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A Rod Stewart super-fan tells us their top 7 tracks
The legend will be returning to the road across the UK in 2019.
With Rod Stewart set to return to the road across the UK in 2019, and gearing up to release his new album Blood Red Roses on the 28 September 2018, we approached our resident Rod Stewart super-fan to find out what songs get them going.
Blood Red Roses marks the 30th album release by Rod Stewart who launch with his 1969 An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down debut. His most recent album to date, Another Country, was released in 2015.
With such an illustrious back catalogue, here are the tracks selected by our super-fan. Let us know whether you agree, and what else you’d add, over on Twitter.
Maggie May
First appearing on Stewart’s 1971 release, Every Picture Tells A Story, Maggie May may be one of his most celebrated tracks. It was even ranked at No.131 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Semi-autobiographical, the song discusses a relationship between a young man and an older woman.
Sailing
Stewart’s most successful UK single, Sailing reached No.1 in September 1975. The track was originally recorded by The Sutherland Brothers, before being picked up for Rod’s debut album. According to the songwriters, the track is about is about freedom and enlightenment, and not crossing the Atlantic.
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Rod Stewart put his own spin on the Cat Stevens penned original with his 1977 single release, presented as a double A-side with I Don’t Want To Talk About It. The year before it was featured on his A Night on the Town album. The track has also been performed by the likes of P. P. Arnold and Keith Hampshire, and most recently by Sheryl Crow in 2003.
I Don’t Want To Talk About It
The other side of The First Cut Is The Deepest, I Don’t Want To Talk About It was first recorded by Crazy Horse, but is most notably recorded by Stewart. He re-recorded the song in 1989, and recorded it as a duet with Amy Belle for inclusion in his concert DVD.
Handbags & Gladrags
Originally appearing on An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down, the track features then lead singer of Manfred Mann, Mike d’Abo, on piano. d’Abo also wrote the track two years prior. The song is one of liberation, telling a teenage girl that she does not need to be trendy to find happiness.
Every Picture Tells A Story
Written by Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, Every Picture Tells A Story is the title-track from Stewart’s 1971 album. Along with Maggie May, it’s considered some of the best work by the pairing. It celebrates various soundtrack appearances, including in Cameron Crowe’s brilliant Almost Famous.
Do Ya Think I’m Sexy
Taken from his 1978 album Blondes Have More Fun, Do Ya Think I’m Sexy topped both the UK and US singles charts. Dance act N-Trance remixed the track in 1997, returning it to the UK Top 10. The original also celebrates a place on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the best songs of all time. And it’s a massive crowd pleaser.
During his Rod Stewart Live In Concert 2019 tour, the singer promises a mixture of classics and new tracks, taken from across his illustrious fifty year career.
Here are those UK dates in full:
31 May 2019 – St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
1 June 2019 – York Racecourse, York
4 June 2019 – Stadium MK, Milton Keynes
7 June 2019 – Portman Road Stadium, Ipswich
8 June 2019 – Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
12 June 2019 – AECC, Aberdeen
14 June 2019 – University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton
Tickets are priced at £125, £95, £75 and £55, excluding fees.
Fans can also access Rod Stewart tickets early by pre-ordering his new album Blood Red Roses before 12:00 on Tuesday 18 September 2018. A presale code will then be sent, offering access from 9:00 on Wednesday 19 September 2018.
Rob Stewart tickets for Southampton, York, Milton Keynes, Ipswich, Wolverhampton, Aberdeen and Bolton will then be available on general sale from 9:00 on 21 September 2018 through Ticketmaster.co.uk.