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09.04.2024, 10:00

Wolfie's goes Germany: sipping his whiskey backstage with Rod Stewart

Around four weeks to go until Rod Stewart's European tour kicks off with a concert in Antwerp on 11 May. As is well known, the 79-year-old singer will also be performing numerous concerts in Germany as part of...   mehr

Swing Fever: Rod Stewart and Jools Holland release their first album together

A new swing album is being released, which in itself is not big news. It happens every now and then in the music world. But when this new album is released by Rod Stewart and Jools Holland, it's worth taking a closer look at this work and the story behind it.
At first glance, you don't get the impression that the two artists have sought and found each other. On the one hand, there is the much-quoted grater's voice and the tousled mane of Rod Stewart, the rock'n'roller who likes to act like a little bully towards the opposing fans on the football pitch, who can heat up his fans with his songs just as well as he can make them languish with ballads and love songs. And then there's the gentleman Jools Holland, always smartly dressed in fine threads, who went from being a keyboard player with the group Squeeze to a pianist, orchestra leader and TV presenter. No, you wouldn't necessarily expect these two greats of the music scene to make a congenial duo one day.
And yet that's how it turned out. Possibly only because they share the same hobby. Rod and Jools are fanatical fans of model railways. When the two of them met for an interview with the New York culture magazine Vulture in a hotel near Central Park a few days ago, neither of them had an eye for the view of the park; instead, their gazes were glued to the buildings along Fifth Avenue. "We're more interested in the architecture," Rod Stewart explained the duo's behaviour. "Because of our model trains".
At least they were able to tear themselves away from the view of New York and concentrate on the conversation. "We're curious and a perfect match," says Holland, explaining the collaboration between the two artists, which nobody had actually had in mind. "You can't force something like this". And it didn't have to be, because the collaboration worked like clockwork right from the start.
"I had started recording a new album in Los Angeles, but I wasn't at all happy with the result," Rod Stewart explained. "So I rang Jools and asked him if he would be interested in recording the album with his big band". "At first I thought someone was taking the mickey," Holland says of the call. "But when I realised that it wasn't a joke, but that I had actually spoken to Rod Stewart, I agreed".
The duo harmonised right from the start and the 13 songs on the new album were recorded in no time. "Nothing came from the tape, we recorded every single song live with the band," emphasises Rod Stewart. It quickly becomes clear that the two have a lot in common beyond model railways, which is why the collaboration on Swing Fever worked like clockwork. "We both come from the same area of London," explains Holland and Stewart nods. "Our families encouraged us to make music".
The public soon became aware of the Stewart/Holland duo and the album Swing Fever. Not least thanks to a now legendary performance at London's St Pancras station, where a band, some singers and Rod and Jools suddenly appeared out of nowhere and performed a few impromptu samples of their new songs to an astonished audience. Goal achieved: lots of videos of this spontaneous performance went viral on social media and suddenly everyone was talking about the new album. "People's reaction to our performance in St Pancras was just a huge compliment. Some people cancelled their trains just to hear our music," says Stewart. "You didn't have to explain to the people there what it was all about, it was just great and on a station platform you get a complete cross-section of the audience's reactions," adds Holland.
In the weeks that followed, the two musicians never missed an opportunity to further promote their work. Whether radio interviews, TV appearances or single releases as appetisers - Swing Fever never let go of the music fans.
To mark the release on 23 February, Stewart and Holland held a signing session in a London record shop on the same day, and a few days later they played four album release concerts in a London nightclub. Originally there was only supposed to be one, but due to the enormous demand from fans, three additional concerts were organised.

And then? What are the plans for the future? "If this album goes well, we'll do a second one," explains Jools Holland. "But for now that's a long way off, we have both shows booked until the end of the year. For me, it would be a dream come true if we could play together at Carnegie Hall or Radio City Music Hall". And Rod Stewart is also immediately on fire. "I've never played Carnegie Hall before! I just want to keep singing. I love being on the road with my band," says the 79-year-old. "My band gives me inspiration".
Incidentally, nobody needs to worry that Stewart might run out of material at some point. "There are a lot of songs I've written that I haven't released and nobody knows about," says Rod. "I sent a lot of them to Ronnie Wood. I said to him: 'This is the material we recorded with the band. Maybe it would be better if we released it with the Faces'. We're still not sure if we're going to do this album, but some of these song babies might actually see the light of day."




Swing Fever (2024)
Tracklist:
1. lullaby of Broadway
2 Oh Marie
3 Sentimental Journey
4 Pennies From Heaven
5 Night Train
6 Love Is The Sweetest Thing
7. Them There Eyes
8 Good Rockin' Tonight
9th Aint Misbehavin'
10 Frankie And Johnny
11 Walkin' My Baby Back Home
12. Almost Like Being In Love
13th Tennessee Waltz

25.01.2024, 14:14

Ranking: The best live albums of all time

The music magazine "Musikexpress" has published a list of the best 100 live albums of all time. Rod Stewart made it to 93rd place with the album "Absolutely Live". The magazine also voted Nirvana's MTV...   mehr

17.01.2024, 10:17

Concert tickets: the secret behind the pricing

The announcement of a tour by our favourite artist regularly sends us into a state of complete ecstasy and anticipation. We have to be there, preferably very close to the stage, in row 1, eagerly awaiting the...   mehr

10.01.2024, 12:32

10 January - the date that connects me to Rod Stewart more than any other

Sharing your birthday with your favourite musician is something special. You experience the day with even more joy because you know that somewhere else the singer you trust is also celebrating his very special...   mehr

