Rod Stewart interview: ‘If I had my way I would definitely have a second Brexit referendum’

Unlike some of his contemporaries, the ‘Maggie May’ star has no intention of coming off the road. He speaks with Chris Harvey about everything from sex to Donald Trump and his 30th album ‘Blood Red Roses’

'The love of it is what’s kept me going, the love of putting my heart and soul into an album' (Rankin)

“Oh what are you talking about?” says Rod Stewart, vehemently. I’ve just suggested that the owner of one of the great voices has gone a bit Sinatra, with his eight-year residency at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. He’s not having it. “In the Sinatra and Presley days, it was all people having dinner and the sound of cutlery and waiters walking about. It’s not like that any more – you’ve got to come out there and see it.”

Stewart is, of course, entitled to do a Sinatra. He’s 73 years old. Picture your favourite Rod and it’s a fair bet that it’s one from a long time ago. Rod in satin, leaning back and letting out that throaty roar; Rod in wide lapels and neck scarf, saucy grin stealing over his features as he sings; Rod in leopard-print lycra and the LA big-hair version of his classic feather cut in the “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” era. Well, da ya? Because he definitely was.

The voice is still there, though, and that fantastic back catalogue: "Maggie May," "You Wear It Well", "Sailing", "Young Turks". (His own favourites, he says, are "Baby Jane", "Mandolin Wind" and "I Was Only Joking".) He’s just finished his morning workout – “Gotta be done, mate, gotta be done” – and is purring about the new indoor pool he’s had built at his Grade II listed mansion in Essex.