Rod Stewart - Biography - IMDb Rod Stewart Biography Showing all 82 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (3) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (38) | Personal Quotes (34) Overview (4) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Rod Stewart was born on January 10, 1945 in Highgate, London, England as Roderick David Stewart. He has been married to Penny Lancaster since June 16, 2007. They have two children. He was previously married to Rachel Hunter and Alana Stewart . Spouse (3) ( 6 April 1979 - 1984) (divorced) (2 children) Trade Mark (2) Fifth child of Robert and Elsie Stewart. His brothers and sisters are Mary, Peggy, Don and Bob.

Has eight children: Sarah Thubron Streeter (born 1964) born to art student Susannah Boffey; Kimberly Stewart (born 21 August 1979) and Sean Stewart (born 1 September 1980) born to Alana Stewart (ex-wife of actor George Hamilton ; Ruby Stewart (born 17 June 1987), born to Kelly Emberg , his girlfriend at the time; Renee Stewart (born 1 June 1992), Liam McAlister Stewart (born 4 September 1994), born to ex-wife Rachel Hunter , a model, Alistair Wallace Stewart (born 27 November 2005) and Aiden Stewart (born 16 February 2011), born to wife Penny Lancaster . Contrary to popular belief, he was never a professional soccer player with Brentford Football Club before becoming a musician, this was one of many stories invented by his publicist when Rod was starting to hit the big time. Rod was successfully sued by Brazilian singer Jorge Ben Jor who claimed the tune to Rod's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was too similar to his song "Taj Mahal".

Ben won the lawsuit and asked Rod to donate all his profits from the song to UNICEF. His daughter, Kimberly Stewart , designs shoes. Lead singer for the 1970s rock group The Faces . Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Gave his friend Elton John the nickname "Sharon". Covered Elton John 's hit song "Your Song". Although he was born in England and has English blood on his mother's side, he has Scottish blood on his father's side and prefers to be considered a Scotsman. In 1998, he bought the Victorian mansion Stargroves in Hampshire, which had previously belonged to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones . He put on the first concert at SkyDome in Toronto, Canada in 1989. Voted the sexiest male spectacles wearer in a 2004 poll by Specsavers opticians. (March 9, 2005) Proposed to girlfriend Penny Lancaster at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

They married according to their plan, on board his yacht "Lady Anne MaGee" in the Portofino harbor, Italy, after his divorce from Rachel Hunter was finalized. Contray to rumor, he did not play the harmonica on Millie Small 's 1964 #2 hit "My Boy Lollipop", her credited as Millie. Underwent successful surgery for thyroid cancer in July 2000, and announced he was completely recovered in January 2001. In an early stage of The Kinks , before future frontman Ray Davies was willing to be the lead singer, they recruited Stewart (who grew up in the same neighborhood as the Davies brothers) as a singer. After a couple of weeks of trying to be a band, Stewart and the future Kinks found that they did not get along that well, with their musical tastes being too different, and parted ways. First artist to record the Burt Bacharach / Carole Bayer Sager song "That's What Friends Are For" (for the movie Night Shift (1982)), four years before it became a number one hit for Dionne Warwick , Elton John , Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder .

Was the original lead singer of the Jeff Beck Group. However, when the band was scheduled to appear at Woodstock he quit on the eve of the show due to the fact that his best friend Ronnie Wood , who was playing bass at the time, was kicked out. Is a supporter of Glasgow Celtic Football Club. Winner of the 1993 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2007 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to music. The story that Rod once worked as a gravedigger was another myth which he created with his publicist. (November 14, 2006) Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture. Ranked #94 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists. Ranked #71 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll. Lives in Los Angeles, California.

Had relationships with Dee Harrington (1971-1975), Kelly Emberg (1983-1990), Bebe Buell and Britt Ekland . He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 11, 2005. Recorded several of his multi-platinum selling albums at Cherokee Recording Studios, including "A Night on the Town", "Footloose and Fancy Free" and "Blondes Have More Fun". The 2009 Sunday Times List estimated his net worth at $164 million. Discovered busking in a train station in the early 1960s by British blues pioneer Long John Baldry . Baldry was so impressed with Stewart's vocal prowess, he invited him to join his band, The Hoochie Coochie Men. Stewart has often admitted in interviews that he owes his great success to that chance meeting with Baldry.

