0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some strong language
0:00:07 > 0:00:09A few weeks ago, something interesting,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11well, surprising, happened.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14A raspy-voiced Jack-the-lad, born and raised round here
0:00:14 > 0:00:17above a sweet shop on the Archway Road in north London
0:00:17 > 0:00:19was knighted by the Queen.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Tonight, we're here to honour that man
0:00:22 > 0:00:26by showing once again the film we made about him three years ago.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30So, here's to you.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Rock on, Sir Roderick David Stewart.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38# Think I know now what's making me sad
0:00:38 > 0:00:42# Yearning for my old back yard
0:00:42 > 0:00:45# I realise maybe I was wrong to leave
0:00:45 > 0:00:48# Swallow up my silly country pride
0:00:48 > 0:00:52# Going home, rolling home
0:00:52 > 0:00:56# Down to Gasoline Alley where I was born
0:00:56 > 0:00:59# Going home and I'm rolling home
0:00:59 > 0:01:00# Down to Gasoline Alley... #
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Rod Stewart was born with a voice that sounds shot to pieces,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08but in the spring of 1965, he had no sense yet
0:01:08 > 0:01:10of where that voice would take him.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I've been a professional singer now for the last nine or ten months.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Before that, I worked with my brother.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22If it lasts a year and a half, I shall be happy,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25which I think it will do. I'll get another 18 months.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30He would go on to become one of the most successful singers
0:01:30 > 0:01:31of all time.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34# I don't want to
0:01:34 > 0:01:38# Talk about it
0:01:38 > 0:01:42# How you broke my heart
0:01:45 > 0:01:50# If I stay here just a little bit longer... #
0:01:50 > 0:01:52He's been famous for a lot of things -
0:01:52 > 0:01:54mayhem on stage...
0:01:56 > 0:01:59..rearranging hotel rooms...
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and misbehaving with women.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06In the back of one of those limousines, was a journalist.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Were you shagging Susan George, was the question.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12I ask you only to look at it at some point and reflect
0:02:12 > 0:02:15- on what was going through your head. - Don't put me on the spot, Alan.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17I'm trying to be a gentleman here!
0:02:17 > 0:02:24# Mother don't you recognise me now? #
0:02:25 > 0:02:26But how much of this
0:02:26 > 0:02:30has just been playing up to the Jack-the-lad image?
0:02:30 > 0:02:34- Intrepid fox, Rod!- Tell us a story, Ronnie.- OK, Sherlock.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39# I was singing in the clubs Singing in the pubs
0:02:39 > 0:02:41# Then along came Maggie May... #
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Almost five decades on and he has a new album out of his own songs,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49that tell the story of his life.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53# I will climb this mountain With this God-given gift
0:02:53 > 0:02:57# If it's the last thing that I do And I remember thinking... #
0:03:00 > 0:03:04He's broken most of the rules and just about got away with it
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and he shows no sign of stopping now.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12That's what I thought we might call the film - They Can't Stop Me Now.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14I love the idea of that. I love it.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19- # So proud- They can't stop me now The world is waiting
0:03:19 > 0:03:22# So proud Oh, yeah!
0:03:22 > 0:03:27# They can't stop me now The tide is turning... #
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Last year saw the publication of Rod's autobiography,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42a very honest and entertaining romp through his eventful life.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I wondered if it was writing the book that had enabled him
0:03:49 > 0:03:52to create these new songs, his first in over 20 years.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57You're writing your autobiography and, somehow or other,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01that did make you dig deeper and deeper. Is that what happened?
0:04:01 > 0:04:03That is exactly what happened.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09My family were instrumental in helping me with this book
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and that's what helped the songs, in so many ways.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16But my favourite is You Can't Stop Me Now,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18cos it is a tribute to my dad.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22# Thanks for the faith Thanks for the patience... #
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Do you ever worry about him getting mixed up with all these
0:04:27 > 0:04:28purple heart-types you read about in the papers?
0:04:28 > 0:04:32No, we never worry about that sort of thing. Not with Roddy.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36I think he's too sensible for that sort of thing.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37At least, I think so.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39ROD APPLAUDS
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Rod lives with his parents in a small flat above their shop
0:04:43 > 0:04:45in Archway Road, Highgate.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49He doesn't usually get up before lunchtime, but on Good Friday,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51he was up and dressed by 11.30.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- I'm in my house. - I told you, I recognised it,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57- with the washing line.- Yeah.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00This is where me dad used to have a shop underneath.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03He seems to be doing quite well at singing. Were you disappointed
0:05:03 > 0:05:07- when he gave up football? - No, I wasn't disappointed.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- Do you think he could have gone further as a footballer?- I think so.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14# You can't stop me now The tide is turning... #
0:05:14 > 0:05:16How long have you been playing?
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Footballing family. Since about five, you know.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Footballing family. They all play football. The brothers, you know.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25And my sisters play football! My dad was the best of the lot.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32# Thanks for the love Thanks for guidance... #
0:05:32 > 0:05:35The game itself, we lost 4-2, unfortunately,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39but it doesn't really matter to me. It's just a workout.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45His dad told him that every man needed a job, a sport and a hobby.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49The sum of Rod's hobbies would become legendary,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54but one lifelong love has been building model railroads.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00And you've got a view from your bedroom window of the, sort of,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02of London's railway network.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07I did see the marshalling yards of Highgate and Archway
0:06:07 > 0:06:11and beyond that, my next love, was the football pitch,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13so I had the two things right in front of me.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15All I needed was a nude blonde in the distance
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and that would have been all three!
0:06:19 > 0:06:23And those early years, you were probably a pretty spoilt child,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25given that you were the youngest?
0:06:25 > 0:06:30Spoilt with attention, not with gifts, because we didn't have...
0:06:30 > 0:06:34It was just after the war. We didn't have that much money,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38but certainly spoilt with attention, by my two brothers and two sisters.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- Because he was the youngest, was he spoilt?- Definitely.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44You didn't hesitate there, at all.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48- No. And I don't hesitate now! - He's still spoilt?- I think so, yes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Haven't you ever thought about moving out of home
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and getting your own flat?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- No, no. You know, life's too hard. I've done it before.- Why not?
0:06:56 > 0:07:00It's terrible, you know. At night, always having to wash your clothes.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Good old mum always washes my clothes. You can't go wrong.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Dinner's always there. It's terrific.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And how did music come into your life?
0:07:10 > 0:07:11ROD CACKLES
0:07:11 > 0:07:13# This here's a story about the Rock Island Line... #
0:07:13 > 0:07:19Rock Island Line, I believe that was the first time I'd ever heard
0:07:19 > 0:07:21anything that resembled rock and roll.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25In actual fact, it was skiffle music and that was brand new.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30We'd all been listening to Bing Crosby and Al Jolson and Sinatra.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34That was the only music - and big band stuff - that existed for me.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38So, when Lonnie Donegan came along with this mad...
0:07:38 > 0:07:42AS LONNIE DONEGAN: # Oh, the Rock Island Line is a mighty fine line. #
0:07:42 > 0:07:45..it sort of, changed everything.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47# You gotta ride it like you find it
0:07:47 > 0:07:50# Get your ticket at the station on the Rock Island Line. #
0:07:50 > 0:07:54My dad got me my first guitar, for really no apparent reason.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56He just, for some unknown reason,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00brought home a guitar and gave it to me.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03At what point did you discover your voice, for instance?
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Probably, when I realised I had a voice was when I was about 16 or 17
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and I was a beatnik on Brighton beach
0:08:09 > 0:08:14and I'd learnt quite a few songs on the guitar, American folk songs,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and people would say "Hey, Rod, open your guitar up and give us a song."
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And people would gather round to listen to me play.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29# I am a man of constant sorrow
0:08:30 > 0:08:33# I've seen trouble all my days... #
0:08:34 > 0:08:37And how did you become a beatnik?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Why I became a beatnik, I don't know.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Probably because it was all the go.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45So I said, "I'll jump on this bandwagon."
0:08:45 > 0:08:50And also, I'd been joining in the Aldermaston marches.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54# Through this open world I'm about to ramble
0:08:57 > 0:09:00# Throughout snow sleet and rain... #
0:09:01 > 0:09:04About two years ago, we all used to support the CND.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08We used to go down Trafalgar Square, to see Bertrand Russell.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12# Perhaps I'll die on that train... #
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Were you a lefty? Did you read The Daily Worker?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Ooh, serious lefty, yeah, yeah.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20I was a real communist, I must admit.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Not a real communist. I think it sprang out of the fact
0:09:24 > 0:09:27I just wanted to be different to everybody else.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I think that's why I became a beatnik.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I think that's why I read the Daily Worker,
0:09:31 > 0:09:32just to upset people.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39But Rod's communist leanings were short-lived.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40This time last year,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44they had all those demonstrations in Trafalgar Square. It was very good.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48But it's just had it now.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51It's a drag, you know. Quite honestly, to spend Easter last year
0:09:51 > 0:09:54marching back from Aldermaston, it's not as good as people think.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59So that was politics.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02He then found himself on Brighton beach
0:10:02 > 0:10:07and fell in love for the first time, with a girl called Sue.
0:10:07 > 0:10:14# You were the finest girl that my eyes had ever seen
0:10:16 > 0:10:21# I guess you found it hard to simply just ignore
0:10:21 > 0:10:26# This scruffy, beat-up working-class, teenage troubadour
0:10:27 > 0:10:32# So we fell in love and I toured your heart
0:10:32 > 0:10:37# With my out-of-tune guitar... #
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Brighton beach has got particular memories for you.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48Is it true that Sue Boffey broke a guitar over your head?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52No, she didn't break it over my head.
0:10:52 > 0:10:58She was pregnant at the time and we were on Brighton beach and I think
0:10:58 > 0:11:04she decided that I wasn't giving her enough attention and she threw
0:11:04 > 0:11:07one of those great big rocks that you get on Brighton beach at me.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I wish it had hit me, but it hit me guitar and split it
0:11:10 > 0:11:12right up the middle.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14In actual fact, I think she was quite in order,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16because I was being selfish.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20She was pregnant and I was busy entertaining, you know.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21So, good on you, Sue.
