BBC Sidetracked: Rod Stewart talks about his performance at the Glastonbury Festival

It is likely to be the highlight of Sir Rod Stewart's tour calendar this year – the concert on 29 June in the Legends Slot (also known as the Tea Time Slot) at the legendary Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England. In a lively and very humorous interview with podcasters Nick Grimshaw and Annie Macmanus, Sir Rod spoke about this upcoming event.
‘I don't mind, I think I've earned it. I just wish they wouldn't call it the Tea Time Slot!’ said Rod when asked about his performance in the Legends Slot at the event. When asked how the performer of “Sailing” and ‘Maggie May’ became a legend, he replied: "I can't judge that... I mean, it's pure luck that I'm here... I had the voice and the silly looks you need, I couldn't help but become a rock star... So many people I know didn't make it because they weren't as lucky as I was when Long John [Baldry] got on the train in the early 60s, saw me singing and asked me if I wanted to play in his band... ‘Just a twist of fate,’ Sir Rod reflected on the time when young Roderick David from the London borough of Highgate gradually became the Rod Stewart that the whole world knows today. ‘You have to be fully committed to it... When I was 16, it burned in my chest – I had to sing, I had to play guitar... not football... I think a lot of kids don't have that desire anymore,’ adds the 80-year-old.

Later in the conversation, Sir Rod revealed why his voice has always had that hoarseness that makes it so unique in the music world. "Strangely enough, I looked into it and the doctors said it was because I broke my nose playing football and that's how I got this hoarseness... They even said that if you straighten your nose, you can breathe better, but you lose your voice, so I declined... I always wanted to sound like Otis Redding, so I consciously worked on the hoarseness, but I think it's pure coincidence and perhaps a gift from God."
He therefore repeatedly refers to his voice as his ‘crown jewels,’ which must be treated with special care and gently ‘warmed up’ before a performance. "It's a good hour of warm-up before the concert and a good half hour afterwards. And I drink lots of water,‘ reports the singer. ’Lots and lots of water, and if I lose my voice at a concert because I've overused it, I have to wear a sign the next day saying that I'm not allowed to talk to anyone, and I have to rest my voice for eight to ten hours. It works wonders. My voice always comes back. It really is my greatest treasure."
Which songs this treasure will sing at Glastonbury has not yet been decided. ‘We don't finalise the set list for the concert until the evening before,’ explains Rod. But his hits such as Maggie May, Baby Jane and Sailing will certainly not be missing. ‘We might play two or three fast songs, then two or three slow ones. And so on.’
Sir Rod will be on stage for a total of about 75 minutes at the long-sold-out festival. ‘I asked for an hour and a half,’ says Stewart, who also said that lots of people asked him for tickets to the festival. ‘Believe it or not, all three of my children bought their own tickets... Glastonbury doesn't give anything away. People are constantly asking, they just come from all over the place.’