Having already mentioned this morning that I have returned to Twitter, or X, I could not resist the odd little stir.
I posted this yesterday:
The image is from The Times.
And it seems that Rod Stewart really did say that. The i's report of the interview notes that:
Rod Stewart has come out in support of Reform UK, urging his followers to give the right-wing party's leader, Nigel Farage, “a chance”.
Stewart, 80, made the statement after he was asked about the current political climate in the UK.
Speaking to The Times, Stewart admitted: “It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me. But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch.
I had a number of thoughts.
First, what I said about Maggie May was true, and that it's over is as true. I don't listen to those who support fascists. Rod Stewart is off my Glastonbury playlist, unless it is to see whether he is booed or not, as I rather hope he will be.
Nor do I like people who boast that they're extremely wealthy and that they deserve to be. He's wealthy for four reasons. He was in the right place at the right time. He was very lucky. The law of copyright exists to reinforce the wealth of those who have been exceptionally lucky, and pretty much works to deny opportunity to others. And he has not been taxed enough. If he were really in touch, he would know how exceptionally hard it is now for younger artists to make a living, let alone get wealthy. But he very obviously does not.
And he is not in touch, politically.
If he were, he would know that Scotland, to which he claims loyalty, does not want to be a part of the UK. Opinion polls persistently show that now.
If he really knew anything about Celtic FC, which he claims to love, he would know all about the anti-Irish and anti-Catholic racism that so many who have supported that club have suffered from, all of it promoted by Unionists who support the imperialist view that they are second-class citizens, which is consistent with the Reform world view of economic migrants.
And he would be aware enough to know that those who in Rod's youth put up with and even supported the 'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish' signs are now those who support Farage and his ideology that is now dependent on creating division based on skin colour and methods of arrival, but which not so long ago was anti-Irish more than anything else.
So, he's in touch with the fact that politics is not working, not least because it is rigged to ensure that he remains wealthy whilst ensuring as little as possible of his fortune is taxed to the extent that it should be, but to suggest that the answer is Farage shows just how out of touch he really is.
Promoting division, hatred, and the destruction of the public goods that the state once supplied in the UK is not an answer to anything, unless you think you are extremely wealthy and worth it, of course.
I used the odd expletive to describe Sir Rod Stewart (knighted, it would now seem, for services to the promotion of prejudice within the status quo) yesterday. None are polite enough to repeat here.
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Around the time that Rod was singing about Maggie Mae, Lennon was giving peace a chance, and now Rod’s giving fascism a chance. It’s a funny old world.
I was at Glastonbury in 2017 when Jeremy Corbyn got a rapturous reception on the Pyramid Stage.
I hope Stewart gets short shift.
He has always been a **** (insert four letter word of your choice!)
My favourite had four letters in it.
No: if it is full of $#1+ it is the nine letter one!
I just cant think why a self-regarding wealthy old white man would want us to vote for another self-regarding wealthy old white man.
Maybe it’s because it’s because they are both so good at extracting wealth from those with less money and privilege than they have?
So Rod Stewart believes that people deserve to starve to death. What a nice man he is.
I abhor Reform’s selfish and racist politics, and find the kind of people who now represent the Fart-rage company in Parliament and on councils as deeply politically unattractive individuals.
So for Sir Rod Stewart to throw his support behind Reform is very not a Rock n’ Roll rebellion.
I do think however his observation that he deserves to be very rich was tongue in cheek. No doubt he does enjoy his vast Essex mansion following his LA pad, but he doesn’t usually flaunt his huge wealth , unlike his pop star mate, Sir Elton John, who has made conspicuous consumption his trade mark of excess.
Elton John may have lived a life of material excess but he’s to be applauded for his long and deep campaigning and funding for Aids/HIV research and support and his incredible support for new artists, directly and via his campaigning for reforms in the music industry to make being a musician a viable occupation
It’s not about age or wealth. Just remember what Bruce Springsteen had to say in Manchester a few weeks ago.
Agreed.
There is choice involved as well.
Thanks for highlighting Stewart’s distasteful comments and support for the far right Richard. I must confess ignorance of his views until now. A shame, I like some of his songs.
Now, can those of us on the left demand he be banned from Glastonbury for his offensive views and support for an extremist political organisation, in the same way the pearl clutching snowflakes of the right, and Starmer, have of Kneecap?
Perhaps Reform could be branded a terrorist organisation in the same way that this ridiculous government is doing to Palestine Action?
Kneecap had a go at him yesterday.
Speaking as a working class man, I find Rod a bit of an embarrassment but it is all too common see people like him gravitate to Farage. He has less of an excuse though as a rich man – as you say, but I think he is driven by a sentimental affinity with his former life.
The thing is though is that the working class mindset out there is pretty desperate – to quote Uncle Monty in Withnail & I ‘Shovelled up by Labour, shat on by Tories’ is all they/we know really, so you can’t blame them for being vulnerable to highly skilled liars like Nigel.
Stewart though goes where the money is doesn’t he? Originally a blues singer – and a good one in my view – he cynically sold out and went for pop stardom and spandex pants. But when ever I think of Rod, all I think of is Kenny Everett singing ‘Do You Think I’m Sexy’ with an expanding back side. Talk about being brought back down to earth.
That was a shit song, rightly disparaged, as was he.
Oh come off the fence and say what you think!
More often
Brilliant.
I heard Stewart interviewed years ago when he started making his execrable Great American Songbook albums. He was asked if he was recording these songs because he loved them.
‘Not really, it’s a purely commercial decision’ was the reply.