0:11:21 > 0:11:27# Seems like only yesterday
0:11:27 > 0:11:28# Under the stars
0:11:28 > 0:11:32# On Brighton beach... #
0:11:32 > 0:11:33APPLAUSE
0:11:33 > 0:11:38Soon after, Sue gave birth to a daughter, Sarah,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42and Rod went off busking round Europe.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45The young parents decided to put the baby up for adoption,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50but eventually, Sarah was reunited with her father,
0:11:50 > 0:11:55and at a recent concert, he dedicated Brighton Beach to Sarah.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57# Kennedy and King... #
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Over the years, I've been to loads of concerts,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02but I think this was probably one of the best.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07And he dedicated a song to me.
0:12:07 > 0:12:12# Oh, how I long for yesterday
0:12:12 > 0:12:17# Under the stars on Brighton beach... #
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Yeah, that was, um, very nice.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22APPLAUSE
0:12:22 > 0:12:24ROD: True story.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27My favourite song is Pure Love,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31a song that I think has beautiful lyrics,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33which he's written for his children.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I don't know if he was thinking of me when he wrote that -
0:12:36 > 0:12:39I'd like to think he was - but, whatever, it's just a beautiful,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42beautiful song and it actually made me cry when I first listened to it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47# Just open up that great big loving heart
0:12:47 > 0:12:53# And you'll always be You'll always be
0:12:53 > 0:12:59# You'll always be a part
0:12:59 > 0:13:00# Of me... #
0:13:02 > 0:13:07The song is a tribute to fatherhood and to his eight children,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10who range in age from 50 to two years old.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14But young Rod, now returning from Europe,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17had to face his own parents.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20When I came back, me mum and dad burnt me outfits,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24burnt me beatnik outfit, so, then, I became a mod.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28'I usually get treated very well in these big stores.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32'I've been there a few times. They even call me "Mr Stewart", now.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34'I like tweed. The country gentleman appearance
0:13:34 > 0:13:36'appeals to me a lot'
0:13:36 > 0:13:39That's a completely different look from the scruffy look, isn't it?
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- That's more of a manicured, tailored look.- Also quite self conscious.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47- You want to look sexy, you want to look appealing.- Yeah. Always, yeah.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Always, even when I was a beatnik, I wanted to look appealing.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55It was just, erm, a search for identity.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59This is another model. This is the up-to-date boot.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03This is what the Beatles wear. I've been wearing them about three years.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- I've only just caught on.- All his money goes on clothes, practically.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12Clothes and boots, shirts. He's got about two dozen shirts upstairs,
0:14:12 > 0:14:13he must have.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17What I was thinking of was a, sort of wool. It's a woolly thing.
0:14:17 > 0:14:18That's it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Rod's fashion sense would become notorious and it all began here.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- It suits me, don't you think? - But what do girls think about it?
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Oh, they love it. Can't go wrong.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31His look might have appealed to the girls,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34but not to the record companies.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37I went for many auditions.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I went to Decca Records, I think I went to EMI,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42and got turned down by most of them,
0:14:42 > 0:14:44because they didn't know what to do with me.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48They didn't know what to do with me hair, me nose, clothes,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and especially the voice.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59But the record companies were not always keeping up
0:14:59 > 0:15:01with the fast-moving times.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06the transition from jazz to blues was happening in clubs and basements
0:15:06 > 0:15:09and it would take his fellow musicians to recognise
0:15:09 > 0:15:13the gravely, cracked voice that would become his trademark.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And there's a very, very vibrant club scene,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21so were you hanging around that club scene at that time?
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Yeah, there was a place called Eel Pie Island, you know,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28that was in the middle of the Thames and I remember seeing
0:15:28 > 0:15:31some of the great bands. The Stones were there, they were fabulous,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34I saw them when there was only 12 people in the audience.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38There was the Downliners Sect and The Yardbirds and The Animals
0:15:38 > 0:15:40were brilliant. Some brilliant bands.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44So, then I kept watching them and thinking, you know, "I can do that.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47"I could be like Eric Burdon or Mick Jagger
0:15:47 > 0:15:49"or Keith Relf from The Yardbirds."
0:15:49 > 0:15:54So then, I definitely got my mind set on becoming a rock singer.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02And then young Rod the mod got his lucky break.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07He was discovered by the legendary blues performer Long John Baldry,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09after a late-night gig on the Thames.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I don't know who we'd been over to Eel Pie Island to see,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18but I was on the train coming back to Waterloo.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21I'd had a couple of bevvies and it was in the middle of winter
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and I was on the floor, covered up with me coat and scarf, playing a
0:16:25 > 0:16:29harmonica, and John saw me there and listened to me playing harmonica and
0:16:29 > 0:16:34singing and prodded me, He said, the way he describes it, he said,
0:16:34 > 0:16:39"I saw this heap of clothes, old rags on the floor, with a nose
0:16:39 > 0:16:43"sticking out. I thought it was an old tramp." But it was me playing
0:16:43 > 0:16:47the harmonica and he said, "Would you like to join my band?"
0:16:47 > 0:16:51But I think, to be serious, I think he saw potential in me
0:16:51 > 0:16:54as being a... just a good blues shouter.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58We play blues in this band. We play blues and we sing blues.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03That's it. At the moment, we are only the nucleus of a band.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07But what I have in mind, in about a year, maybe two years' time,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10this is going to be about a 12-piece, 14-piece orchestra.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13And he had to hire you, via your mum,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- he had to ask your mum's permission? - Yeah, he did, yeah!
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Yeah, I remember, I said, "Well, you better go talk to me mum,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24"me dad, me mum". And, I think, the next day or the day after
0:17:24 > 0:17:27he turned up at me mum's sweet shop with a bunch of flowers
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and said, "I'd like Roddy to join the band", and she said,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35"Well, you make sure you look after him. Make sure he's in by 11."
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I think blues is more or less human feeling, whether you are
0:17:41 > 0:17:44black or white. I think a white person can sing blues
0:17:44 > 0:17:49with just as much conviction, if he knows what he's singing about.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very, very much, thank you.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Now, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you
0:17:55 > 0:17:58once more, with feeling, our wonderful young singer, Rod Stewart.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Let's give him a big warm welcome, come on, please!
0:18:02 > 0:18:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Thank you.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10This one's called I'm Going To Put A Tiger In Your Tank.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21'I wanted to sound black.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25'Anything from Big Bill Broonzy, to Muddy Waters,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27'right up to Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry.'
0:18:27 > 0:18:30# I put a tiger in your tank
0:18:31 > 0:18:33# I put a tiger in your tank
0:18:35 > 0:18:37# I put a tiger in your tank
0:18:38 > 0:18:40# I put a tiger in your tank
0:18:41 > 0:18:44# I don't care what people think
0:18:44 > 0:18:47# I put a tiger in your tank... #
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I used to lose me voice a lot in the old days.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I was totally self taught, when it came to the breathing
0:18:53 > 0:18:57and using your diaphragm. No-one ever taught me how to do that.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59# I don't care what the people think
0:18:59 > 0:19:01# I put a tiger in your tank. #
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Take it away now!
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It was a tremendous band to be in, because they were all superb
0:19:12 > 0:19:16jazz musicians, because the jazz era, the trad jazz era just finished
0:19:16 > 0:19:21and these guys just went straight into playing the blues, no problem.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28# I can raise your hood I can change your oil... #
0:19:28 > 0:19:30# Above my head
0:19:30 > 0:19:32# Up above my head... #
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Not only were these brilliant musicians,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Rod had found the perfect mentor in Long John Baldry.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43# Above my head above my head I see trouble in there
0:19:43 > 0:19:45# I really do believe it I really do believe it
0:19:45 > 0:19:49# Somewhere up above my head Up above me head
0:19:49 > 0:19:52# I see angels everywhere See angels everywhere... #
0:19:52 > 0:19:56It was John that instilled the confidence. Thank you, John.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01# Yes, I do believe you Yes, I do believe it
0:20:01 > 0:20:06# Yes, I do believe it Yes, I do believe it
0:20:06 > 0:20:11# Yes, I really believe it Do you believe? #
0:20:15 > 0:20:20The great thing was that Long John encouraged everybody and so people
0:20:20 > 0:20:24were free. It was a very creative environment.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29Rod started to develop his own particular style,
0:20:29 > 0:20:34but his stagecraft, because Baldry would step out of the way -
0:20:34 > 0:20:39"Go on, Rod", whatever - he got really good at connecting
0:20:39 > 0:20:45with the audience and because of his dressing from Carnaby Street,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48these kids would come and they would dress like him.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Long John's new incarnation, Steampacket, allowed Rod
0:20:57 > 0:21:01to experiment with all kinds of musical styles -
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Motown, soul, blues and gospel.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Motown had melody and soul music had melody
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and this was something I was beginning to really, really
0:21:12 > 0:21:14fall in love with.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19We were doing the university circuit. Just playing universities.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21It was wonderful, wonderful stuff.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25And we were earning big money.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29I remember our agent said, "You are up to £500 a night.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32"This is about what the Small Faces get and they've had three hits."
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Rod would sidle up to us at the bar, being extremely thrifty
0:21:38 > 0:21:41at the time, and say, "Brian, buy us a drink."
0:21:41 > 0:21:44I'd say, "What do you want? A beer?"
0:21:44 > 0:21:47"No, I want a double port and a double brandy."
0:21:47 > 0:21:49"Wait a minute. Where's your money?"
0:21:49 > 0:21:53"My mum made me put all my money in my Post Office account."
0:21:56 > 0:21:58I'm saving up to buy a car at the moment.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Somehow, I manage to put away about £20-25 a week of the money I earn.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05It's a regular thing. Every Saturday, I pay it in
0:22:05 > 0:22:07at the Post Office. I don't believe in banks.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12Listen, I think it's like most boys, you want cars and girls.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And that was utmost, one comes with the other.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18You get a nice fancy car, you got a slim chance of pulling a girl.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- Definitely will leave your name on the door.- OK.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- If you're not there... - I'll be there, don't worry.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Obviously, we know that it was around this time you met Ronnie,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- when you were still... - Oh, that ponce!- Remember him?
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Yeah, my old mucker.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46For Rod's next chapter, he had a well-known partner in crime.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Yentob's looking at us, Ronnie. Get tuned up, mate.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Let's just sing the blues!