When then-girlfriend Britt Ekland discovered that Rod was seeing other women, she filed a $12.5 million palimony suit, claiming that, as she had given up much of her career for him, she deserved a large portion of his income. The lawsuit was dismissed. When asked what he had like to have as his epitaph on Piers Morgan Tonight: Episode dated 30 March 2011 (2011), Stewart quipped, "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here.". During a period when first touring in the United States where rowdy Rod and his band were prohibited from staying in some hotels, the boys used to masquerade as Fleetwood Mac in order acquire accommodation. A lifelong collector of model trains, Stewart maintains an elaborate outlay in an upstairs room of his Los Angeles home that stretches the length of his house. Bases his layout scale on the 1940s New York Central and Pennsylvania line. (July 2, 2007) Performed at the "Concert for Diana" at the new Wembley Stadium in London, England.

He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Music and Charity. He is a singer and songwriter in Essex, England. Personal Quotes (34) Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house. [on looking young] The secret is to moisturise the face. I've been doing that since I was 17 years old. [on Brigitte Bardot ] She's the only woman I've ever had a sexual fantasy about. With me, looks come first, and she's everything a woman should be. She's blonde and beautiful, she's got the most incredible legs--et cetera, et cetera. And she's French as well. [on his former wife, Rachel Hunter , shortly after their break-up] She was the first woman who left me. [on being awarded the CBE] It's a marvellous occasion. We're the only country in the world to honour the common man. Elvis was the king. No doubt about it. People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his footsteps.

[on his move to Los Angeles, California] The British taxation in 1975 was absolutely crippling. I think about 84% of my income was going in income tax. And I wasn't inspired by the music scene in '73, '74, '75 either. I don't believe you should flaunt your wealth like Liberace or something. I don't know anybody that doesn't like being famous and anybody that doesn't like it shouldn't have thought about being famous in the first place. I think it's absolutely marvelous being famous. I love it. I like walking down the street and being recognised. I don't go out of my way to be recognised. I mean I don't go walking down the street in a pink satin suit. I don't think people expect Bruce Springsteen to come out in a pink satin jacket, but Rod Stewart they do. And I like doing it, I don't wear it just because I think I have to. I'm a very flamboyant person. I don't mind buying one round of drinks, but I am bloody well not going to buy another. I don't miss a penny. I get a daily statement about where every penny is going and every investment.

I wouldn't say I worry about money, but you never know what's around the corner. I worry more about my children's views on money sometimes. They've grown up privileged and it's an ongoing battle. They know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I've been lucky. I couldn't deal with it if I'd run out of barnet. Imagine me with a Bobby Charlton comb-over. My age group and our age group, the Stones [ The Rolling Stones ] and Elton [ Elton John ], it's hard to get on the radio. And it's hard to buy records now 'cos you can't buy 'em anywhere. My audience like to go in and buy records. [on Mick Jagger ] I've got utmost respect for Mick and the boys. I love 'em to death. He's a great singer, he's one of the greatest. He's not quite as good as me. I've always looked on myself as one of a band and never sought a solo career. It's always been a spiritual home, but as I don't live there I shouldn't comment on Scottish independence. If it's good for the Scots I'm happy.

I hope it's not a lot of kids thinking ' Braveheart (1995)'. I'd hate to see the union broken after all these years. And I don't think it will happen. I'm a romantic and like a one-on-one situation, candlelight and foreplay, all the old-fashioned things. There's never been much rivalry between any of our generation - well, maybe me and Elton [ Elton John ] but that's friendly. [on Mick Jagger ] Mick's a fine blues singer, but technically not as good as me. He's made the best of what he's got, but I don't think he could do standards and he may not want to. Every three years, Model Railroader puts me on their cover, which is better than Rolling Stone. [on Elton John ] The second-best rock singer ever. [on Tom Waits ] He's one of my favorite all-time songwriters. [on "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"] It certainly wasn't one of the best songs I've written.

It transformed me overnight into a sex symbol I suppose, for want of a better word, and everything that goes with that, and for a long time I believed everything I read about myself in the papers. People, when we do live shows, they love that song, everywhere around the world. I believe I'm a romantic. I can cry at sad films and I like candle-lit dinners. All depends what you describe as being a romantic. [on love songs] I've always written songs like that. I think it comes as the years go on, you mature a little bit and you want to write songs that are more loving songs. I've got a lot of English blood in me, not too much English blood, but I consider myself to be a fairly good lover, I've had no complaints. I've had no compliments either. When Scotland play England, I don't care if it's schoolboys or what it is, it's very serious.

