Christmas Special: And the winner is... Ian Hafford

In December, we invited people to take part in our Christmas competition to win a package of Storyteller Tribute Songs, which now consists of 78 songs.
Since then, we have received numerous emails by the deadline on 22 December, all of which contained the correct answers to the two competition questions.
Question 1: In which city did Rod Stewart play his last concert in 2025? The correct answer was, of course: Abu Dhabi, where the performance on 17 December at the Etihad Arena marked the end of the concert year.
Question 2: What is the title of the official Storyteller Christmas song for 2025? The correct answer was: Rockin' With Santa Rod Tonight.

The lucky winner has now been drawn from all the entries. And the winner is... Ian Hafford from Leicester in the United Kingdom. Congratulations, Ian. The audio files were sent to him a few days ago. Enjoy the songs and a happy new year from the entire Storyteller team.
Ian spoke to Storyteller about his love for Rod Stewart.

Storyteller: Congratulations Ian, and enjoy the song package. You told us that you've been a Rod fan for ages, how did that come about?

Ian Hafford: My parents had a huge record collection at home and we listened to different records every evening. But they particularly liked Rod Stewart's LPs, so I got to enjoy his music from a very early age. I only became a fan when I went to my first concert in the late 1970s, and I still remember that evening to this day.

ST: Do you have a favourite album?

IH: Yes, I love ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’; I associate a lot of personal memories with these songs. I can basically listen to it every day, but of course Rod has made many great albums over the decades. But ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’ is my big favourite.

ST: How many concerts have you been to and which one do you remember most?

IH: I've seen him in concert quite a few times, but I can't say exactly how many. The best one of all was a performance in November 1980 at the Granby Halls in my hometown, because that's where I met my wife Maureen. She's just as crazy about Rod as I am.

ST: How do you like our tribute songs?

IH: Very much, on the whole. With so many songs, there's always one that doesn't go down so well, but that's okay. I like the fact that someone has put something together in honour of Rod Stewart. The man is a legend and you can't pay tribute to his life's work often enough.

ST: Rod recently announced that he wants to tour the UK again in 2027. You'll be there with your wife, won't you?

IH: Definitely, we in England have had to wait far too long for a tour. Apart from Glastonbury, there's been nothing in recent years. It's about time he performed at home again.