0:22:54 > 0:22:58# It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
0:22:58 > 0:23:02# It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
0:23:02 > 0:23:06# It takes a worried man to sing a worried song
0:23:06 > 0:23:10# I'm worried now But I won't be worried long. #
0:23:12 > 0:23:16In the beginning, there was Rod and there was Ronnie
0:23:16 > 0:23:22- and Rod and Ronnie met in a pub. - Yeah. The Intrepid Fox, Rod!
0:23:22 > 0:23:23- Tell them the story, Ronnie. - OK, Sherlock.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26- Can you remember that story or..? - Yeah, yeah, I can remember it.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29It was The Intrepid Fox, as Ronnie said, in Wardour Street.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33- Yeah.- Wardour Street. We bumped into each other and I think we were
0:23:33 > 0:23:36vaguely aware of each other, through the business.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39He had Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl, which was new
0:23:39 > 0:23:42on the scene to me - Rod The Mod.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46And he was with The Birds and we recognised a nice big nose
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and a fairly similar haircut, when we saw each other.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51He came up to me, we had similar hair, and he said, "Hello, face".
0:23:51 > 0:23:56And I'll never forget it and, years later, we were Faces.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00- Great answer.- Great answer. - You really do look like brothers.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- We're bookends or a pickaxe. - Let's see the pickaxe.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04That's the pickaxe.
0:24:04 > 0:24:11- You did actually write songs, didn't you, in Rod's room?- Trousers.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15And we tried round my old mum's house, as he would say.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17No, Ron, we used to go round his mum's house.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21We went round there and we had a yellow page
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and we'd sit there and nothing would happen.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Just sit there, get a bottle of wine out and get pissed as a fart
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and both of us would fall on the floor.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And his mum came in and said, "Well, you're not going to be much
0:24:33 > 0:24:36"of a challenge to The Beatles like that, are you?"
0:24:47 > 0:24:49By the mid '60s, the music scene had exploded,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54with many bands emerging, such as the Small Faces and The Yardbirds,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58whose innovative guitarist Jeff Beck would now become a catalyst
0:24:58 > 0:25:00for Ronnie and Rod.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10When Jeff left The Yardbirds, I rang him up.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I said, "What are you going to do?" and he went,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16"Oh, hello, mate, Don't fancy getting together, do you?"
0:25:16 > 0:25:20I said, "Sure". Then, he said, "I've got this idea
0:25:20 > 0:25:22"for this vocalist, Rod Stewart."
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Jeff said, "Listen, The Beatles are writing their own songs
0:25:25 > 0:25:29and The Stones had just written one of their own songs and why don't we
0:25:29 > 0:25:32"start trying to write songs?"
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Back in Ronnie's mum's council house,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38the boys' writing now took off.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42Soon, they were heading, into the studio with Jeff.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48- I want to sing it in harmony. - However you want.- I'll try something
0:25:48 > 0:25:52on this first few chords. If it sounds duff, stop me, right?
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Make the voice nearly in the background.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58But, musically, that was also very... It was very potent stuff.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01When it was good, it was really, really good.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06# I've woken up on mornings such as this
0:26:06 > 0:26:10# And thought exactly as I'm thinking now
0:26:10 > 0:26:14# Every night for a year I've slept alone
0:26:14 > 0:26:18# My cold bamboo looks worse than me
0:26:18 > 0:26:22# I got a fear of death that creeps home every night... #
0:26:22 > 0:26:25How loud do you want it? Here we go.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29With Jeff, we were always good.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33They make you a better vocalist
0:26:33 > 0:26:38and you use up the space, because Jeff was good at that,
0:26:38 > 0:26:39leaving space for me.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Yeah, and you talked about that ability to have that dialogue,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- if you like, with the guitar. - Yeah, shout and response.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Rod was now becoming aware of how he could use his voice
0:26:54 > 0:26:56as an instrument.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01# I wonder how you could cheat me so low down and dirty... #
0:27:01 > 0:27:06With Jeff Beck's backing, the band were now ready to take to the road.
0:27:06 > 0:27:12Their first stop was New York and a daunting venue, Fillmore East.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16So, Rod, you were particularly nervous?
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Well, I've always wanted - Woody's always wanted to play like
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Big Bill Broonzy - I wanted to sound like Muddy Waters or Otis Redding.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24They're all black and we're not.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27So I thought, when the curtain opens at the Fillmore,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30never having been to America, it will be all full of black people
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and they're going to go, "Fraud, fraud, fraud!"
0:27:32 > 0:27:35- Of course, it wasn't.- They loved it. We used to blow them away
0:27:35 > 0:27:41and we'd be selling them their own music, but unknowing to us.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44We were selling them songs we loved, but it all came from America.
0:27:44 > 0:27:52# The shapes of things before my eyes
0:27:52 > 0:27:56# Just help me to define... #
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Robert Shelton, from The New York Times,
0:27:58 > 0:28:03wrote "the interplay of a Pinter play between Rod and Jeff Beck"
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and that went front page, New York Times.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10We had it copied and it was sent from coast to coast.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13So in Chicago, in Detroit and by the time we got to LA,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16we'd already set a precedent.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22The Jeff Beck Group were blazing a trail across the United States.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26It was a chance for Rod to develop his stage presence
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and play to much larger crowds.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33The band had created the template for a new kind of performance,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36that others wanted to emulate.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45I remember we was in Houston and Jimmy Page would show up
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and then Jimmy Page would show up with Peter Grant, the manager,
0:28:48 > 0:28:52the two of the would show up with Robert Plant and they just,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54sort of, based Led Zeppelin on The Jeff Beck Group.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56But good luck to them.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Hugely influential, The Jeff Beck Group and first album, Truth,
0:29:03 > 0:29:06became the blueprint for the heavy blues rock bands
0:29:06 > 0:29:08that would follow.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13It was a groundbreaking album in a groundbreaking moment.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17You sensed that, again, you've got artists here with fabulous vision,
0:29:17 > 0:29:18they've got energy, great ability,
0:29:18 > 0:29:22but you can just hear the way that they work off one another.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27You know, that was the springboard, wasn't it, for Rod's career, really.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29I think the Truth album was massively important for him.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36But despite the brilliance of the music, the band was falling apart
0:29:36 > 0:29:38because of poor management.
0:29:38 > 0:29:45So, it was girls, booze and hair, basically, and clothes. That was it.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Yeah. And sleeping. That was about it.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49I'm surprised there was much time for sleeping.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Not with the shagging we did, Ronnie, eh?! Yah!
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Shut up, Rod! What about all the miserly money?
0:29:56 > 0:30:00- We used to scrimp and save and steal eggs.- We did.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04- It wasn't Jeff's fault.- Very frugal. - He was a great musician.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07He wasn't really interested in the band, as such.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11- He let Peter Grant run it.- Peter Grant was a horrible slave driver.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14- Yeah. - He used to put us on a pittance.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Pittance is the word, Ronnie. We had to steal, sometimes,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21- to get some food.- We did, yeah. From Horn & Hardart in New York.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Every time I drive by there, I point out, "We used to nick food
0:30:24 > 0:30:26"from there, cos we weren't getting paid"!
0:30:26 > 0:30:28What was it, where things went wrong?
0:30:28 > 0:30:33We broke up two weeks before Woodstock and it was all money.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37We were all making a stand and all that and it all went so sour,
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- didn't it?- Yeah.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45'In 1969, Ronnie left the band, and joined the Small Faces.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50'Rod left soon after, and his first album came out that same year.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53'An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down
0:30:53 > 0:30:56'became a model for his solo sound.'
0:30:56 > 0:31:00# Ever seen a blind man cross the road
0:31:00 > 0:31:04# Tryin' to make the other side?
0:31:08 > 0:31:13# Ever seen a young girl growin' old
0:31:13 > 0:31:16# Tryin' to make herself a bride?
0:31:22 > 0:31:26# So what becomes of you my love... #
0:31:28 > 0:31:31'He was just a great singer with a fantastic voice.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35'I mean, whatever, wherever it all went from then on,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38'the one thing that you could centre back into
0:31:38 > 0:31:42'was the fact that Rod has this absolutely amazing voice.'
0:31:42 > 0:31:49He was delivering these songs, you know, touching your heartstrings
0:31:49 > 0:31:53with the way that he was interpreting the songs.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56And yet, at the same time, it was as good as effortless for him.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58He could just reach these notes.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03If he set himself to hit a note, he'd just hit it.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05There was no effort to it at all, it was just...
0:32:05 > 0:32:08I always used to think, "Wow, blimey,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13"one of the great, great vocalists is emerging here."
0:32:13 > 0:32:15And how did that album do? It did well?
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Yeah. I thought, "They're never going to sell 30,000 records," but they did.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23And the song that sort of stands out for a lot of people
0:32:23 > 0:32:27is Handbags And Gladrags, cos I kind of sense that that's a song,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30that melody really, really got to you.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32It feels like that when you listen to it.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36Yeah, it, erm, it was written by Mike d'Abo,
0:32:36 > 0:32:38who was the singer with Manfred Mann.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42I always had it up there and I thought, "I'm going to do that song one day," and I did.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45# The handbags and the gladrags
0:32:45 > 0:32:50# That your poor old grandad had to sweat to buy... #
0:32:52 > 0:32:55'It showed his talent for finding and chasing a song
0:32:55 > 0:32:57'that he knew was right for him.'
0:33:01 > 0:33:04'But for all the success of his solo career,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07'he loved being part of a band.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11'Luckily, Ronnie Wood was now with the Small Faces,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13'who had lost their lead singer.'
0:33:13 > 0:33:15'When the Small Faces split up,'
0:33:15 > 0:33:19the three of us used to get together, me, Mac and Ronnie,
0:33:19 > 0:33:20and we went down to...
0:33:20 > 0:33:23The Stones had a warehouse in Bermondsey Street,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26and down the bottom they had a soundproof room,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29so we went in there to play and jam once a week.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32'And the following week, Woody brought down his best mate,
0:33:32 > 0:33:34'which was Rod.'
0:33:35 > 0:33:39- No, well, we were down there and I said, 'Well, look, Rod's upstairs..."- Listening.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42And they were, "We don't want another bossy vocalist."