[on the World Cup in 1986] If that had been an English goal when Maradona [ Diego Maradona ] handballed it, everyone would have said it was OK, it's just that it was on the other team, but I've got a feeling that none of the British teams could have won it, maybe it's about time we had a Great Britain team. It's only an idea. [on the World Cup in 1986] We played three, we weren't too good in the last one, but I was real proud of them. I was really proud of the British teams all round, not just Scotland. Being a football fan and playing Wembley, it's not like Wham! - I don't think are real football fans - but it means a hell of a lot to me. [on the suggestion his tax exile status could have prevented a knighthood] Mick [ Mick Jagger ] doesn't pay taxes here, and Tom [ Tom Jones ] lives in America. If my time comes, it will. And if it doesn't, I'm not bothered. Are you kidding? I never expected a CBE.

People said I went astray with Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? and they're absolutely right. I jumped on a bandwagon, but everyone loves it. It's my novelty song. I try to give the audience what they want, and sod the critics. Former Supermodel Rachel Hunter looking less than super - NY Daily News Former Supermodel Rachel Hunter looking less than super... but much better than ex-Rod Stewart! Former Supermodel Rachel Hunter looking less than super NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 5:00 PM Rachel Hunter looks like she’s heading to the beach — let’s hope she doesn’t run into former flame Rod Stewart . The one-time supermodel was recently snapped in a skimpy bandeau top and flowy trousers — a far cry from the string bikinis she once wore in the pages of Sports Illustrated magazine — but a modest choice. Hunter, 42, appeared less than polished in the photos, as she clutched a canvas tote to her chest and ran a hand through her hair, but at least she was dressed — which is more than one can say for Stewart.

RAF/ZOJ/Mandatory Credit: WENN.com Paparazzi recently caught the 67-year-old British rocker letting it all hang out in a tiny blue Speedo, on vacation with his family in Miami. Hunter and Stewart married in 1990. While they announced their split in 1999, they weren’t officially divorced until 2006. rmurray@nydailynews.com MiamiPIXX/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES/MiamiPIXX/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES Singer Rod Stewart enjoys the beach of Miami, Florida with his current wife Penny Lancaster and son Alastair on Aug. 7. Rod bares all about losing 'beautiful' Rachel - Entertainment - NZ Herald News Rachel Glucina looks at the top events and newsmakers of the day. Rod bares all about losing 'beautiful' Rachel 5:30 AM Wednesday Oct 10, 2012 SHARE: The Diary Rod Stewart has revealed he shed 5kg and threw himself into yoga, psychotherapy and self-help books after his wife Rachel Hunter dumped him. He was blindsided and begged her to stay - but she wouldn't.

In an extract from his book, Rod: The Autobiography of Rod Stewart, released this week and serialised in Britain's Daily Mail, the 67-year-old divulges the lengths he went to to mend his broken heart - including lying on the couch for four months clutching a hot water bottle. But don't accept the invite to the pity party just yet. Stewart had planned to propose to Kelly Emberg (the mother of his daughter Ruby) and hired a small plane to trail a banner popping the question. But the night before the big romantic gesture, he met Hunter - a supermodel with a TV fitness video - at LA nightclub the Roxbury and, well, swiftly changed his mind. "There was a connection straight away. She was extremely beautiful, but there was something no-nonsense about her as well. It was there in her New Zealand accent, but also in her face, which was open and smart," Stewart writes. Of course, it helped that she had her own bank account. "Not only was she as far removed as could be from the stereotype of the flaky model, but she already had money and fame. That was a relief.

In my position, that suspicion was always there: does this woman really like me, or just the stuff that surrounds me?" Stewart has been married three times: to model Alana Hamilton, Rachel Hunter and model Penny Lancaster, and his long-term girlfriends have included model Dee Harrington and model Kelly Emberg. There's a theme. But he fell for Hunter, hard. He sent her roses and flew to New York, where she was working, on a dedicated wooing mission. She played hard to get and went to bed with him wearing a modern day chastity belt: a floor-length T-shirt. Continued below. Rod Stewart ashamed over past breakups "She wore a T-shirt that came down to her ankles - a T-shirt that said 'Not tonight, thank you' as efficiently as if she had come clanking out of the bathroom in a deep-sea diving outfit," he writes. They consummated their relationship on a romantic fling to the Bahamas. There was a rented Learjet, a chartered boat and whispers of a wedding. Three months later they married in a Beverley Hills church. Rod was 45; Rachel was 20. Football mates played the role of ushers wearing sunglasses and white canes.

