'You know I'm not allowed to call you darling any more. Or pet, or baby," Rod Stewart says incredulously, after letting the word slip in our conversation. "I mean if I were to write to you, I'd never call your darling, I'd call you by your name. Some of the other words, like 'chick' and 'babe' and 'sweetheart' [are offensive]. But if I have secretaries that I've dealt with for a long time, or doctors, or whatever, I might say 'Hello darling, how are you?' I think that's fine."
Truly, a conversation with Rod Stewart is neither the time nor place to get into the feminist linguistic debate, not least because it should have been clear what one has signed up for. Although capable of a more emotive side (see: Handbags and Gladrags, The First Cut Is the Deepest), it’s the libido-led songs such as Hot Legs and Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? that have defined him since his formative years in The Faces through to his stadium-sized solo ventures.
While Stewart is evidently grappling with updating his approach – few can last long in the entertainment industry without the ability to adapt – it's something of a statement that his 31st album, The Tears of Hercules, has One More Time as its opening gambit. It's a raucous, high-tempo start about going back to an ex one more time "for the road".
Indeed, to no one’s surprise, bedroom antics are “a recurring theme on this album, I’m a randy bastard, innit I?” he says chuckling, with the charisma of someone who’s well used to commanding stages. “You try it in the kitchen, in the cemetery, the back of the car. We’ve all done that. Well, most of us who have lived a good honest life have had sex in the back of the car, surely.”
Back on form
Lapsing into celeb gossip mode, I ask where his most unusual place has been, and he breaks out his imitable gravelly voice, singing, “I’m not telling you, oh no.”
It’s heartening to see him on form. There’s no denying that 2021 has largely been an eerily quiet one for many, including Stewart, who’s spent almost 60 (yes, 60) years in the public sphere.
The last time we met, in 2018, was at his sprawling country estate in Essex. It's here that he took refuge when the pandemic hit. "In the middle of last year, I was so desperate to get out and sing," he says, speaking from that same location, though this time we're on the phone. "Singing's been part of my life since I was 19. When suddenly it's taken away from you, it's devastating. I had a couple of days where I had a good cry throughout it, which isn't bad for 18 months. But we were so lucky because in my house we have an indoor pool, football pitch, gym, everything I could want. I also had my children with me, and they all kept their distance when it was really bad, because we had the space for that. I've just been really lucky."
While Essex is his base and he makes frequent trips to Scotland – the home of his beloved Celtic and his father's birthplace – Stewart aims to spend more time in Ireland, where he recently visited to research the Easter Rising, in preparation for covering the ballad Grace on his last album, Blood Red Roses.
The visit prompted him to buy a home in Dublin. "I fell in love with this gorgeous apartment, right by the Aviva Stadium in Ballsbridge, " he says. "It's so different, it's all glass. My wife [model and TV presenter Penny Lancaster] loved it, and both of us absolutely adore Dublin. We enjoy the fact that there is lovely coastline and lots of history – it's not just that there's a load of Celtic supporters.
“I’ve always loved Dublin, all my life, since I went there with The Faces in the early ’70s, and I feel like I want to be there more. I’ve never considered buying a place in Paris, or Rome or anywhere else. Southern Ireland just has some magic for me.”
Taking stock
While they haven’t been able to make much use of it in recent months for obvious reasons, it will come in useful if his plans for Irish dates at the end of 2022 come to fruition.
The pause on touring gave Stewart a well-earned and impossibly rare chance to take stock. Lest we forget, this is a man who has released music at an impressive rate – on average, one album every two years since 1969, totalling 250 million sales.
“Between a thousand games of Monopoly with my kids, the pandemic did make me think about things,” he says. “The kids and I talked a lot about financial things, what they’re going to do with their lives, how they’re going to handle school…”
The UK's return to "normality" has meant that the family have largely returned to their homes. Only Stewart's youngest two children, with Lancaster, live with them in Essex. But Christmas is another opportunity for the family to reconvene, this time including the two of his eight children who were in LA for the pandemic. "We'll all plan to come here, although a couple of the kids might pull out for hockey matches, appointments, whatever," he says.
While Stewart is no stranger to getting into the Christmas vibe – he’s already released the obligatory Christmas album, reinterpreting classics such as Winter Wonderland and Silent Night – nor is he the first to wear a Christmas jumper. Why? “I don’t like to be told when to have a good time, as happens with New Year’s Eve. I like to have a good time when I’m ready to have a good time,” he says. “But I enjoy it because my kids and my wife enjoy Christmas. They all know I’m a bit of a humbug when it comes to Christmas. I’m the sort of guy that when the kids are opening their presents, I’m running around and clearing up the paper and getting rid of it so the house is all nice and tidy.”
It’s a far cry from the sex and drugs and rock’n’roll of yore – but that’s the ever-adapting Stewart for us.
The Tears of Hercules is out now on East West Records