0:33:42 > 0:33:45'He's not bossy. He's really like one of us'.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Anyway, eventually Kenny went up and asked him, and he came down.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Rod was sitting on the amps most of the time, waiting for us to have a break.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57'And I was sitting there looking at a great vocalist and I thought,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00"Yeah, there you go. We've got to have him."
0:34:00 > 0:34:03# I don't need no-one's opinion
0:34:03 > 0:34:07# On the matter concerning my dress
0:34:07 > 0:34:11# I was raised in a clinic down in Oklahoma... #
0:34:11 > 0:34:15You were asked to join. I forced my way in.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19# I never complained because my father said
0:34:19 > 0:34:23# You'll get your chance before you're my age... #
0:34:23 > 0:34:27'The other Faces recognised a kindred spirit,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30'another working class lad who loved rhythm & blues,
0:34:30 > 0:34:35'and one of the most influential British rock-and-roll bands was born.'
0:34:35 > 0:34:38'It's interesting, then, that what it is that somehow wasn't working
0:34:38 > 0:34:42'for the Jeff Beck band was absolutely at the heart of the Faces, really.'
0:34:42 > 0:34:44'In other words, that relationship...'
0:34:44 > 0:34:46I felt the Faces were like a brotherhood...
0:34:48 > 0:34:52'The Faces were a gang of yobbos.'
0:34:59 > 0:35:01'A lot of these songs, I gather,'
0:35:01 > 0:35:04you're practically writing them as you went on stage, is that right?
0:35:04 > 0:35:08Lots in the dressing room, didn't we? Stay With Me, with The Faces, we wrote in the dressing room.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12So Stay With Me, which is the sort of anthem of The Faces,
0:35:12 > 0:35:17- you wrote in the dressing room? - Yeah, I had the riff and Rod said, "Hold that, I've got the words."
0:35:17 > 0:35:19# In the morning
0:35:19 > 0:35:22# Don't say you love me
0:35:22 > 0:35:26# Cos I'll only kick you out of the door
0:35:27 > 0:35:30# I know your name is Rita
0:35:30 > 0:35:33# Cos your perfume's smelling sweeter
0:35:33 > 0:35:37# Since when I saw you down on the floor... #
0:35:37 > 0:35:40'Where would the lyrics come from on those occasions?'
0:35:40 > 0:35:44'You just your imagination, or just base it on, on truth,'
0:35:44 > 0:35:47or just be inspired by something, you know?
0:35:47 > 0:35:52Yeah, and it often might suit a situation that you're in at the time, you know?
0:35:52 > 0:35:58You might be missing home, or missing your girlfriend, or whatever.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01- Or missing a penalty.- Missing a penalty in his case, yeah.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08# So Mother when you see me
0:36:08 > 0:36:11# Don't forget that I'm your boy
0:36:11 > 0:36:13# I know my brother has done you proud
0:36:13 > 0:36:15# But he's one foot in the grave
0:36:15 > 0:36:22# Mother don't you recognise me now? #
0:36:22 > 0:36:23Woo!
0:36:25 > 0:36:30'And if the rumours were true of The Faces' life on the road,
0:36:30 > 0:36:33'hotel managers can't have been too pleased to see them checking in.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:42'Clearly what The Faces got up to on stage and off stage was...'
0:36:42 > 0:36:44One and the same.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46It was just an extension.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49We used to give the audience a bottle of, a crate of Liebfraumilch
0:36:49 > 0:36:53'or on a special occasion it would be champagne.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56- 'They'd all be in the same mood as we were.'- 'Are you serious?'
0:36:56 > 0:37:01Yeah. That was our backing group a lot of the time, was cases of booze.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05This is an arena that holds about 13,000, 14,000.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Look at all the audience just wandering around the stage, sitting on the stage.
0:37:08 > 0:37:13- We used to have them on stage with us.- You wouldn't get that any more.- And then back at the hotel.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20'How mad did it get? How crazy did it get?'
0:37:20 > 0:37:25'Here's how mad... Detroit always used to be a stronghold for us.'
0:37:25 > 0:37:29- 'It was fabulous there.'- 'Detroit, Cobo Hall and...'- 'Grande Ballroom.'
0:37:29 > 0:37:33'And the Grande Ballroom. We used to invite the audience back to the hotel.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37'So it was a Holiday Inn, they'd let about 300 in on our floor,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39'cos we'd have the whole floor.'
0:37:39 > 0:37:41But the great thing about it, everybody had wine,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43everybody would bring wine. These were good old days.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47And you could actually leave your room open, nothing would get nicked.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50There was loads of girls going up and down the corridor, it was just...
0:37:50 > 0:37:52- Pool parties, you know. - Pool parties.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56'We had private planes sometimes. The pilot would end up in the pool.'
0:37:56 > 0:38:00'Now, as you can see, this is a charming piece of tapestry,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04'which hangs upon the wall in the Ramada Inn here.'
0:38:04 > 0:38:09'Now, I know that everyone thinks that The Who were most destructive,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12'but you broke up a fair number of hotel rooms in your time?'
0:38:12 > 0:38:17'Very politely, and we used to rearrange more than break them up.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20'One of mine, what we all participated in,
0:38:20 > 0:38:25'was actually constructing the room in the corridor.'
0:38:25 > 0:38:26'Oh, that was a good one, yeah.'
0:38:26 > 0:38:29So, we would just sit, you know, having a fag
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and playing a bit of football and having a cup of tea,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35and people would come out the elevator and they'd be like going into somebody's room.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39- We arranged all the pictures, all the furniture.- Everything would go into the corridor
0:38:39 > 0:38:44- and we'd all just sit round and enjoy an afternoon cup of tea.- And I remember one hotel manager came up
0:38:44 > 0:38:48'to witness it, and he just folded his arms, and he just walked along and he just smiled.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:55DRUNKEN SINGING
0:38:58 > 0:39:01We were banned from the Holiday Inn chain.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03We used to have to check in as Fleetwood Mac.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07Yeah, we did that for a while, yeah. Just before they got famous, we'd book in as Fleetwood Mac.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10Yeah. For years!
0:39:21 > 0:39:24'But, back in London, this was the early '70s,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28'and the Faces weren't just rock icons, they were fashion models, too.
0:39:28 > 0:39:36'At last, Rod was getting proper recognition for his hair and fashion flair.'
0:39:36 > 0:39:41Is it true to say, one of the reasons this caught fire, the Faces,
0:39:41 > 0:39:45was because there was a sort of denim and beards mob
0:39:45 > 0:39:48coming up in music at that time? It was all rather po-faced?
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Yeah, serious. Yeah.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53We came along, we were all loud jackets, loud trousers,
0:39:53 > 0:39:58- loud mouths, loud haircuts! - Yeah, velvet and satin.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01'Where did we used to go and get the clothes? Granny Takes A Trip, wasn't it?'
0:40:01 > 0:40:04We both had jackets, I had a pink one, you had a yellow one
0:40:04 > 0:40:06with the big cherries on it, do you remember?
0:40:08 > 0:40:12'We used to meet Mick and the boys in King's Road.'
0:40:12 > 0:40:15"Can't buy that one, no. Old Mother Bowie's got it.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16"Can't buy that jacket."
0:40:16 > 0:40:20And Marc Bolan, with the feather boas.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31CROWD: # We'll meet again
0:40:31 > 0:40:33# Don't know where... #
0:40:33 > 0:40:35'You've got your solo career going,
0:40:35 > 0:40:39'and sometimes you'd see the Faces on stuff which was your gig,'
0:40:39 > 0:40:41and sometimes it would be the other way round.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44How, from your point of view, Ronnie,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47the fact that Rod was becoming more and more successful
0:40:47 > 0:40:50and more and more known as a solo performer...
0:40:50 > 0:40:53How did that, what did it make you feel?
0:40:53 > 0:40:56We used to have respect for anybody in our age group
0:40:56 > 0:40:59that was a couple of years older, if they got famous first you'd go,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03"That's OK." In fairness, he'd always ring me up and say,
0:41:03 > 0:41:09"I'm going to make another album, have you got any songs?"
0:41:09 > 0:41:13- He'd always make me part of his solo album.- Number one man.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15# Wake up, Maggie
0:41:15 > 0:41:19# I think I've got something to say to you
0:41:20 > 0:41:26# It's late September and I really should be back at school... #
0:41:26 > 0:41:31'In 1971, Rod's third solo album came out.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35'One song, Maggie May, was a sensation.'
0:41:35 > 0:41:38# Oh, Maggie, I couldn't have tried
0:41:38 > 0:41:40# Any more... #
0:41:40 > 0:41:43'It shot Rod into the realms of superstardom,
0:41:43 > 0:41:45'and changed his life forever.'
0:41:50 > 0:41:52CROWD: # You stole my heart
0:41:52 > 0:41:55# And that's what really hurt... #
0:41:55 > 0:41:59'The Faces management now saw Rod as the star,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02'and the Faces as a glorified backing band.'
0:42:13 > 0:42:16'The six-year party that had been the Faces
0:42:16 > 0:42:18'was coming to an end.'
0:42:24 > 0:42:28'What happened was, after Maggie May, it became Rod Stewart And The Faces.'
0:42:28 > 0:42:31And I was embarrassed, I really was embarrassed.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- I mean Maggie May, that... - That was number one both sides of the Atlantic,
0:42:34 > 0:42:38- one of the first records that... - Mmm. Album and single.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41- I mean, it was explosive, Maggie May, its impact, wasn't it, really? - Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44So, was it very difficult after that to...?
0:42:44 > 0:42:49Yeah. It was the seed that was sown that I think really started breaking the Faces up.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53- Not for me, though. - No, not for me.- It was like, "Well done, great. This is great."
0:42:56 > 0:42:59'Rod's career was shifting slowly more to a solo career.'
0:43:02 > 0:43:05We were touring so much, it kind of slipped by us,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08it just overtook us, Rod's career.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12What happened was, we lent Woody to the Stones.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I'd have stayed with the Faces for the rest of my life.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18He was the first one who left, didn't you? You left first.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20Well, cos Rod left the band, yeah.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22- No, I didn't! You left first! - Yes, he did!