"They performed an impression of the blind leading the blind," he says. Evidently the jokes kept coming. Rachel arrived at the altar and pinched Rod on the bum. But Rod's sister, Mary, wasn't laughing. She said, prophetically, "That girl will break his heart one day." They had two children - Liam and Renee - and travelled together as a family when Stewart toured. They dressed, too, for dinner like lord and lady of the manor, meeting on the landing to appreciate each other's outfits and descending the stairs together. "I had no idea how oppressive Rachel found this, how much she wished she could have been in her jeans, eating poached eggs on toast," the rock'n'roll veteran says. Hunter wanted out of the marriage. She was unhappy and couldn't conceal it any longer. The couple split in 1999 but Rod says he was loyal. "In the eight years we were together, I was entirely faithful ... Rachel was everything I wanted; I became a devoted husband overnight." Hunter declined to comment. Her rep, Andy Haden, said she was interviewed for her ex-husband's book but "she hasn't read it yet".

She had to delay her own book plans until next year "because Rod's book was coming out". GREEN CARPET FOR AL GORE Former Vice-President Al Gore can expect the full green carpet trappings at Friday night's gala dinner in Manukau where he will be guest of honour. The climate change environmentalist jets into the country on Friday morning by commercial airliner, but the carbon footprint miles will not overshadow the sustainable business message he's come to preach. Organisers say guests - including convicted greenie activist Lucy Lawless and NZ First leader Winston Peters - will drink wine from an environmentally sustainable Marlborough winery and Gore will be driven to the venue in a hybrid BMW. Westpac - winners of the 2012 Sustainable Bank of the Year Award - have spent big bucks to sponsor the event which will be MC'd by champagne socialist-in-chief John Campbell. CARLY'S TURN IN LIMELIGHT As ratings for the two-women reality TV show, The Ridges, continues to slide, another Ridge woman is stepping into the spotlight. Matthew Ridge's partner Carly Binding, the mother of their 2-year-old son London, is performing in an Andrew Lloyd Webber production next month.

Binding will star in the one-woman show, Tell Me on a Sunday, which will run at Q Theatre from November 14-24. The former pop star tells The Diary the Broadway musical is a big challenge. "I'm a classically trained singer, but I had to learn how to use my voice like that again and unlearn everything I did in pop." Former True Bliss band mate Joe Cotton is expected to attend the opening night performance - but don't expect the other members. Nor Sally and Jaime and their trailing TV cameras. There's no love lost there. Boh Runga and her sister Bic will, however, show their support in the front row. So too, Binding's beloved. Rachel Hunter - IMDb IMDb Rachel Hunter was born on September 9, 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand. She is an actress and producer, known for Ford Supermodel of the World (1995), The Benchwarmers (2006) and Jordon Saffron: Taste This! (2009). She was previously married to Rod Stewart .

See full bio » Born: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence. Not-So-Hot Rod Not-So-Hot Rod Email Not long before Christmas, Rod Stewart was in his usual corner in the Theydon Oak, a pub near his home in Epping, outside of London. But the normally easygoing British rocker, who’s not averse to enjoying a pint with the lads, seemed lonely enough to sing the blues. “He looked pretty unhappy,” says James Lange, 23, a local resident who frequents the pub. Says another patron: “I got the impression he was on his own in the mansion. That must have been pretty depressing.” By last week, Stewart was hunkered down in a second estate, this one in Beverly Hills, but his winter remained bleak. On Jan. 7 the 54-year-old rock star and his second wife, New Zealand-born model Rachel Hunter, 29, announced that they were separating after eight years.

Stewart, denying to the British press that the marriage had unraveled because of any infidelity, said it was Hunter’s decision to move out and “find herself” as a person. “I was so sure she was the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with,” he added. “I hope and pray with all my heart that she will eventually come back.” He may have reason to believe she will. Hunter and their two children—Renee, 6, and Liam, 4—are staying near Stewart in L.A., and the couple meet daily to discuss their differences, which surfaced before the holidays. Celebrating their eighth wedding anniversary Dec. 15 in a London restaurant, says one witness, the two seemed “very cheerful.” But by the time they left, to the scrutiny of waiting paparazzi, they were publicly rowing. And the next evening, Hunter caught Stewart flirting with her friend Andrea Trevor at the Dorchester Hotel, where the couple were staying. Stewart’s brother Don, 68, a retired accountant, had noticed Hunter’s absence from Rod’s recent U.K. concerts. “I only saw her once out of 12 shows,” he says.