08.01.2024, 12:55

An evening at Twickenham railway station changed the music world thanks to Long John Baldry

In the long career of Rod Stewart, there are probably two events that had the greatest impact on his career as one of the world's best singers. One was the day in 1971 when a radio presenter in Cleveland...   mehr

03.01.2024, 11:32

Welcome 2024 - the tour countdown is on

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers and friends a happy, healthy and successful New Year 2024. Many of us spent the New Year with friends and acquaintances, family and colleagues....   mehr

11.12.2023, 11:24

The song that really got everything going: Maggie May

"Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you ...." - With this line of text, long-time Rod Stewart fans immediately know what's coming. The opening of the song MAGGIE MAY is like an anthem at the...   mehr

03.12.2023, 11:02

European Championship kick-off and Leipzig concert: Saxon fans may be expected to be flexible

Football and Rod Stewart belong together like Big Ben and London, like Paris and the Eiffel Tower, like Munich and the Oktoberfest: you can't have one without the other. The now 78-year-old singer has been a...   mehr

27.11.2023, 18:01

Between Rod Stewart and Vladimir Klitchko: Düsseldorf musician Gina Brese tells her story about a legendary performance with Rod Stewart

Who among us hasn't dreamed of being on stage with Rod Stewart and performing a song? Gina Brese, singer, saxophonist and songwriter from Düsseldorf, experienced this dream back in 2015. On 28 November 2015,...   mehr

27.11.2023, 10:38

Album of the week: Tonight I'm Yours (1981)

We all know the feeling. You hear the latest song by your favorite artist on the radio and of course you want to have that record right away. So you run off to the nearest record store .... Oops, sorry, wrong...   mehr

24.11.2023, 09:09

Concert Review: Saying Goodbye to 2023 in Style (by Sue Walton)

The November 22, 2023 was Rod Stewart’s last show of the year at Caesars Palace and in true Rod Stewart fashion he ended on a high note, leaving fans wanting more. Fortunately, “more” will be coming our way...   mehr

23.11.2023, 11:50

Wetten dass.... I'll meet you, Rod?

Next Saturday, the legendary TV show Wetten dass will take place for the last time in Offenburg. Since 1981, Wetten dass has been THE big Saturday evening entertainment programme on German television and has...   mehr

17.11.2023, 11:49

Concert marathon 2024: Will Las Vegas really be the end?

The moment that Rod Stewart fans have always dreaded is getting closer and closer: the singer's departure from the stage. Barring a miracle, 2024 will be the last year in which the now 78-year-old will thrill...   mehr

15.11.2023, 10:04

Rod Stewart: Concert history in Germany

As we all know, Rod Stewart began his unique career in the early 1960s thanks to the legendary Long John Baldry, who listened very carefully to a young man squatting on the floor at a grey and uncomfortable...   mehr

12.11.2023, 13:43

Concert and party review: Rockin' In The Round Hamburg 2007

In the early 2000s, even before Facebook, Twitter & Co, the good old Storyteller was THE forum for Rod Stewart fans in Germany. You could register at the web address www.rod-stewart.de and then post, comment...   mehr

12.11.2023, 13:02

Rod Stewart Tribute: Rud Stewart (If the original obliges you and saves your butt)

He likes to call himself an Englishman who lives in Sweden: Michael Dean, probably better known to most as Rud Stewart, has also lived in Mallorca and has a soft spot for Australia and New Zealand. His great...   mehr

12.11.2023, 12:04

Rod Stewart Tribute: Rob Caudill (When Your Nose Gives You Direction)

Imagine you're at the airport, strolling relaxed through the city or sitting comfortably in a restaurant and all the people around you are staring at you as if you're from another galaxy, or constantly asking...   mehr

30.09.2023, 13:54

My ultimate setlist

There were 60 years of a unique career to work through. If my personal setlist were to be performed, Rod would probably have to be on stage for several days at a stretch. The following list of Rod Stewart and...   mehr

30.09.2023, 12:58

The arenas in Germany

Quarterback Arena in Leipzig Address: Am Sportforum 2, 04105 Leipzig Opening: 11 May 2002 Capacity: 8000 seats Website: https://www.quarterback-immobilien-arena.de The Rod Stewart concert will take...   mehr

27.09.2023, 14:03

Rod Stewart Tribute: Robin Stone

Young Reinhard discovered his love of music when he was still a three-year-old. It all began with a drum kit his father had made himself and the music of the Bee Gees. Today he can look back on a long musical...   mehr

25.09.2023, 14:05

Album of the Week: Foolish Behaviour

Foolish Behaviour is the tenth of 31 studio albums by Sir Rod Stewart and was released on 21 November 1980. The ten songs on the album were recorded at Record Plant Studios and Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles...   mehr

25.09.2023, 09:12

Story: The Faces thrill at their first concert in Germany - "Stewart's voice gives you goosebumps"

Hamburg, 2 December 1970: It's a cloudy day on the Elbe, with rain showers coming down again and again. At seven degrees it is quite cool. Not the kind of weather to chase a dog out the door. And yet, on this...   mehr

24.09.2023, 14:14

Album of the week: TIME - back to the roots

One should never say there is nothing left for a person to do after publishing his autobiography. Rock star Rod Stewart is a prime example in this respect. In 2012, he published his autobiography with the...   mehr

23.09.2023, 14:18

When Georgie Boy Really Pissed Off John Lennon

Without a doubt, ex-Beatle John Lennon, who would be 83 years old today, and Rod Stewart belong to the group of the greatest music stars this planet has ever seen. Both started their careers in the early 60s....   mehr