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Jagger asked you to join the group.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Well, that was a year before I joined.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29But he didn't want to split up the Faces either.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34When Woody came back, he came back a Rolling Stone, really
0:43:34 > 0:43:37and that was... And Rod had moved to America,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40so the whole thing was falling apart in a sense, you know?
0:43:40 > 0:43:44We're in the United States now, we've been here ten days, we've got nine days to go,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48then we go home for nine days, then we come back for three weeks. Did you get all that?
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Yeah, I think I did.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54'After that last American tour, the band returned to England,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57'but Rod stayed behind.'
0:43:58 > 0:44:03Yeah, so after Rod announced, viewers, that he was going to leave the band...
0:44:03 > 0:44:05THEY LAUGH
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- No, it was just that it was in the air.- I got sucked into it a little bit, I suppose.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11He was off sailing, literally.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17# I am sailing
0:44:19 > 0:44:22# I am sailing
0:44:22 > 0:44:25# Home again... #
0:44:25 > 0:44:27'In the spring of 1975,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30'Rod met the most glamorous woman of the moment,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'Swedish actress and movie star Britt Ekland,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37'and the working class lad from London felt that he'd arrived.'
0:44:37 > 0:44:41# To be near you
0:44:41 > 0:44:44# To be free... #
0:44:44 > 0:44:47'Rod has lived here in Los Angeles since that time,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50'returning for only three months a year to England,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53'where he also has a home.'
0:44:53 > 0:44:56We're coming to the Britt period.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58"Britt broadened my outlook in everything," you said.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Yeah. Yeah, she did. She was, er...
0:45:02 > 0:45:06not only a fabulous film star at the time, she had that, er...
0:45:06 > 0:45:10- The Bond film?- ..Bond film out, so it was a real feather in my cap.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13'And that was really your Los Angeles moment.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15'You'd kind of left England.'
0:45:15 > 0:45:18You're laughing cos you can see it coming.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Well, it's cos I... I really felt I'd arrived, you know?
0:45:21 > 0:45:24In Los Angeles, with a film star,
0:45:24 > 0:45:27and I'm rock star, and, you know, a few shillings in the bank,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30'sun is shining, love is in the air.'
0:45:32 > 0:45:36He's a very generous person, emotionally.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38And I think...
0:45:38 > 0:45:42- In an emotional way I was really swept off my feet.- Were you?- Yes.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44What do you think of her?
0:45:44 > 0:45:47"She's all right, I guess, for a girl!"
0:45:47 > 0:45:49She's magnificent. I mean...
0:45:49 > 0:45:52The thing that I am more impressed with more than anything is
0:45:52 > 0:45:55her insight into my business.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58She was extremely worldly. She knew...
0:45:58 > 0:46:03Because I'd earned a few shillings getting in to trying to
0:46:03 > 0:46:06invest my money in art, which I've always wanted to do
0:46:06 > 0:46:10if I ever earned any money but she was way out there.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14She knew everything so I owe her a great deal.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18# Cos I tried to love ya
0:46:18 > 0:46:20# But I didn't fit in... #
0:46:20 > 0:46:24No, there was a reason for those. If you remember the reason.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27And actually if we did it the two of those would make
0:46:27 > 0:46:31the shipping and custom of all the rest worthwhile.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34# My little baby is calculating
0:46:34 > 0:46:37# What these lamps are going to cost!
0:46:37 > 0:46:39# Ba-doo-doo-doo-doo.... #
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Rod had entered the heady world of glamour and celebrity.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49PHOTOGRAPHERS CLAMOUR
0:46:49 > 0:46:53BAGPIPES PLAY
0:46:53 > 0:46:57He appeared to have left his working-class roots far behind.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06And for the first time, his music was getting negative press.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10The albums had done brilliantly, you were still absolutely
0:47:10 > 0:47:16at the top of your game at that point and then the song that people
0:47:16 > 0:47:20- recall at that time was Tonight's The Night.- Yeah.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Not necessarily in a flattering way, some people don't say it is
0:47:24 > 0:47:29but it's a great song, which even now is a great song.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34# It's gonna be all right... #
0:47:39 > 0:47:43- Didn't the BBC ban it?- Yeah, yeah, yeah. For a little while.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Yeah, just because I sang, "Spread your wings and let me come inside."
0:47:47 > 0:47:50What's wrong with that, Alan, I ask you?!
0:47:50 > 0:47:54# Spread your wings and let me come inside
0:47:54 > 0:47:58# Tonight's the night... #
0:48:01 > 0:48:06If popularity is measured in champagne, I know who wins.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09Look at that. How do you like that?
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Look at that. See?
0:48:12 > 0:48:16Sometimes it pays to be a pop star.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21PHONE RINGS
0:48:21 > 0:48:24During that period, in the back of one of those limousines was
0:48:24 > 0:48:30- a journalist where you were asked about Susan George.- Yeah.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35I ask you only to look at it at some point
0:48:35 > 0:48:38and reflect on what was going through your head!
0:48:38 > 0:48:41What about you, Rod, you've got a great reputation as a womaniser
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and we all read the scandal, you were chatting up Susan George
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and got a smacked face for it. Do you get annoyed?
0:48:47 > 0:48:50It's not true, I have to point out at this time,
0:48:50 > 0:48:53it was absolutely not true.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58It was one of several totally and utterly fabricated stories about us.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Yes, darling. It's quite true. What she says is very true.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04- No, it is true.- What she says has made it very clear, hasn't it?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06It has. You're a very good boy.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13Were you shagging Susan George was the question.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15I don't know what the answer might be.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19At that time, no, Susan George was a lot later.
0:49:19 > 0:49:20Oh, come off it.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Yeah, it was. It was a lot later.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Don't put me on the spot, Alan. I'm trying to be a gentleman here!
0:49:29 > 0:49:33I wasn't the most faithful of boyfriends in the world.
0:49:33 > 0:49:39That, to be honest, is something that I'm, to this day, very embarrassed about.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42I treated women very shabbily
0:49:42 > 0:49:46and didn't break up relationships very well.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50In fact, I didn't break up relationships I just ran away.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53You know, which is terrible. It's embarrassing.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56That was the last time you ran away.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00- No, there's been a few running aways!- Oh, sorry.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Do you ever sit back to yourself and say, "How the hell did I ever get this?"
0:50:04 > 0:50:07Oh, yes, sometimes you sit back and think am I really worth
0:50:07 > 0:50:13being paid X amount of pounds for achieving whatever on a record?
0:50:13 > 0:50:17- Sometimes it makes you a bit depressed...- Why depressed?
0:50:17 > 0:50:22I suppose you get a feeling of, a feeling of guilt really -
0:50:22 > 0:50:27which is very stupid but I've come from absolutely nothing
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and I've done it all on my own back.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Rod had come a long way from the football terraces to the
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Hollywood Hills.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48But although he'd developed a taste for the finer things in life,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50he still kept his family close beside him.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56His love of football was a constant and he would fly in to
0:50:56 > 0:51:00watch his beloved Scotland, together with his brothers and dad.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11There's a journalist called Penny
0:51:11 > 0:51:15and she said to you, "You used to be a lad from London,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19"who used to be a working class lad and you've turned into a posh git!"
0:51:19 > 0:51:21HE LAUGHS
0:51:21 > 0:51:23And you sort of defended yourself.
0:51:23 > 0:51:28You don't think the way you live gets in the way of that image?
0:51:28 > 0:51:30I don't know what my image is.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34We've established it's changed three or four times in the last four years.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39Yeah, but not so noticeably as it has in the last two years.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44There was a point of identification with, say, the Faces,
0:51:44 > 0:51:50that was very like the crowd on the terraces. It was...
0:51:50 > 0:51:53Why should that change now I've moved to Los Angeles?
0:51:53 > 0:51:58Because now they read about you not living here and having more
0:51:58 > 0:51:59money and having a different kind of life.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02That hasn't changed the person.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04The music is more sophisticated, it's a different kind of music
0:52:04 > 0:52:08and you're a different person, you are. You've changed a lot.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Oh, well... it! I'll play the London Palladium
0:52:10 > 0:52:13and if they don't turn up I'll sing to my mum and dad!
0:52:13 > 0:52:16I suppose you were thinking, I think,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19the look on your face is I'm so successful, I'm doing so well,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23I've got this beautiful woman at my side, what are you on about?
0:52:23 > 0:52:24Yeah, that was more or less it.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29I did what most guys would have done in my position
0:52:29 > 0:52:35coming from my background. I didn't know how long it was going to last.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I enjoyed myself. Every hour of every day.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52Now solo in LA, Rod was free to go in his own musical direction.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Sam Cooke used to say...
0:53:10 > 0:53:12I said, "What do you think about this artist?"
0:53:12 > 0:53:18He said, "Well, right now he's... He's an entertainer."
0:53:18 > 0:53:22He says, "He grow older, he become an artist."
0:53:23 > 0:53:26# Sweet little rock'n'roller
0:53:26 > 0:53:30# Sweet little rock'n'roller
0:53:30 > 0:53:33# Her father doesn't have to scold her
0:53:33 > 0:53:37# Her partner can't hardly hold her
0:53:37 > 0:53:39# She never gets any older
0:53:39 > 0:53:42# Sweet little rock'n'roller
0:53:42 > 0:53:46# Sweet little rock'n'roller... #
0:53:46 > 0:53:51To watch somebody, this is before black was in.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54The soul singer meant black, it was the soul singer.
0:53:54 > 0:54:00When I look, I say Rod has been soulful all his life
0:54:00 > 0:54:04and even though people say, "He's trying to sound like this,"
0:54:04 > 0:54:08I say, everybody tries to sound like somebody else but I say
0:54:08 > 0:54:11they are blessed with what they have.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14All you can do is cultivate it.
0:54:24 > 0:54:29And so I watched Rod Stewart, it was like watching myself become
0:54:29 > 0:54:35more sure of himself, he recognised who he was and he cultivated it.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43But the critics were less sure.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46And perhaps his lifestyle was getting in the way
0:54:46 > 0:54:47of his credibility.
0:54:53 > 0:54:58# But if anything should happen and my plans go wrong... #
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Back in the UK, his fans felt left behind.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10He's getting too big, it's got into him, that Hollywood stuff.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13- It's not right.- You think he's left you all behind a bit?
0:55:13 > 0:55:16Yeah, he didn't even do a farewell concert.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19He thinks he's left us behind but he's not, though!