Stewart’s ex-fiancée Dee Harrington is not surprised. “Rachel,” says Harrington, who was engaged to Stewart between 1971 and ’75, “got bored with Rod,” whom Harrington characterizes as a perennial “lad” with a penchant for drinking with his mates and pursuing women. These have included Swedish actress Britt Ekland, now 56, who ended up suing him for $15 million in palimony in 1978 (her case was dismissed); first wife Alana Stewart, 53, with whom he had Kimberly, 19, and Sean, 18, before their ’84 divorce; and Kelly Emberg, 39, who gave birth to their daughter, Ruby, now 11, before they split in 1990 after seven years. “He’s always liked ladies,” says model-turned-music executive Harrington, “and they always liked him.” Then there are Stewart’s other hobbies.

Recalling their relationship, Harrington says he loved to “hang out with his football mates and watch football and play with his train set.” Even now, Stewart keeps a professional-quality soccer field on his Epping property and amuses himself in L.A. with an extravagant 100-foot-track train set comprising computer-programmed locomotives. Of course his tastes have often been more refined than that. Stewart, worth an estimated $100 million, can easily plunk down $7 million for an oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., as the couple did in 1995. There they were regarded as “a nice contribution to the community,” says real estate broker Rusty Gulden. “Not like the Rolling Stones.” But apparently too much like the Stones to suit Hunter, at least in terms of Stewart’s advancing years and the couple’s 25-year age difference. “No matter how rich or generous he is, his references are still all her parents’ references,” says rock expert Ray Connolly. “Now she’s grown-up and looking around, and he’s this middle-aged man who’s had his fun.

And she thinks, ‘Maybe I’ve missed out.’ ” Hunter, in fact, has been playing career catchup, taking acting classes, signing with a talent agent and even landing a leading film role. “Rod was supportive,” says David Glasser, who produced Two Shades of Blue, an as-yet-unreleased thriller the novice actress shot last summer with Eric Roberts. “He seemed proud.” And Hunter seems optimistic—maybe. “We’re just working things through,” she told London’s Daily Mail last week.

“These things can be dreadful.” Tom Gliatto Joanna Blonska, Matthew Chapman and Liz Corcoran in London, Tom Cunneff and Paula Yoo in Los Angeles and Don Sider in Palm Beach Show Full Article Rod Stewart Biography - life, family, children, story, wife, young, son, old, born, marriage - Newsmakers Cumulation Rod Stewart Biography Singer Rod Stewart Born January 10, 1945, in London, England; married Alana Hamilton (a model), 1979 (divorced, 1984); married Rachel Hunter (a model), 1991 (divorced, 2006); children: Kimberly, Sean (from first marriage), Ruby (with Kelly Emberg), Renee, Liam (from second marriage), Alastair (with Penny Lancaster). Addresses: Record company —J-Records, 745 Fifth Ave., 6th Flr., New York, NY 10151.

Website — Career Worked as apprentice for Brentford Football Club, early 1960s; toured with folk singer Wizz Jones; sang in Jimmy Powell & the Five Dimensions, the Hoochie Coochie Men (later Steampacket), and Shotgun Express, mid-1960s; lead singer of the Jeff Beck Group, 1968–69; released first solo album, The Rod Stewart Album , 1969; joined the Small Faces (later the Faces), 1969; performed on MTV Unplugged , performance released on CD as Unplugged … And Seated , 1993; released Human , 2001; released Great American Songbook series, 2002–05; released Still the Same … Great Rock Classics of Our Time , 2006. Awards: Grammy Award for best traditional pop vocal album, Recording Academy, for Stardust … The Great American Songbook Volume III , 2004.

Sidelights Rod Stewart, perhaps the most popular British rocker of the 1970s, has enjoyed platinum record sales, seemingly permanent celebrity, an equally permanent place on classic rock radio, wealth, and the company of countless beautiful young women. Yet he has also suffered a 30-year assault on his reputation from the music press, eternally disappointed that he forsook his early '70s blend of rowdy rock-and-roll with rough, poignant folk music for a slick pop sound, heartstring-snapping ballads, and lyrics that celebrate his own playboy decadence.

At his best, wrote critic Jon Pareles in the New York Times , Stewart is "one of rock's more appealing personas—a rueful working-class rake, well aware of love's pratfalls but sincere when he pledges his devotion." Also key to his appeal is his distinctive raspy voice, which John Rockwell, another New York Times critic, described as a "whisky tenor" that combines "manly toughness with aching emotional pain and the sexuality that high voices have always symbolized." Born in a working-class part of London to a Scottish family, Stewart took up music as a young man in the early 1960s after working as an apprentice for the Brentford Football Club. He toured Europe with Wizz Jones, a folk singer. Over the next few years, he sang in several short-lived British R&B and blues-rock bands, including Jimmy Powell & the Five Dimensions, the Hoochie Coochie Men (which, after renaming itself Steampacket, toured with the Rolling Stones), and Shotgun Express. Stewart's first moment of rock stardom came as lead singer of the Jeff Beck Group, named after the band's guitarist, formerly of the mid-'60s British blues-rock band the Yardbirds.

