Main photo thanks to Brydie Taylor
New Year
Rod and Penny started New Year with a family break in the luxury 5 star Gleneagles hotel in Perthshire, Scotland.
Where they celebrated Hogmanay in style marking the stroke of midnight to sound of bagpipes, with Penny sharing glimpses of their festivities on social media. Alastair echoed his mum’s post with a similar video of the bagpipers on his own Instagram page
Meanwhile here in the UK we celebrated bringing in the new year with Rod and Ronnie wood all over mainstream TV
ITV showed Rod’s superb Glastonbury performance
Meanwhile on BBC Two Ronnie helped Jools Holland bring in 2026 with a great version of Ooh La La on this years Hootenanny
Before leaving Gleneagles Rod joined Scottish band The Lockhearts for a rendition of Baby Jane
Richard Marx
Penny also posted a shot with Richard Marx and Daisy Fuentes on New Years Eve from Rod’s birthday last year which reminds me, don’t forget to to pre order Richards new album After Hours that included Richard and Sir Rod doing a cover of the Frank Sinatra hit ‘Young at Heart’
And Penny also posted a great Christmas memories family shot
And a New Year message from Wolfie’s
| January’s rolled in with its joy-killing rules, beige goals and fun-policing rituals. We’re not doing that. This is your reminder that the New Year doesn’t require goal trackers, fitness fads or sucking the fun out of life. Sip better, drink smarter, keep the good times rolling – a little more rock ’n’ roll and a lot less guilt. |
| We’re raising a glass to ripping up the rulebook and doing January your way. No spreadsheets. No gym memberships. Just a damn good drink when the mood strikes. |
| Drink responsibly. Laugh irresponsibly. Welcome to the year of the Rascal. |
And some big news for fans in Germany…
Signed Wolfie’s bottles at Lidl
Attention Rod fans, listen up! Soon you will be able to purchase Wolfie’s bottles signed by Sir Rod himself, exclusively at Lidl in Germany.
But you’ll have to be quick, as only 50 of these coveted signed bottles will be available.
The exact date on which the bottles will be available online has not yet been confirmed, but will be announced shortly. So be ready and keep checking Storyteller the brilliant German speaking fan page or the Lidl Germany homepage.
Good luck!
LINK LIDL GERMANY: Wolfie’s Rock ‘n Roll Blended Scotch Whisky 40% Vol
Fancy a new car? Treat yourself to something special By Martin Heidt
Would you like to treat yourself to something special at the start of the new year and spend your entire Christmas bonus?
Then you can now bid for a new car. But no, this is no ordinary car, we’re talking about a Lamborghini, or more precisely, a Countach LP400 Periscopio, which was owned by music legend Sir Rod Stewart for many years.
Stewart originally bought the car at an auction in 1977 while on tour in Australia and took it with him to Los Angeles.
There, Stewart had the Lamborghini modified with a complete wide-body kit and an open targa roof and transferred it to the United Kingdom in 1987.
In 2002, Sir Rod sold the car, which is now changing hands again this January. On 23 January, it is set to change hands once more at an auction held by Sotheby’s in Phoenix, Arizona.
A spokesperson for Sotheby’s said: ‘The Countach offered here, with chassis number 1120262, was built as a right-hand drive for export to Australia, where singer Rod Stewart bought it during his tour.’ The Lamborghini is expected to fetch around £1 million at the auction in January.
Celtic in crisis..but not for long?
In his press conference on Friday Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy took aim at Celtic ‘back-five myth’ and responded to Rod’s video post last week,
Nancy embarked on an astonishing seven-minute monologue to defend his so far underwhelming tenure as Celtic manager. The long and the short of it was that he “needs time”.
He was then asked about Rod’s social media post during the week . “Everybody can talk,” said Nancy. “I know who I am and I know what I want to do. Again, I came in during the middle of the season so this is the reality and I am pleased to be here. But it’s a famous club so everybody can talk.
“I have nothing against that and I can understand it also because of the results. But if we go deeper, like I said, I see what we need to do and I can see the improvement. Not everybody can see that because they are focused on results. That is totally normal because when we win we are happy and when we lose this is difficult to accept. I am not saying I am happy with that. But we are working on that and I know we will be able to reverse that.”
And here is the match report from Martin Heidt
Crisis continues – Rod Stewart witnesses Celtic’s 1-3 defeat in city derby against Rangers
It was one of the worst afternoons of the season for all Celtic Football Club fans. The struggling champions, who have won only two games since new manager Wilfried Nancy took over at the beginning of December, suffered their sixth defeat of the season, losing 1:3 (1:0) in the heated city derby against arch-rivals Rangers. The Hoops have lost every game since the Frenchman took over on 4 December.
There were still about 20 minutes left on the clock when most of the 60,000 fans in green and white slunk away disappointed. Their Bhoys in Green played strongly in the first half and deservedly led 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hyun-Jun Yang in the 20th minute. The home side missed further excellent scoring opportunities before the break, partly because Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland was having a great day and was able to shine with a string of saves. Nevertheless, few Celtic fans doubted that their team would secure their 172nd derby victory against the Gers, who were still well served at half-time and only trailed 0-1. In the stands, Sir Rod was also in good spirits and deeply confident about the rest of the match.