0:55:23 > 0:55:28But then in 1976 Rod surprised everyone.
0:55:31 > 0:55:36The Killing Of Georgie, tell me about that and how that came about.
0:55:36 > 0:55:43Well, first of all it was a true story and Georgie was a black guy,
0:55:43 > 0:55:48a dear friend of the Faces, very handsome guy.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52And he would bring us, bring us, you know, music -
0:55:52 > 0:55:55great singles and albums and turn us on to all that stuff.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59So, the facts are nearly absolutely correct.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03He got killed on 43rd and 3rd it was, I think, I'm not sure.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06# Pa said there must be a mistake
0:56:06 > 0:56:08# How can my son not be straight?
0:56:08 > 0:56:13# After all I've said and done for him... #
0:56:13 > 0:56:16First of all, that was an incredibly brave song.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Secondly, you've made yourself up,
0:56:18 > 0:56:23you're incredibly seductive on camera and it's an amazing song.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25# Leavin' home on a Greyhound bus
0:56:25 > 0:56:28# Cast out by the ones he loves
0:56:28 > 0:56:32# A victim of these gay days it seems... #
0:56:32 > 0:56:36I did look a bit of a tart in some of the videos, I must admit.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41Eye make-up on galore. But it was all the go at the time.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46The band used to shout out, "Avon Calling!"
0:56:46 > 0:56:50when I walked on the stage!
0:56:54 > 0:56:59It's so hard for me to analyse songs because I didn't sit down
0:56:59 > 0:57:03and say, "I'm going to write a song about my dear friend Georgie."
0:57:03 > 0:57:06It's just the chords... I still do it to this day,
0:57:06 > 0:57:10I will sing along with the chords until something comes up.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14And I don't know what sparked the song, I really don't. I wish I did.
0:57:14 > 0:57:20I dedicate this tune to the newspapers.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24I Don't Want To Talk About It.
0:57:25 > 0:57:31# I don't want to talk about it
0:57:32 > 0:57:36# How you broke my heart
0:57:40 > 0:57:46# If I stay just a little bit longer
0:57:47 > 0:57:51# If I stay won't you listen?
0:57:55 > 0:57:59Despite the fact that you're incredibly successful,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03it's the arrival of punk soon afterwards
0:58:03 > 0:58:10and there is Joe Strummer and others are very condescending towards you.
0:58:10 > 0:58:15I think you refer to it that you'd got a kick in the harem pants.
0:58:15 > 0:58:16Yes, absolutely.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19# Tommy gun
0:58:19 > 0:58:22# You'll be dead when your war is won
0:58:22 > 0:58:24# I can see it's kill or be killed
0:58:24 > 0:58:27# A nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled
0:58:27 > 0:58:31# Whatever you want you're gonna get it... #
0:58:35 > 0:58:38What do you feel about what you are doing at that time
0:58:38 > 0:58:42and what this new wave of music was, what punk was doing?
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Well, it was a question of I'm doing my thing,
0:58:45 > 0:58:48there's no reason why they can't do what they do.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51We can all live on this planet making different music,
0:58:51 > 0:58:53that's the way I looked at it.
0:58:53 > 0:58:56And I think they used me
0:58:56 > 0:58:58and stabbed me in the back to get publicity.
0:58:58 > 0:59:02There's nothing wrong with that. We're all big boys, we can take it.
0:59:02 > 0:59:07- It was a good kick up the arse for the likes of me and...- Elton.
0:59:07 > 0:59:10Elton and Bowie and everybody that was around at that time.
0:59:10 > 0:59:13# There's no future
0:59:13 > 0:59:16# In England's dreaming
0:59:16 > 0:59:18# God save the Queen! #
0:59:18 > 0:59:22God Save The Queen was in the charts and you, of course, put out,
0:59:22 > 0:59:25I Don't Want To Talk About It and The First Cut Is The Deepest
0:59:25 > 0:59:29and you got to the top of the charts and God Save The Queen didn't,
0:59:29 > 0:59:30so you got your revenge.
0:59:33 > 0:59:37# The first cut is the deepest
0:59:37 > 0:59:42# Baby, I know the first cut is the deepest... #
0:59:42 > 0:59:47But far removed from punk and the London riots, Rod was still loving
0:59:47 > 0:59:52the LA life and he had met Alana who would become the first Mrs Stewart.
0:59:54 > 0:59:56I saw him across the crowded table,
0:59:56 > 1:00:00we were sitting at the same table and no, I thought he was very
1:00:00 > 1:00:03cocky and sure of himself and I thought, "Who does he think he is anyway?"
1:00:03 > 1:00:06I can't remember what we talked about - sex and drugs probably.
1:00:06 > 1:00:09- In that order. - Yes. No, I can't remember.
1:00:09 > 1:00:12I don't remember what we talked about. What I do remember was
1:00:12 > 1:00:15I realised he was really a terrific person,
1:00:15 > 1:00:18very bright and sensitive and all the things I hadn't thought
1:00:18 > 1:00:21he was and had a wonderful sense of humour
1:00:21 > 1:00:23and we stayed up till six o'clock in the morning talking
1:00:23 > 1:00:26and I had a completely different impression of him by the end.
1:00:26 > 1:00:30- Then what did we do, darling, from six o'clock onwards?!- Don't be rude!
1:00:30 > 1:00:31The rest is not history.
1:00:31 > 1:00:36# Hot legs, you're wearing me out
1:00:36 > 1:00:40# Hot legs you can scream and shout! #
1:00:40 > 1:00:46But Rod as partygoer and Casanova was beginning to overshadow Rod the musician.
1:00:48 > 1:00:52You've added to that mythology, that sort of anthem for tall blondes with
1:00:52 > 1:00:57beautiful legs, which has certainly been a regular element in your life.
1:00:57 > 1:01:00- Nothing wrong with that, Alan. - I take that, absolutely.
1:01:00 > 1:01:03- It is a great promo, that promo of...- Hot Legs?
1:01:03 > 1:01:05Shot between the girls, yeah.
1:01:06 > 1:01:10# Hot legs wearing me out... #
1:01:10 > 1:01:13'It was my idea to shoot it through the legs and then I think
1:01:13 > 1:01:17'they copied that idea with a Bond film a couple of years later.'
1:01:18 > 1:01:20# ..I love you, honey! #
1:01:22 > 1:01:25Not everyone got the joke
1:01:25 > 1:01:27and the next hit was the last straw.
1:01:39 > 1:01:44Around that time also you brought out Do Ya Think I Am Sexy?
1:01:44 > 1:01:49And this was probably one of the most successful songs
1:01:49 > 1:01:50you wrote at the time.
1:01:50 > 1:01:53Yeah. It was an absolute tearaway, it really was.
1:01:53 > 1:01:58# If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
1:01:58 > 1:02:01# Come on, sugar let me know
1:02:02 > 1:02:06# If you really need me Just reach out and touch me
1:02:06 > 1:02:09# Come on, honey Tell me so
1:02:09 > 1:02:10# Tell me so, baby... #
1:02:10 > 1:02:14'I went down to Brazil for the carnival in Rio,'
1:02:14 > 1:02:17and I heard this melody.
1:02:17 > 1:02:20# Da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da
1:02:20 > 1:02:23# Da-da-da-da-da-da-dad-da. #
1:02:23 > 1:02:26And when we came to record, I don't know, eight months later,
1:02:26 > 1:02:27that melody was still in my head
1:02:27 > 1:02:30and I didn't know where I had got it from, and I just went for it.
1:02:30 > 1:02:35# ..If you want my body and you think I'm sexy... #
1:02:35 > 1:02:39But Rod didn't realise what he was setting himself up for.
1:02:46 > 1:02:49LAUGHTER
1:02:51 > 1:02:53It was a skit on the Kenny Everett television show
1:02:53 > 1:02:56and it was the time when Rod was turning his back on the audience
1:02:56 > 1:02:59and doing a lot of wiggling and all of that kind of stuff.
1:02:59 > 1:03:03# ..If you want my body and you think I'm sexy
1:03:03 > 1:03:05# Come on, sugar, let me know... #
1:03:07 > 1:03:12He turns round and wiggles and then his buttocks have inflated.
1:03:16 > 1:03:18And then they inflate again and then they inflate again.
1:03:21 > 1:03:25Until finally, Rod is drifting up to the ceiling,
1:03:25 > 1:03:28propelled by these massively inflated buttocks.
1:03:28 > 1:03:29HE LAUGHS
1:03:31 > 1:03:36It is so funny as a sketch. It is absolutely brilliant and,
1:03:36 > 1:03:41of course, it did pin public opinion of Rod at that particular moment.
1:03:41 > 1:03:45But it was also, of course, that was the moment of disco
1:03:45 > 1:03:49and you had somehow captured the mood of the moment.
1:03:49 > 1:03:53Yeah, and I think that is why it is so popular today.
1:03:53 > 1:03:54CLATTERING
1:03:54 > 1:03:56What is that noise coming in the background here?
1:03:56 > 1:03:58I think you have got some tea here.
1:04:02 > 1:04:07Hi, boys. Thank you. Let's do it together now.
1:04:07 > 1:04:08# Come on, you boys in green!
1:04:08 > 1:04:10- BOYS:- # Glasgow's green and white!
1:04:10 > 1:04:13- How is that then?- Good.
1:04:13 > 1:04:17- It is good?- Can you open that, please?- You can have some raisins.
1:04:17 > 1:04:19Daddy is going to have a nice cup of tea. Thank you, boys.
1:04:22 > 1:04:24The critics now had it in for Rod Stewart.
1:04:24 > 1:04:28Punk had redefined the musical landscape
1:04:28 > 1:04:31and authenticity was all the rage.
1:04:31 > 1:04:34What Rod was doing for many people was selling out.
1:04:34 > 1:04:40Selling out, to me is trying to be somebody else.
1:04:40 > 1:04:44He just went wherever the music flowed, just like Stevie said,
1:04:44 > 1:04:46"Well, if I hear it, there is no bad music."
1:04:46 > 1:04:54You know? So Rod has been in many different bands,
1:04:54 > 1:04:57but when it all come out on top, stood Rod Stewart.
