Research has been carried out to find out which tunes make British people feel 20 years younger.
The poll was conducted by Warner Leisure Hotels in celebration of this years Brit Awards.
Rod came in at number 7 with his 1988 hit Forever Young his second single from the Out of Order album. The song was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #12
Rod wrote the song with two of his band members: guitarist Jim Cregan and keyboardist Kevin Savigar. Stewart told Mojo magazine in 1995 that he considered “Forever Young” to be one of his favourite songs and the reason for writing it was, “I love ‘Forever Young’, because that was a real heartfelt song about my kids. I suddenly realised I’d missed a good five years of Sean and Kimberly’s life because I was so busy touring all the time. With these kids now I don’t make that mistake- I take them on tour with me, so I can watch them grow up. So that’s another favorite. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big hit in England [Peaking at #57 in 1988 and #55 in 2013], but it’s like a national anthem here [(America]”.
Rod also recorded a more mellow version of the song for his 1996 compilation album If We Fall in Love Tonight, and a version featuring just Rod’s voice with piano accompaniment can be found on the 2009 compilation album The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998. A live version was recorded during his MTV Unplugged session in 1993. Though not included on the original release of the live album Unplugged…and Seated, this version was later released as a bonus track on the Collector’s Edition of the album released by Rhino Records in 2009. Another live version of the song from his 2013 performance at The Troubadour, West Hollywood was included on the deluxe edition of the album Time.
The full top 10 is..
1. Bryan Adams – Summer of 69
2. The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
3. Lulu – Shout
4. Pharrell Williams – Happy
5. The Bluebells – Young at Heart
6. Journey – Don’t Stop Believing
7. Rod Stewart – Forever Young
8. Frank Sinatra – You Make Me Feel So Young
9. Fun – We Are Young
10. Supergrass – Alright
Photo Geoff Johnston