But in the second 45 minutes, the tide turned. Suddenly, Rangers were on top, Celtic hardly got a look in, let alone any more promising attacks. And so it came to pass: with a brace within nine minutes, Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti turned the game in the visitors’ favour (50th and 59th minutes). In the stands at Celtic Park, which was anything but ‘paradise’ in the second half, sheer horror spread. Even Rod Stewart, sitting in his usual seat at the top, was thoroughly dismayed by the course of the game after the break, and the Hoops superfan sat motionless on his chair with his lips pursed.
On Thursday, the singer had posted a video on his social media channels in which he tried to convey that, despite the recent setbacks, he believed in a good derby for his Bhoys. ‘Good luck, Rangers,’ he had called out a little heretically at the end of his short video, clearly believing firmly in a home win for the green and whites.
But by the 71st minute at the latest, even Rod had to admit that his famous shot would probably backfire, because it was at that very minute that Mikey Moore scored the decisive 3-1 for Rangers, and the mass exodus from the stands mentioned at the beginning began at Celtic Park.
In the end, the Hoops players also slunk off the pitch with their heads bowed, accompanied by loud boos from the disappointed crowd. The fans’ anger was also, and probably primarily, directed at the seemingly overwhelmed manager, who once again failed to instil the winning spirit in his team or to convey a successful tactic. Whether and how long team manager Nancy will be allowed to remain at Celtic Park will be decided in the coming days. In the meantime, the fans are almost unanimously calling for the return of club legend Martin O’Neill, who had enjoyed a very successful spell before Nancy was appointed, including a strong 3-1 win in the Europa League at Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Today’s defeat means that Celtic have lost further ground in the battle for the top of the Scottish Premiership table and the championship. They are now six points behind leaders Heart of Midlothian (who beat Livingston 1-0 today), and Rangers have caught up with the defending champions on points and goal difference, with Celtic currently in second place only on the basis of their superior goal difference.
Among the famous faces in the crowd today were UK rapper Stormzy
Ex Celtic star Joe Hart and Sky sports legend [And sometimes SMILER reviewer!] Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara
On Monday events took a twist and Wilfried Nancy was sacked as Celtic manager and Rod couldn’t hide his delight taking to social media less than an hour after it was confirmed the club were parting ways with the Frenchman.
Standing on the doorstep of his home Rod issued a scathing goodbye to the former MLS coach, saying he “didn’t care” whether he left or was fired, and pleaded for Martin O’Neill’s return.
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“He’s gone! he is gone! Wilfried Nancy has been fired or he’s left, I don’t care, he’s just not at Celtic. Now, we’ve got Dundee at the weekend, I’m going to be up there for this game, don’t you worry.”
Turning his attention to Nancy’s replacement, Rod continued: “We need Martin [O’Neill] back. We need you back, Martin O’Neill. Just get us through the end of this season and maybe we can get Robbie Keane.
“That would be heaven sent,” he said, before comically adding: “Now, I’m going down the pub to celebrate.”
But over at The Daily Record Ryan Stevenson [who made headlines with his brutal early assessment of Nancy, his tactics board and choice of footwear] didn’t get Rod’s sense of humor Speaking on Wednesday night’s edition of Hotline Live, the ex-Hearts hero said: “No, I didn’t like it. I literally went on my social media quickly and it was one of the first videos that came up. I just thought it was poor. People again might jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘what a load of rubbish’.
“But I do think that a global superstar – I know he’s a massive Celtic fan – he’s such a big superstar in the world. To be going on your social media and shouting ‘I’m glad he’s sacked, I’m away down the pub now to have a couple of pints to celebrate’…
“At the end of the day, as bad as it is in footballing terms, the guy’s still a human being. He still has a family and I don’t think Rod Stewart would particuarly appreciate if he had a bad concert and someone was sitting there saying ‘I want my money back, he was absolutley rubbish, he can’t sing.’
“Regardless of his status round about the world, I just thought it was a poor show, especially from somebody as classy as what I think he is.”
This week’s Rod Art
This week we feature the work of Robbie Orick Jr a pencil artist from Oklahoma USA
First up is this fantastic portrait of Sir Rod, Robbie who is a self taught artist told SMILER this week “I have always been a fan of his music and a good friend of mine who is also a very big fan inspired me to give it a go”
Robbie also did this great Faces live drawing in 2024 featuring Rod, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan
To see more of Robbie’s art work go to https://www.instagram.com/goobs_gallery/
Faces on Greatest Rock Songs of All Time List
All this week on Planet Rock they have been counting down the 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time, as voted by thousands of listeners.
