmas bargains!
Tickets are a first come, first served basis. Once they’re gone, they’re GONE!!
Tickets are available to book online at www.mackinnonmills.com/our-events
Rod Stewart Radio
Storyteller is planning a special Christmas promotion on Rod Stewart Radio. From 24 to 26 December, there will be a special edition of ‘ROD ROTATON’ – your favourite songs by Sir Rod Stewart around the clock. We will be broadcasting this special Christmas edition from midnight on 24 December until 11.59 p.m. on 26 December (CET) . To participate, please send your song requests by email to [email protected]. The deadline for submitting your requests is 23:59 CET on 20 December 2025.
https://www.storyteller-rod-stewart.com/rod-stewart-radio
Last Chance To Win A Signed By Artist Print
To be in with a chance simply send in your name and address [email protected]
Prints are also available to buy https://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/news/great-christmas-gift-idea-from-smiler/?swcfpc=1
My Boys
On Sunday Penny posted a shot of Rod, Alastair, and Aiden taken backstage before he performed recently in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Giving the shot the title ‘my boys’.
Wolfie’s Whisky Black Friday Sale!
Wolfie’s Whisky have some amazing promotions for Black Friday. Up to 50% off!
Don’t miss out go to…
https://wolfieswhisky.com/pages/whisky
You probably noticed earlier Rod and Alastair got their bargain!
And Finally…
We leave you this week with a photo from earlier this month when Rod attended the Takeley Hoops under 15 match at Forest Glade Sports Ground, home of Hashtag United Youth for a spot of EJA football support.
And don’t forget anyone going to see Rod tonight at Quarterrback Arena, Leipzig, Germany or November 29th, SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany Please send in any thoughts or photos [email protected]
See you next week..