Stewart's wildly emotional vocals fit well with Beck's heavy, dramatic guitar work. Together, on the albums Truth and Beck-Ola —"exercises in brilliant bombast," as Rolling Stone 's biography of Stewart puts it—they helped establish the heavy, pre-metal, blues-based rock sound that Jimi Hendrix and Cream were also exploring and that would soon make Led Zeppelin famous. In 1969, as Beck recovered from a car accident, Stewart and Beck's bass player, Ron Wood, left the band. Together, they recorded Stewart's acclaimed solo debut, The Rod Stewart Album . (That was its American title; it was named An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down in Great Britain.) The album combined R&B and rock sounds with Stewart's folk roots to create a semi-acoustic rock and roll sound. Covers ranged from "Street Fighting Man," a then-recent Rolling Stones hit, to "Dirty Old Town," a classic folk song by Scottish songwriter Ewan MacColl. The songs Stewart wrote himself were poignant character sketches of misfits and people down on their luck. The combination of Wood's slide guitar and Stewart's gravelly voice was even more successful than Beck and Stewart's collaboration.

Stewart and Wood soon joined the band the Small Faces, whose lead singer had just left. After putting out their first album, First Step , in the spring of 1970, which established them as a sloppy but fun band with a heavy Rolling Stones influence, the group renamed itself the Faces. For the next four years, Stewart and Wood worked together on roughly two albums a year, both Stewart albums and Faces albums. On his second solo album, Gasoline Alley , released in the fall of 1970, Stewart began to establish a reputation as an excellent interpreter of Bob Dylan songs by covering Dylan's folk song "Only A Hobo." The Stewart-Wood collaboration peaked in the year 1971, with Stewart's third solo album, Every Picture Tells A Story , which hit number one in America and Britain and made Stewart famous. It included Stewart's best-known song, still played relentlessly on classic rock stations: "Maggie May." The song tells the story of a young man trying to tear himself away from a consuming romance with a more mature woman. Stewart has said it was based on an actual affair he had with an older woman when he was 15 or 16.

Also in 1971, the Faces released perhaps their best two albums, Long Player and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink … To a Blind Horse , which reached the top ten in America and Britain and included their only American hit, "Stay With Me." The success of Stewart's solo career began to create tension in the Faces as they toured in early 1972. His new solo album, Never A Dull Moment , lived up to its title by ranging from a cover of soul singer Sam Cooke's euphoric "Twistin' the Night Away" to the lustful "Italian Girls." The Faces recorded one more studio album, Ooh La La , in 1973 and quarreled during a difficult tour of the United States, documented on the live album Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners . The band, estranged by early 1974, officially broke up in 1975, and Wood went on to join the Rolling Stones. Rock critics began to turn against Stewart with the release of his next solo album, Smiler , in 1974. Though recorded in the same style as his previous efforts, it showed he was in something of a rut.

It included a strong cover of Dylan's "Girl from the North Country," but also an ill-advised cover of Aretha Franklin's song "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," which Stewart changed to "Natural Man." Still, the album was a hit. In 1975, Stewart began a romance with Britt Ekland, a Swedish actress. He also decided to move to the United States because of a dispute with the British government over his taxes. His next album, Atlantic Crossing , commemorated his move and marked his transition from rock toward pop music. A Night on the Town from 1976, had a similar slick pop sound, but also featured ambitious songwriting. Stewart tipped his hat to his gay fans with "The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)," a narrative about the murder of a gay friend of his, and covered folk singer Cat Stevens' "The First Cut is the Deepest." As Stewart became famous for his wild lifestyle and many actress and model girlfriends, his album titles turned cheeky, playing up his playboy image.

Albums such as Foot Loose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun , released in 1977 and 1978, sold millions of copies. On the latter, Stewart embraced disco. Critics reacted badly, especially hating the single "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"—but it became one of Stewart's biggest pop hits, hitting number one in 1979. Around this time, he married model Alana Hamilton; they went on to have two children, Kimberly and Sean. In 1981, on Tonight I'm Yours , Stewart updated his sound with then-popular new wave and synth pop styles. But his career took a downturn soon after, both in record sales and musical quality. He released a few singles during the 1980s, such as "Lost in You" and a cover of Dylan's "Forever Young," that were well-crafted enough to hit the pop charts but soft enough to disappoint old fans. A 1984 profile in People found him going through a bitter divorce from his first wife, Alana, after five years of marriage, and becoming more frugal after years of outrageous spending.

