Sir Rod Stewart has made a huge announcement about his future following a string of health scares.
The legendary rocker told fans he will step away from doing “large scale” world tours – though he’s vowed he has no plans to “retire” because he “loves” his job and performing across the globe.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday night, the Maggie May crooner, 79, said: “This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire.
“I love what I do and I do what I love.”
Rod’s decision comes after he was forced to pull out of a string of performances in the US during the summer, when he was hit with strep throat, and later diagnosed with Covid.
Rod released a statement sharing his heartfelt disappointment at missing out on a landmark 200th concert in Las Vegas, writing in August: “Most people can work with strep throat but obviously not me. I’m absolutely gutted.
“I’ve been looking forward to this concert for so long. My deepest regrets for any inconvenience this has caused. Thankfully we’ll now be returning in 2025 and I hope to see you all there.”
Rod then sparked concern when he joked in an interview that his “days were numbered”, leading him to put out a further statement clarifying that his comments had been in jest and he was in “embarrassingly good health”.
In the statement posted on social media on Wednesday night, Rod further reassured fans that his decision to stop doing huge tours was not based on any health issues.
He said: “I’m fit, I have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.”
He also revealed the plans he has up his sleeves for the future, adding: “I’d love to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next – smaller venues and more intimacy. But then again, I may not…”
In 2019, Rod announced he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016, telling attendees at a fundraising event that it had been caught early and he was in remission.
He wrote in Rod Stewart: The Autobiography: “I felt fearful, vulnerable to a degree that I never had before. No chemotherapy was required – which, in turn, meant there was no risk that I’d lose my hair. And let’s face it: if we’re ranking threats to the survival of my career, losing my hair would be second only to losing my voice.”
The dad of eight was then diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2000 and later underwent surgery to remove a tumour. He stressed that it was ‘over and out’ within ten minutes, however it had a lasting impact on his voice.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.