Just as well he didn’t love them because he murdered most of them.
I watched some of this. It started OK, with his band going through the routines they have played for decades. But then it was as if he gave up and took the place for granted. He went out of key and stayed out of key. He couldn’t even decide if he was going to be flat or sharp. He did both. His three guests were the same – none could sing any more. It was, to be candid, contemptuous, and far from the triumph the legend slot often is. Nile Rogers showed what can be done. His passion was still there. He believed in his music. He wanted to entertain. Stewart lacked passion, and entertainment value. If this is the best he can do, he should be devoting his to to his model railway whilst sparing us his politics.
A stale, male beyond the pale self- serving club.
Hi Richard
It’s possible I am misunderstanding your comments on Celtic FC, but would it not be Rangers who were traditionally seen as anti-Catholic?
Cheers
Peter
By opposing Celtic….which is why he should not be siding with the oppressor
He seems to have done a good job plugging himself recently
Railway Modeller
mending the road outside his house – and not just paying someone to do it
His comments on Greg Wallace
And now seems to have blown it
His appaling political views have been known to the Celtic support for a long time. It’s why he may be welcomed by the club as a celebrity ambassador but very much despised by those in the stands.
Richard, it wasn’t Rod who took us into an illegal war with Iraq on a lie, resulting in one million people killed (mostly women and children). Actually, it was the left wing Labour Party. Be careful when you use the word ”fascist”.
I am always careful about how I use the word fascist.
I understand it.
There is no sign you do.
If you think Blair was leftwing you have not understood politics.
When he started a war I left the Labour Party as did many other leftwing members – I rejoined under Brown.
Blair also before that war began the fees for University education which have grown.
It comes of no surprise that he’s encouraging his depleting army of fans to support Farage and all he advocates, given his long lasting support for the Conservative Party and in particular, Margaret Thatcher. He always was right wing and like a lot of other Tory’s he has found his true home – the fascist right.
Don’t forget he left the UK to avoid paying high rates of tax so is it really any surprise that he supports Farage. I bet that whilst waiting to come on stage he will be filling out his application for a Britannia Card. As the old advert went….”that will do nicely”!
“Rod Stewart is off my Glastonbury playlist”
Given Eavis’s £80m inheritance tax avoidance scheme, Richard, I would have thought that you would be boycotting Glastonbury…
I have not read about that.
Let me be clear though: I have ever been, and never will go. A festival crowd is close to my definition of hell.
So the law of copyright shouldn’t exist? How does the law of copyright deny opportunity to others?
I didn’t say it should not exist, but it exists for far too long and allows economic exploitation and the concentrtion of power over the creative industries, publishing and much else. That is deeply destructive. See the Substack of the Counterbalance project for much more on this.
Thanks for that Counterbalance recommendation, Richard. AI has just blasted my branch of copywriting out of the water, so a lot of the articles chimed. Copyright law is fine in my opinion until artists sign away their publishing rights. Sadly it’s probably too late to stop AI plundering music. Bizarre that Labour wants to enable it further.
The Counterbalance is really very good.
And I just turned on in the hope,as Richard said,that he’d be booed off the stage … not a bit of it I’m afraid …. What does this say about the festival goers I wonder …… young people….
The BBC shwoed someone holding a banner saying ‘I am here for Olivia, fuck Reform’. It asted maybe a second, probbaly less, but it was something. I haven’t seen the rest.
Glasonbury tickets are very expensive, especially if you are on UC as a single person under 25.
Tickets start at £378.50 entrance for the w/e for one person, excluding food and travel.
Basic UC for an under 25 looking for work is £316/mth, plus Housing Allowance which won’t cover full housing costs, even in a council emergency HMO. So saving for Glastonbury takes a long time, and they expect you to be job-seeking for 35 hrs a week which makes travelling long distances difficult.
Maybe that explains why they didn’t boo Rod Stewart?
Agreed
I would think many times before going, and could never justify the cost
Following Richards suggestion he might turn on Glastonbury in the hope that Rod Stewart would be booed I did the same but sadly the crowds are loving him…..
Whoops! Don’t know what happened there!
David B says:
One needs to provide a well reasoned profile for such far right Farage supporters. I will provide a few possible indicators:
– member of the “illiterati” ie the educationally disadvantaged with low IQ’s
-the nations impoverished
-racists
-followers of the right wing media
-unprincipled, minor politicians looking for power.
Maybe others could add to the list.
Highlighting the limitations of such individuals repeatedly may help to ensure that do not wear the Farage badge as this would advertise their severe personal and social limitations.
Just an idea!
To be fair he has always held rather rancid opinions.
From an article in International Times, December 1970.
Interview with Rod Stewart.
Q: What do you think about the political
situation in this country?
R: I think Enoch is the man. I’m all for him. This country is overcrowded. The
immigrants should be sent home. That’s it.
Q: What’s the future of your band?
R: Immediately – another album for release in February to coincide with our tour of the States.
Wow..
But, please, might you provide a link to prove this? Until you do this is not evidence.
I have found this https://www.facebook.com/CelticRetroHats/photos/rod-stewart-has-come-out-in-support-of-reform-and-nigel-farage-what-a-surprise-h/1024046149936100/?_rdr
Great article; someone had to write it and say it out loud. What an utter ‘dick’ Rod Stewart clearly is. To say money and wealth have gone to his head is an understatement; and his pathetic attempt to curry favour with right-wing xenophobes shows just what an utter and contemptable moron sounds like, dressed up as a ‘cool’, relevant and sophisticated entertainer. Go back to your mansion, Rod, and stay there.