"Gone are the fleet of nine sports cars, the troop of retainers," reported Todd Gold of People . Not gone were Stewart's playboy antics; at 39, he was dating a 25-year-old model, Kelly Emberg, and several other women. (He eventually had a daughter, Ruby, with Emberg.) He briefly reunited with Beck for what was to be a full tour, but Beck soon dropped out after—in the opinion of Stewart and his band—dragging down the show with extremely long guitar solos. Stewart was 39 when Gold profiled him for People . He was about to bring his 80-year-old father along on tour with him for two weeks, which made him think about what it would be like to be that old. "I suppose it'd be hard to sing rock 'n' roll at 80," he told Gold with a laugh. "But you've got no idea what it's like to be up there in front of 20,000 screaming fans. It's a hard thing to give up.

It's really like a drug." A comeback began in 1989 when Stewart, embracing the advent of CDs and the trend of career-spanning box sets, released the four-disc set Storyteller . It included a cover of the Tom Waits song "Downtown Train," which became a major hit. He showed a partial return to rock form with 1991's Vagabond Heart , which included a duet with soul star Tina Turner and contributions from Robbie Robertson, former leader of The Band (Dylan's mid-'60s backup group, which had become popular in its own right in the 1970s). He reunited with Wood for his appearance on the television show MTV Unplugged , which spawned the album Unplugged … and Seated . The well-received performance included many of his best songs from the early '70s. Meanwhile, his love life was on the upswing too; in 1991, he married another model, Rachel Hunter, who was in her early 20s, half his age. The couple had a daughter, Renee, and a son, Liam.

With the 1998 album When We Were the New Boys , whose title clearly points back to his rock roots, Stewart pleased rock and roll fans for the first time in years. The album included a strong cover of "Cigarettes and Alcohol" by Oasis, one of the top British rock bands of the 1990s. But he quickly hit another rough patch in his career and romantic life. In 1999, he and his wife separated. Stewart, then 54, cheered himself up by dating another model, Tracy Tweed, 34, followed by 29-year-old underwater photographer Robbie Lauren, followed by Penny Lancaster, also 29 and both a photographer and a lingerie model. Thyroid surgery in 2000 lowered his voice slightly, and his 2001 album Human , an attempt to cross over to urban and contemporary pop, bombed commercially and was savaged by critics. To revive his career, Stewart tapped the songwriting of a much earlier generation.

Starting with It Had to Be You and continuing through three more albums, Stewart recorded versions of classics from the Great American Songbook, a term for the best American pop music of the first half of the 20th century, including the work of such acclaimed songwriters as George Gershwin and Cole Porter. The albums, released between 2002 and 2005 and collected into a box set, became hits on adult contemporary charts. Stewart had not expected their commercial success. "It was meant to be a labor of love, something I was doing for a laugh," he told Rebecca Winters of Time , "and here we are going double platinum." Some critics recoiled, though, saying Stewart lacked the vocal talent to interpret the nuanced old standards. Chuck Arnold of People proclaimed the first two albums "lame." Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly called the whole series "sacrilegious." Stewart seemed unfazed. In March of 2005, at age 60, he proposed to Lancaster, now 34, while they were in at the top of Paris' Eiffel Tower. That December, Lancaster gave birth to Stewart's sixth child, Alastair.

In March of 2006, Stewart and Hunter finalized their divorce after a seven-year legal battle. In 2006, Stewart's career took another new turn. He encouraged celebrity Paris Hilton to record his song "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" for her first album, and she did. It was released on her first album in August of 2006. Meanwhile, Stewart announced the October of 2006 release of his new album, Still the Same … Great Rock Classics of Our Time , which includes rock ballads such as Dylan's "If Not For You," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain," and the title track, Bob Seger's "Still the Same." The album was predicted to be a return to form that would please both consumers and hard-to-please critics. Selected discography The Rod Stewart Album , Mercury, 1969. Gasoline Alley , Mercury, 1970. Every Picture Tells A Story , Mercury, 1971. Never A Dull Moment , Mercury, 1972. Smiler , Mercury, 1974. Atlantic Crossing , Warner Bros., 1975.