1:04:57 > 1:05:02One thing about any career that demonstrates genuine
1:05:02 > 1:05:06longevity is the longer that career goes on
1:05:06 > 1:05:12and the more, particularly, as time goes by, it begins to rethrive,
1:05:12 > 1:05:14you have to have respect for that
1:05:14 > 1:05:17because it demonstrates resilience,
1:05:17 > 1:05:20commitment and talent, sheer talent.
1:05:20 > 1:05:27# ..Now you're moving in high society... #
1:05:27 > 1:05:32OK, you can lose track, you can lose yourself in this strata
1:05:32 > 1:05:35of parties and shopping at Prada,
1:05:35 > 1:05:38or whatever it is, girlfriends,
1:05:38 > 1:05:40it is the way you come out the other side of that
1:05:40 > 1:05:42that then becomes important.
1:05:46 > 1:05:49Musically and business-wise, I mention two things,
1:05:49 > 1:05:52in the early days, the Faces' business was
1:05:52 > 1:05:56hopeless, apparently, completely hopeless
1:05:56 > 1:06:00and I take it it was not very good around this time
1:06:00 > 1:06:03when you're with Alana because that is when you bring Arnold in.
1:06:09 > 1:06:10It is so easy to,
1:06:10 > 1:06:15when you hit success, take your eye off the ball and forget about,
1:06:15 > 1:06:19you know, who's running the band, who's doing the finances,
1:06:19 > 1:06:23who's doing anything because you're so flushed with success.
1:06:26 > 1:06:29In the mid-'80s he and Alana broke up, and he went on to
1:06:29 > 1:06:32have a daughter with model Kelly Emberg.
1:06:33 > 1:06:37Once again, his lifestyle was counting against him.
1:06:38 > 1:06:43Clearly Rod was suffering from er... a backlash,
1:06:43 > 1:06:49and being seen suddenly as no longer that troubadour street singer,
1:06:49 > 1:06:52but a fancy guy with sports cars and gorgeous blondes
1:06:52 > 1:06:56and, living, you know, a life that didn't seem as real as those
1:06:56 > 1:07:01people who were his core audience wanted it to be.
1:07:01 > 1:07:03And at the top of the list were the music critics.
1:07:03 > 1:07:05They were really unhappy.
1:07:08 > 1:07:11So at the very beginning, what was your conclusion about what
1:07:11 > 1:07:12did Rod need next?
1:07:12 > 1:07:18What I thought we had to do was build a pyramid that would get him
1:07:18 > 1:07:20back to what he should be doing, and what he did so well.
1:07:20 > 1:07:23- Mark.- Ow!
1:07:23 > 1:07:26Did you feel you'd been sort of lost for a while and somehow recovered?
1:07:26 > 1:07:32- Erm...through the '80s? - Through those mid-'80s, yeah.
1:07:32 > 1:07:36It was cloudy, the '80s. I can't remember too much about me that...
1:07:36 > 1:07:41- I'm moving on a bit now and I am moving to...- We are moving on.
1:07:41 > 1:07:43I am moving on to a period where those mid-'80s were
1:07:43 > 1:07:48- not your finest hours, where they? - No.- So let's just move on.
1:07:48 > 1:07:50- Shall we gloss over them? - Yes, let's just do that.
1:07:50 > 1:07:53Post Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
1:07:53 > 1:07:56Pre Downtown Train, I think
1:07:56 > 1:08:01that was the lost years as far as Rod going into the studio
1:08:01 > 1:08:04and making great music was concerned.
1:08:04 > 1:08:06You carried on into the '80s and everything,
1:08:06 > 1:08:10but Downtown Train just redefined all of that.
1:08:10 > 1:08:15# ..Will I see you tonight?
1:08:15 > 1:08:17# On a downtown train? #
1:08:17 > 1:08:23But then you take a Tom Waits song and it is a brilliant success.
1:08:23 > 1:08:25- Downtown Train?- Downtown Train, yeah.
1:08:25 > 1:08:27# ..On a downtown train... #
1:08:36 > 1:08:40# ..I know your window and I know it's late
1:08:40 > 1:08:42# I know your stairs... #
1:08:42 > 1:08:47Rod was back. The critics loved him and that same year he fell in love.
1:08:53 > 1:08:56She was the stunning 21-year-old New Zealand model
1:08:56 > 1:08:59and fitness instructor Rachel Hunter.
1:09:00 > 1:09:05You fall in love with Rachel and then the marriage doesn't succeed.
1:09:05 > 1:09:08- It was good for a few years.- Yeah.
1:09:08 > 1:09:10Do you want to talk about the good years?
1:09:10 > 1:09:12They were great, they were good years.
1:09:12 > 1:09:15We had two wonderful children, we were madly in love
1:09:15 > 1:09:19but, to be honest with you, she was far too young.
1:09:19 > 1:09:22I remember my sister said at the wedding that she was too young,
1:09:22 > 1:09:24"Far too young for our Roddy, you know,"
1:09:24 > 1:09:28she said as she sat in the church and she was right.
1:09:28 > 1:09:35# ..The congregation sang We knelt and prayed
1:09:35 > 1:09:37# As we stood before God... #
1:09:37 > 1:09:39And Mary was right.
1:09:39 > 1:09:42The relationship lasted eight years
1:09:42 > 1:09:46and then Rod was hit with the news that Rachel wanted to leave him.
1:09:47 > 1:09:52But he had just started a two-week run at Earls Court when Rachel came
1:09:52 > 1:09:53and gave him the news that,
1:09:53 > 1:09:56as a song on the new album says, it's over.
1:09:56 > 1:10:01And he was devastated but he played every one of those shows.
1:10:04 > 1:10:12Came offstage in tears and he really went into a quiet depression.
1:10:12 > 1:10:15# ..I don't want our kids to suffer
1:10:15 > 1:10:17# Can we talk to one another?
1:10:17 > 1:10:23# I was once your wife, your lover It's gone now
1:10:23 > 1:10:25# All the pain and all the grieving
1:10:25 > 1:10:28# When did we stop believing?
1:10:28 > 1:10:32# Too late now, stop the bleeding it's gone now... #
1:10:35 > 1:10:38You were rejected and it pulled you down, didn't it?
1:10:38 > 1:10:40Yes, it did.
1:10:40 > 1:10:45- It was hard.- And you went to therapists.- Yeah.- How was that?
1:10:45 > 1:10:50Fucking therapists! I can't tell you what they said. It is in the book.
1:10:50 > 1:10:52I will have to swear to tell the story.
1:10:52 > 1:10:53You can swear, it is all right.
1:10:53 > 1:11:00The first therapist I went to said, "Why don't you get yourself a cat?"
1:11:00 > 1:11:03"Is that the best you can come up with?"
1:11:03 > 1:11:05And the male therapist I went to, get ready for this, girls,
1:11:05 > 1:11:07I walked in, he said, "Don't worry about it.
1:11:07 > 1:11:13- "You have seen one- BLEEP,- you've seen them all." That was therapy for me.
1:11:13 > 1:11:16That was therapy? It sounds like that was in Beverly Hills.
1:11:16 > 1:11:19- Beverly Hills therapy, yes. - Within months, of course...
1:11:20 > 1:11:23Yeah, I went for a routine check-up
1:11:23 > 1:11:28and they found a little node on my... Not on my vocal cords,
1:11:28 > 1:11:32on my thyroid cord, thyroid, so I was whipped into hospital
1:11:32 > 1:11:36and out of the hospital all in the space of 48 hours.
1:11:36 > 1:11:38I was very, very, very lucky.
1:11:38 > 1:11:40Not only that, but you had to learn to sing again?
1:11:40 > 1:11:44Yeah, because what they do is they cut all the way through
1:11:44 > 1:11:47your muscles in your throat to get to the thyroid.
1:11:47 > 1:11:50I really wasn't even speaking very well.
1:11:50 > 1:11:51It was like I was a drunk
1:11:51 > 1:11:54because I could not pronounce the words correctly.
1:11:54 > 1:11:59It took me nine months to be able to get back to be able to do a concert.
1:11:59 > 1:12:02Was it scary? Did you ever think, "Am I going to get better?"
1:12:02 > 1:12:05You bet your life I did, yeah. I really did.
1:12:05 > 1:12:11It was...something I love so much, to this day
1:12:11 > 1:12:14and I think people know that when they see me in a show.
1:12:14 > 1:12:18It is who I am, it is what I was put on this earth to do
1:12:18 > 1:12:22and to have it taken away so abruptly...
1:12:22 > 1:12:27But I had plans, I was going to be a landscape gardener. Jesus!
1:12:27 > 1:12:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:12:31 > 1:12:35Miraculously his voice came back and with a deeper range,
1:12:35 > 1:12:39more suited to a style of singing he had always longed to try.
1:12:40 > 1:12:43# The way you wear your hat
1:12:45 > 1:12:49# The way you sip your tea
1:12:49 > 1:12:52# The memory of all that
1:12:52 > 1:12:58# No, no, they can't take that away from me... #
1:12:58 > 1:13:00The night before the first album came out,
1:13:00 > 1:13:03I said to Arnold, "I feel like a rock and roll traitor.
1:13:03 > 1:13:07"They are going to hate me." And I did. I just...
1:13:07 > 1:13:10But, you know, I try to explain to people
1:13:10 > 1:13:13if songs are good enough for Billie Holiday and they are good
1:13:13 > 1:13:18enough for Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra - these songs are beautiful.
1:13:18 > 1:13:21They are beautiful lyrically, the way they are created,
1:13:21 > 1:13:22they are just gorgeous.
1:13:22 > 1:13:26# I see trees of green
1:13:26 > 1:13:29# Red roses too
1:13:29 > 1:13:35# I see them bloom for me and you
1:13:35 > 1:13:41# And I think to myself
1:13:41 > 1:13:45# What a wonderful world... #
1:13:45 > 1:13:52And that proved to be an extraordinary new scene for Rod.
1:13:52 > 1:13:59Amazing. It has become the largest-selling, continuous series
1:13:59 > 1:14:03of record albums ever recorded, ever.
1:14:03 > 1:14:06We've sold over 23 million of them already.
1:14:06 > 1:14:12# ..No, you can't take that away from me... #
1:14:12 > 1:14:14Killed the critics.