On Wednesday it was revealed Faces Stay With Me was number 170
Python Lee Jackson – In A Broken Dream came in at 411
When you see the tracks they beat you can see how well the placings are.
https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/the-500-greatest-rock-songs-of-all-time
Happy birthday, Rod! By Martin Heidt
One man, one sound, one voice for generations
Tomorrow January 10th, Rod Stewart turns 81 – and honestly, it still feels a bit surreal. Because Rod Stewart isn’t an artist you can simply pigeonhole by age. He’s an attitude to life. A voice. A damn well-fitting tailor-made suit with an open shirt collar that has defied all fashions for decades.Rod is one of those musicians whose songs you don’t just listen to, but reminisce about, celebrating your own personal party, true to the motto ‘We’re having a party,’ as Sir Rod himself repeatedly emphasises at his concerts.As soon as that unmistakable, slightly hoarse timbre rings out, you’re right there: in your first summer of love, on an endless car journey, in a smoky pub or in front of the big stage of life, where things aren’t going perfectly – but honestly. And that’s exactly what Rod Stewart always was and is: honest, direct, sometimes cheeky, with a rousing sense of humour and sometimes sentimental, but never smooth.
His career? A wild ride. From street musician to the wild years with the Faces, from ‘Maggie May’ to ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’, from ‘Baby Jane’ to ‘The Tears Of Hercules’, from packed stadiums to sold-out arenas to small, smoky clubs. From raging rock hits like ‘Young Turks’ to heart-wrenching ballads like ‘Have I Told You Lately’ – Rod could and could do everything and never wanted to have to choose. A rocker with a football heart, a dandy with a working-class soul, a charmer with self-irony. Someone who knew that a song didn’t have to be perfect to be perfect. It just had to be filled with life, given that typical Stewart touch. And Sir Rod was and is second to none in this respect. It’s no coincidence that he recorded many cover songs, and it was only through his typical Rod interpretation that these songs became global hits. Want some examples? Take ‘Sailing’ – written by the Sutherland Brothers in 1972, but it wasn’t until three years later that Stewart’s version made “Sailing” number one in the charts. Or ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’. Originally written by Cat Stevens in 1967, it was Stewart’s cover nine years later that made the song the big hit that almost everyone knows today.And then there’s that voice. No other voice sounds like his. It’s raspy, warm and comforting. It tells stories of love and loss, of mistakes and second chances. Rod doesn’t sing about feelings – he’s right in the middle of them. Perhaps that’s precisely why his songs connect generations. Children, parents, grandparents – everyone loves Rod Stewart. There’s the teenage grandson singing along with his grandmother at a concert, there’s the son and father rocking out to the sounds of ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ on the arena floor. Stewart appeals to all generations with his songs and gives them at least two hours of carefree escape from everyday life at his performances. What influencer or TikTok nerd can claim that these days?Even beyond music, Rod always remained Rod. A passionate football fan, an entertainer without any real airs and graces, a gentleman with a twinkle in his eye. Basically, Rod is one of us, who can get just as excited about his favourite team from Glasgow as he can about a pint in the pub around the corner in the evening. Someone who can laugh at himself and knows full well that coolness has nothing to do with age, but with attitude. Anyone who is still on stage at over 80 as if it were the most natural thing in the world has done a lot of things right.81 years of Rod Stewart – that’s not just countless hits, gold records and sold-out tours. It’s moments that stay with you. Choruses you sing along to, even if you don’t know the lyrics by heart. Melodies that lift you up when you’re having a tough day. And that feeling that rock “n” roll doesn’t have to be loud to be profound.Dear Rod, thank you for the songs that have accompanied us and still do.
Thank you for the energy, the style, the humour – and for proving that passion has no expiry date. Happy birthday, Sir Rod. Here’s to the next chapters. The world could still use a lot more Stewart.
What’s On
The Small Fakers have many fans here on SMILER so here are this years tour dates so far..
Taking a fresh look at A NIGHT ON THE TOWN
A brand new thought provoking blog by SMILER Faces expert Dan Perreira has just been posted in our blog section
Rod Stewart’s first solo outing after breaking up the Faces (and yes, he did!) was 1976’s A NIGHT ON THE TOWN. Recorded at Cherokee Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, from December 1975 – April 1976 (except for one cut), A NIGHT ON THE TOWN, as expected, hit big in both the UK at #1 and in the US at #2. Rod would acquire from the LP three memorable hit singles, including two of his best-ever self-penned songs. “Tonight’s The Night (Gonna Be Alright),” a sultry and suggestive song, would in short time become a massive #1 in the US with an impressive eight-week run at the top spot, and in the UK it would reach #5 despite some radio bans, due to sexual content. The somewhat controversial “The Killing Of Georgie (Part I & II)”, which hit the #2 spot in the UK and made a respectable #30 in the US, and, for many, the album’s stand-out track. Plus, Rod adds a wonderful take on Cat Stevens’ lyrically profound “The First Cut Is The Deepest” to the album; the single made #21 on the American charts.
Read the rest of this interesting blog at https://www.rodstewartfanclub.com/blog_dan_faces_appreciations/taking-a-fresh-look-at-a-night-on-the-town/?swcfpc=1
And Finally…
Brydie Taylor bumped into Sir Rod in Smiths of Ongar Restaurant and got this great photo that we also used as the main photo this week, Brydie told SMILER “He is so wonderful”
Enjoy all the Rod on TV tonight in the UK, We hope Sir Rod has a brilliant birthday tomorrow and will see you next week….