Roderick David Stewartbetter known as Rod Stewartis turning 80 years old. Born in London on January 10, 1945, he is undoubtedly one of the great references in the history of rock, he was a vocalist in the bands The Jeff Beck Group and The Facesas well as the owner of a successful solo career.
Beyond music Rod has another passion: football. The son of a Scottish father and an English mother, he is the youngest of five siblings (all born in Scotland). It was his family that gave him his love for music and football. According to Rod, his favorite footballers were the Scots Gordon Smith and George Youngwhom he met through his older brothers.
As for music, he was an admirer of the American singer Al Jolsonfrom whom he adopted his interpretive style and attitude towards his audience. However, his introduction to rock was thanks to the song “The Girl Can’t Help It” of Little Richard already a televised concert of Bill Haley & His Comets.
His father wanted to be a professional soccer player, so In the summer of 1960 he tried out for Brentford FC., a British team that was in the third division at that time. Contrary to popular belief for several years, Stewart in his 2012 autobiography confirmed that he was never hired and was never called back after his tryout. Finally he himself mentioned: “…the life of a musician is much easier because you can get drunk and make music, and I can’t do that playing soccer. That’s why I chose to be a musician”.
Rod Stewart and his connection with Argentina
Contrary to what many might believe, it was this connection with the most popular sport in the world that led him to set foot in our country for the first time and not music. The story includes a bet with Elton Johnhe 1978 World Cup made in Argentina, the company of the father of Freddie Mercury and a violent assault that occurred while eating at a Buenos Aires grill.
The history of the presence of Rod Stewart in the World Cup held in Argentina was born when, as a renowned soccer fan, he played a bet with his colleague and friend Elton John related to the fate of their respective teams, Scotland and England, in the qualifying stage for the big World Cup event.
As Scotland achieved its place in the World Cup and England was left out, the creator of hits like “Tiny Dancer” and “Your Song” had to pay for Stewart’s trip.
By then, both in his role as a singer of The Faces As in his solo stage that exploded in 1971, Rod Stewart accumulated hits like “Stay With Me”, “Maggie May”, “Hot Legs” either “Sailing”among many, and had recently released the single “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”which began to take over clubs around the world. However, his stay in these lands in the middle of winter while the competition was taking place generally went unnoticed by the general public who, except in rock environments, did not have much idea of the magnitude of the artist.
It should be noted that, in those years and until the late 80s, musical news from the rest of the world arrived in the country with a certain delay and only people really interested in the subject had news about it beyond what commercial radio stations could offer. .
Nestor Celascothe then director of the Music Hall label, which had Rod Stewart’s catalogue, found out through the international record company Warner that the singer was going to visit the country, so he took care of finding him a companion who would be at his disposal. during 24 hours.
The Scottish singer arrived accompanied by Bomi Bulsaranone other than the dad of Queen star Freddie Mercuryand “by a designer of limousines for Arab sheikhs who was a character,” Celasco confirmed in an interview about that visit.
The 78′ World Cup and an assault that could have ended in tragedy
Rod and his companions only attended two games: Argentina’s debut against Hungary, on River Plate’s field, on June 2; and the next day they moved to Mendoza to see Scotland lose 3 to 1 against Peru.
But between the singer’s different outings There was one in particular that could have ended in tragedy.. It was when they took him to eat at a grill located on Maipú Street, near the corner with Lavalle, called “La Candela.”
“It was a grill where the local jet-set went. We were sitting and three guys enter with short weapons, itaka type. One stayed at the door, the other went to the cashier’s side and the third began to go through the tables collecting valuable things from those who were eating,” the recently deceased, historic rock manager, said in an interview. national, Peter Deantoni.
“Rod had a Porsche watch and he managed to take it off and hide it in the hood of the sweatshirt he was wearing. Immediately, the police entered and a shootout began in which the three thieves were immediately shot down. We all fell to the floor and I remember that López (Oscar, another representative of great local bands) threw himself on top of Rod and screamed in desperation: ‘Don’t shoot, the guy is worth a million dollars’“Deantoni recalled.
Rod finally left the country after a call from his wife. Had he stayed throughout Scotland’s participation in the competition, his stay would not have lasted much longer as his country was eliminated in the first round.
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Years later, Rod Stewart returned to Argentina in the summer of 1989 for his artistic debut in our country, when he gave a concert in River Plate and another at the José María Minella stadium in Mar del Plata.
There were six visits in total as a musician.the last being in October 2023 at GEBA. All with massive shows, however, as already said, the first visit had nothing to do with this. It was football that called Rod to visit our lands, but It was the music and the warmth of the people that brought him back again and again.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