1:14:14 > 1:14:17The music critics didn't know how to hate it more
1:14:17 > 1:14:19and the more it sold, the more they hated it.
1:14:23 > 1:14:26On tour, he never sang very much of The Great American Songbook,
1:14:26 > 1:14:31but just the halo effect of it really increased his touring.
1:14:31 > 1:14:36# Someone like you makes it easy... #
1:14:36 > 1:14:38Everybody cherishes their fantasy of what
1:14:38 > 1:14:41they loved about Rod Stewart and people remember where
1:14:41 > 1:14:43they were the first time they heard Maggie May.
1:14:43 > 1:14:45People know what they were doing it the first time
1:14:45 > 1:14:47they heard Tonight's The Night.
1:14:47 > 1:14:50It is like these are signposts in people's lives.
1:14:50 > 1:14:51CROWD SINGS ALONG
1:14:54 > 1:14:55# ..It's all true
1:14:58 > 1:15:01# ..Knowing
1:15:01 > 1:15:06# That you lied straight-faced
1:15:06 > 1:15:08# While I cried
1:15:08 > 1:15:15# Still I will look to find a reason to believe... #
1:15:16 > 1:15:21I think the reason that Rod stopped writing as many
1:15:21 > 1:15:25terrific songwriters do, and Rod really is a marvellous songwriter.
1:15:25 > 1:15:28So many of our favourite Rod Stewart songs he wrote,
1:15:28 > 1:15:30the music and the lyrics.
1:15:30 > 1:15:35He had gotten so outside of life. In the rarefied space you occupy
1:15:35 > 1:15:38when you are an international superstar, icon,
1:15:38 > 1:15:40what is there to write about?
1:15:40 > 1:15:42He would say to me, "What do you want me to write about?
1:15:42 > 1:15:45"A song about the gardener charged too much?
1:15:45 > 1:15:48"Or there is an incident in the rose bushes on the back lawn?
1:15:48 > 1:15:50"What am I going to write a song about?" He had a point.
1:15:52 > 1:15:56And then Rod surprised everyone, not least himself, by writing
1:15:56 > 1:16:00a hugely popular and acclaimed autobiography.
1:16:00 > 1:16:01And in doing so,
1:16:01 > 1:16:07he unearthed a rich seam of material for a whole album of original songs,
1:16:07 > 1:16:10his first in over 20 years.
1:16:10 > 1:16:14His conflict within himself and the ease with which he wrote that book
1:16:14 > 1:16:19made him realise that he indeed is a writer.
1:16:19 > 1:16:23His relationship with photographer Penny Lancaster seems to have
1:16:23 > 1:16:27given him the confidence to write both the book and the new songs.
1:16:27 > 1:16:30He had first spotted her on the dance floor 14 years ago
1:16:30 > 1:16:32and was again in love.
1:16:32 > 1:16:34# These boots are made for walking
1:16:34 > 1:16:38# And that's just what they'll do
1:16:38 > 1:16:42# One of these days these boots are going to walk all over you... #
1:16:42 > 1:16:45Penny has given Rod another two children
1:16:45 > 1:16:48and brought the entire family together.
1:16:48 > 1:16:50How did it come about, this album?
1:16:50 > 1:16:52How did it emerge for him
1:16:52 > 1:16:55because he had not been writing songs for years?
1:16:55 > 1:16:59- Not for a long, long time. - He didn't need to, of course.
1:16:59 > 1:17:03- He didn't need to, no. - The standards were so successful.
1:17:03 > 1:17:07I think as the years had gone by he had lost a lot of confidence.
1:17:07 > 1:17:10He had lost his belief in writing again,
1:17:10 > 1:17:15but the need really sprung forth when he started doing
1:17:15 > 1:17:20the autobiography and he started remembering his early years.
1:17:20 > 1:17:22It was just one of those moments when all the stars collided
1:17:22 > 1:17:26and the right chords and the right mood - it just happens.
1:17:26 > 1:17:31He was getting up in the middle of the night with a scrap
1:17:31 > 1:17:33piece of paper, a pencil, and writing down.
1:17:33 > 1:17:36He would ring them in and say, "Record this.
1:17:36 > 1:17:38"Record this message on your phone."
1:17:38 > 1:17:42It came out in scraps and bits and you caught hold of it every time.
1:17:42 > 1:17:47- Exactly. Catch hold of it and put it down.- He kept surprising himself.
1:17:47 > 1:17:49He was like, "I can't believe all these words are coming out."
1:17:49 > 1:17:51And, "Quick, quick, quick!" We would be in a restaurant
1:17:51 > 1:17:53and he would be grabbing a waiter for a notepad.
1:17:53 > 1:17:55This melody, I'd go, "This is fantastic."
1:17:55 > 1:17:58Haven't got a microphone, haven't got a tape recorder,
1:17:58 > 1:17:59haven't got a pencil I can jot it down.
1:18:03 > 1:18:06'That is how Can't Stop Me Now came around.'
1:18:06 > 1:18:10I have the melody first, it sounds like a marching band melody.
1:18:10 > 1:18:14# Da-da-da-da-da-da! #
1:18:14 > 1:18:18# I stood up straight and sign for the record company man
1:18:18 > 1:18:21# My enthusiasm filled the room... #
1:18:21 > 1:18:23'I don't think with this album,'
1:18:23 > 1:18:29I don't think I broke any new ground, but...
1:18:29 > 1:18:32it is what I do best
1:18:32 > 1:18:34and I have returned to what I do best.
1:18:36 > 1:18:38This is perhaps what Rod does best.
1:18:38 > 1:18:43Songs from the heart, simple lyrics about his own experience,
1:18:43 > 1:18:46sung with a voice designed to deliver emotion.
1:18:46 > 1:18:51# You can't stop me now The world is waiting
1:18:51 > 1:18:54# It is my turn to stand out in the crowd
1:18:54 > 1:18:58# They can't stop me now The tide is turning
1:18:58 > 1:19:02# I am going to make you proud
1:19:02 > 1:19:06# So proud, so proud, oh, yeah... #
1:19:06 > 1:19:12And the new songs suggest that he has never strayed very far from home.
1:19:12 > 1:19:13Throughout the rock and roll years,
1:19:13 > 1:19:17his father's influence still hung over everything,
1:19:17 > 1:19:20particularly Rod's sense of family.
1:19:20 > 1:19:23This is Kimberly. Here is Kimberly.
1:19:23 > 1:19:25- Hi. Hi.- This is Ruby.
1:19:25 > 1:19:30I don't normally dress like this. Hi, nice to meet you.
1:19:30 > 1:19:31This is Liam.
1:19:32 > 1:19:35His eight children from five different mothers are all
1:19:35 > 1:19:36central to his life
1:19:36 > 1:19:41and have kept their ties with the Stewart family home in Britain.
1:19:43 > 1:19:45- Father and grandfather.- Yes.
1:19:48 > 1:19:50Sorry. Our dad has to be the make-up artist.
1:19:50 > 1:19:53So the first question is a collective question,
1:19:53 > 1:19:55if that is permissible,
1:19:55 > 1:19:58which is his sense of family.
1:19:58 > 1:20:01It is like we will have to take care of each other, we are like
1:20:01 > 1:20:05a clan of some sort and we do.
1:20:05 > 1:20:08- A football team. - Yeah, a football team.
1:20:08 > 1:20:11Dad definitely instilled that in us at a very young age,
1:20:11 > 1:20:14that family was very important.
1:20:14 > 1:20:18And so he gave us lots of brothers and sisters.
1:20:18 > 1:20:20THEY LAUGH
1:20:22 > 1:20:26It is like Buster Keaton walking across the set, isn't it?
1:20:34 > 1:20:38It is Sunday, somewhere in Essex, not so very far from the sweet shop
1:20:38 > 1:20:42in north London, which was the Stewart family home.
1:20:42 > 1:20:44# May the good Lord be with you
1:20:44 > 1:20:47# Every road you roam... #
1:20:51 > 1:20:52# And may sunshine and happiness... #
1:20:52 > 1:20:57A typical weekend for Rod is getting friends and family together
1:20:57 > 1:21:02for Sunday lunch and kicking a ball around in his back garden -
1:21:02 > 1:21:05where he happens to have a full-size football pitch.
1:21:17 > 1:21:21- Penny.- How are you?- How nice to see you.- You too. Say hi.
1:21:21 > 1:21:24- Say hi, Alan. - Not playing football?
1:21:24 > 1:21:27Today, former Celtic players have joined Rod
1:21:27 > 1:21:33and his elder brothers, Bob who is 77 and Don the referee who is 83.
1:21:36 > 1:21:40- Football is in the DNA of the Stewart family?- Very much so.
1:21:40 > 1:21:43Absolutely. All comes from my dad.
1:21:43 > 1:21:46This sense of family that you all have and Rod has very,
1:21:46 > 1:21:50very strongly, has it been all through your lives together?
1:21:50 > 1:21:53I would say yes, definitely.
1:21:53 > 1:21:57He seemed to like to get all his family around him.
1:21:57 > 1:22:01He never seems to be without them and I think it is like that.
1:22:01 > 1:22:04We do keep together, yes.
1:22:04 > 1:22:09It is very clear to me, listening to him talk about all of you,
1:22:09 > 1:22:11that he is deeply attached to all of you
1:22:11 > 1:22:15and to his family in a way that quite a lot of people who go off on another
1:22:15 > 1:22:20journey into a different world lose touch, but he has not lost touch.
1:22:20 > 1:22:23No, he has not lost touch with his roots, definitely not.
1:22:25 > 1:22:30- Wherever you go around Rod, he is surrounded by...- Love.- By love.
1:22:31 > 1:22:34- Is he good at giving it as well as getting it?- Oh, yes.
1:22:34 > 1:22:36Yes, definitely.
1:22:36 > 1:22:38He gives a lot of love and I always say to him,
1:22:38 > 1:22:41"Mum and Dad are watching you. Dad especially."
1:22:45 > 1:22:46INAUDIBLE
1:22:46 > 1:22:48# Forever young
1:22:51 > 1:22:55# For-ever
1:22:55 > 1:22:57# Young
1:23:00 > 1:23:03# For-ever
1:23:03 > 1:23:05# Young
1:23:08 > 1:23:09# Ha... #