A Night on the Town , Warner Bros., 1976. Foot Loose & Fancy Free , Warner Bros., 1977. Blondes Have More Fun , Warner Bros., 1978. Foolish Behaviour , Warner Bros., 1980. Tonight I'm Yours , Warner Bros., 1981. Absolutely Live , Warner Bros., 1982. Body Wishes , Warner Bros., 1983. Camouflage , Warner Bros., 1984. Every Beat of My Heart , Wea International, 1986. Rod Stewart , Warner Bros., 1986. Out of Order , Warner Bros., 1988. Storyteller (box set), Warner Bros., 1989. Vagabond Heart , Warner Bros., 1991. Unplugged … And Seated , Warner Bros., 1993. Spanner in the Works , Warner Bros., 1995. When We Were the New Boys , Warner Bros., 1998. Human , Atlantic, 2001.

It Had to Be You … The Great American Songbook , J-Records, 2002. As Time Goes By … The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2 , J-Records, 2003. Stardust … The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 , J-Records, 2004. Thanks for the Memory … The Great American Songbook, Vol. 4 , J-Records, 2005. The Great American Songbook Box Set , J-Records, 2005. Still the Same … Great Rock Classics of Our Time , J-Records, 2006. The Faces First Step (as the Small Faces), Mercury, 1970. Long Player , Mercury, 1971. A Nod Is as Good as a Wink … To a Blind Horse , Mercury, 1971. Ooh La La , Mercury, 1973. Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners , Mercury, 1974.

Jeff Beck Group 'Why I had to leave Rod,' by Rachel | Daily Mail Online Next 'Why I had to leave Rod,' by Rachel Rod Stewart's ex-wife Rachel Hunter has told of the agony behind her decision to leave her rock star husband because she felt stifled by their eight-year marriage. The New Zealand-born model said she'd become so cosseted by her lavish lifestyle that she didn't have the confidence to do things on her own and felt like she had 'lost her identity'. 'By the time I was 29 I'd spent eight years with someone else's group of friends. I had no idea what it was like to be a woman with mates of her own to socialise with,' Hunter tells The Mirror. 'I'd become so cosseted I was too scared to do anything for myself. Like lots of women who marry young and find themselves mothers by the time they're 25, I felt I no longer had an identity. I was just nothing.' The couple met in a Los Angeles nightclub in 1991. Within three weeks Stewart had proposed to Hunter and three months later they were married. Eighteen months after the ceremony their daughter Renee was born followed by son Liam two years later.

But Hunter began to feel increasingly stifled by her situation, where everything, even visits to friends, had to be planned by staff and organised in advance. After communication between the couple had broken down, in December 1998, Hunter eventually plucked up the courage to leave Stewart. 'He was distraught,' she says. ' I'll take to the grave the pain I caused Rod. I hurt the one person I loved and cared about and that's a hard thing to live with on a daily basis.' Two years on, Hunter says she has no regrets and says she remains good friends with Stewart, whom she describes as 'a good man'. 'We speak to each other all the time, and he'll pop round for a cup of tea,' she says. Rod Stewart admits that his ex-wife Rachel Hunter broke his heart | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV | Daily Express CELEBRITY NEWS Rod Stewart admits that his ex-wife Rachel Hunter broke his heart FAMOUS for romancing many a blonde beauty Rod Stewart now believes second wife Rachel Hunter leaving him in 2006 was his “comeuppance” after being a womaniser for so many years.

00:00, Thu, May 29, 2014 Rachel was 21 when she met Rod[GETTY] The father of eight, who has been married three times, tells Woman’s Weekly: “Rachel Hunter broke my heart. "It was painful but it was a learning lesson. "I knew it was my comeuppance. "I’d broken all those hearts in the past – now it was my turn.” Rod, who married the New Zealand born model in 1990, adds: “She was 21 when we met. "I like formal dinners, getting dressed up and meeting on the staircase. "She wanted – I discovered later – to be like a normal kid, dressing in her jeans. It was painful but it was a learning lesson Rod Stewart "But we get on great now and [third wife] Penny gets on great with Rachel. "In fact all the exes get on so I think I must have done something right.” The 69-year-old, who has been married to Penny Lancaster, 43, since 2007, insists he can’t imagine life without female company. “I’ve always had a woman in my life,” he points out.

“I’m not good at being on my own. "I enjoy women’s company. “I’ve taken a lot of risks but I’ve never gambled or smoked – women don’t like that. "I’ve always loved women; won some, lost some but it’s not about a magic touch, it’s about being a better person and a good listener. "My relationship rule is never argue over a glass of wine; leave debating until the morning.” Most read in TV & Radio

Question: Which supermodel was married to Rod Stewart?
Answer: Rachel Hunter