Denmark Street
This week started with a very unusual gig for Rod on Saturday morning..here is a short review from Martin Heidt
Caravan romance: Rod Stewart gives spontaneous mini-concert in the middle of London By Martin Heidt
London, UK. It’s a rainy Saturday. We are on Denmark Street, on the edge of London’s West End, somewhere between St. Giles In The Fields Church and Tottenham Court Road Station.
People are bustling back and forth, many of them sheltering from the rain with umbrellas. So far, it’s a completely normal Saturday with typical British weather. But then, out of nowhere, this red… let’s call it a caravan… appears.
The striking vehicle, decorated with large ‘Wolfie’s’ lettering, is pushed into position.
Not too many passers-by are taking notice of the vehicle, which has ‘The Wild Ones Jukebox’ written on the top.
But that is about to change quickly. Hard-working helpers open the large window, revealing a microphone. Next to it are several bottles of Wolfie’s whisky. The first curious onlookers approach the vehicle, asking questions. ‘What on earth is going on here?’
The crowd in front of the caravan grows larger by the minute. People’s curiosity is piqued. And then suddenly a man appears under an umbrella, makes his way through the eagerly waiting passers-by and climbs into the ‘Wolfie’s Mobile’.
This gentleman, smartly dressed, is none other than music legend Sir Rod Stewart, whose appearance causes astonished and amazed looks among those waiting.
He takes a seat on a chair inside the caravan and adjusts the microphone in front of him. In the meantime, more people have squeezed into the rolling jukebox and are tuning the instruments they have brought with them. Slowly, it dawns on some of them what is about to happen. The mini band strikes up the first chords and then Sir Rod belts out his Faces hit ‘Ooh La La’ to the crowd. Attracted by the sounds coming from the caravan, more and more people gather in front of what is probably the smallest stage Sir Rod has ever played on. Smartphones are pulled out, photos and videos are taken, and some even sing along – some rather badly than well. But the singer likes it so much that he immediately follows up with his start-up song ‘Maggie May’.
The audience braves the rain and celebrates this spontaneous mini-performance with great enthusiasm. After all, it’s not every day you get to experience a superstar face to face, so to speak.
After a few minutes, the short gig is over and becomes THE topic of conversation in the British capital. Videos of this unique mini-event go viral on social media. In short, the promotional campaign was a complete success and everyone involved – in, in front of and behind the rolling jukebox – had a lot of fun. And one or two bottles of Stewart’s whisky also found new owners on this rainy Saturday.
Video link: https://youtu.be/yxX1CVQE4X8?si=3w2fgc35bAI-g4eh
Rod met up with Lukeyboy a Wolfie’s ambassador
Rod was also promoting the Wolfie’s event that we told you about last week that was happening on Saturday night at Thirteen, 1-3 Denmark Street as part of the Chateau Denmark and Thirteen’s cultural programme which you can find out more about here What’s On.
Host Bex April May said “Beyond excited to be hosting @wolfieswhisky’s Wild Ones with a very special first guest – co-founder and original Wild One, @sirrodstewart 🔥 Episode one of rock n roll stories and mad chat over a whisky cocktail or two coming VERY SOON!”
Rod later called in The Sheephaven Bay and met the new staff
Amazonica who was the DJ at the gig posted a great shot she got taken with Rod captioning it Loved DJing last night @sirrodstewart got up on stage and did one of my favourite songs ever ‘OOH LA LA’ with @hotpropertymusic – it was ELECTRIC!! even Rod said it was like the 70’s.
Hot Property were so frikkin’ great – like 5 mini Rods.
Check back next week to read the full report of the extraordinary day…
This Week’s Rod Art
This week we feature the work of Jürgen Kutschmann from the city of Dessau in Germany Jürgen has painted this amazing acrylic on cardboard portrait of Rod and also the one we have used as our main photo.
To see more of Jürgen’s brilliant work go to https://www.instagram.com/juergenkutschmann/
Marc Bolan
An unseen set of photos featuring Rod, Steve Harley , Bowie and Jim Cregan at Marc Bolan’s funeral have surfaced on News UK
https://www.newslicensing.co.uk/search/?searchQuery=Rod+Stewart+1977+&assetType=default
New brooms sweep clean – Oxford-Chamberlain shoots Celtic to last-minute victory By Martin Heidt
At 10:34 p.m., Sir Rod Stewart jumped out of his chair cheering, threw his arms in the air and danced exuberantly around the room. At that very moment, Alexander Oxford-Chamberlain had secured Celtic Football Club’s narrow but well-deserved 2-1 home victory over Livingston FC with a powerful shot from 16 metres.Served from the left, the former Liverpool player, who was signed by the Hoops just a few days ago, skilfully controlled the ball and curled it past Livingston keeper Jerome Prior into the right corner from the edge of the penalty area. It was the 90th+1 minute in a game that should have been decided at half-time, but in the end turned out to be a close call for the reigning champions.Celtic started the game determinedly, making it clear from the outset that they wanted to start the upcoming weeks of truth with two games against VfB Stuttgart in the Europa League and two duels with arch-rivals Rangers with a win.The Bhoys in green created chance after chance before the break and took the lead after a quarter of an hour through left-back Marcelo Saracchi (15′).However, the Hoops missed a number of excellent opportunities as the game progressed, meaning they went into the break with only a narrow 1-0 lead.After the break, the underdogs from Livingston grew in confidence and shed their great respect for the serial champions. Celtic, on the other hand, lost more and more control, allowing striker Robbie Muirhead to equalise with a controversial penalty (57′). The equaliser turned the game on its head and it became a nail-biting affair for the 60,000 spectators in the stadium and Sir Rod watching on television. Just when it looked like the game was heading for a draw, Oxford-Chamberlain struck again, sending the fans in the stadium and Rod into raptures.The last-minute victory keeps team manager Martin O’Neill’s men in third place in the table. With 51 points, the Hoops are still six points behind leaders Hearts, with Rangers in between on 52 points. However, Celtic have a game in hand and still have to make up their recently postponed match at Aberdeen FC on 4 March.​
EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert
On Thursday Rod and Penny attended the EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert UK premiere.
The event was held at the BFI IMAX cinema in London’s Waterloo and Rod also took the chance to show off his singing skills as he grabbed a microphone at the entrance, posing up a storm for the cameras, rod posted the picture above on Instagram captioning it Elvis had it all! But l’m not doing too bad meself 🤩 great movie!
They joined several famous pals at the event, including Richard E. Grant, Baz Luhrmann, and Anita Dobson and her husband Brian May.
The upcoming documentary features never-before-seen footage and recordings of the late Elvis Presley in concert during his Las Vegas residency in the later stages of his career.
Directed by visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, the documentary is slated for release in cinemas across the UK and worldwide on February 27.
And Finally..
This week saw the passing at the age of 86 of the man often credited as creating Rod’s signature spiky haircut
Swiss-born British hairdresser Pierre Alexandre started his career in a small salon in Manchester and went onto become a household name throughout the 1970s and 80s, loved by celebrities.
Rod, David and Angie Bowie, Take That and Lulu were among the customers of the man described as a “hairdressing icon” whose innovation and creativity with scissors surpassed that of even Vidal Sassoon and helped shape modern hairdressing.
Alexandre, successfully grew his brand to an international brand and is credited with pioneering unisex salons and foils.
Don’t forget to check back next week for a full report on Rod’s extraordinary day in Camden, See you next week…
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