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Mon 19 October 2026 2:00, UK
It’s fair to say that while there are many upsides to being an internationally celebrated pop star, there are an equal number of negative aspects to having to deal with such an elevated celebrity status.
Rod Stewart, despite not having really witnessed his career take off in the early years of his musical endeavours, certainly went on to experience both ends of the spectrum as his career progressed. The late 1960s and early ‘70s were spent performing as the frontman with the Jeff Beck Group before going on to form Faces with the remnants of the Small Faces, but he was arguably far more celebrated for his efforts as a solo artist, something which began to seriously take off after the decline of Faces.
He’d been a relatively well-admired figure for his infrequent solo releases in the UK, but for someone with as much star power as Stewart, this was surely not going to be his limit, and understandably, he continued to chase overseas success the longer his solo career went on.
The release of the disco-inspired ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ in 1979 proved to the world, and to the musician himself, that he was capable of conquering other parts of the world, with the song propelling him to number one in the US singles chart for the first time in his career.
However, with this increased level of popularity came an increased demand for him to tour in other countries and continents, and while he would have loved the fact that he had become the household name he’d always dreamed of becoming, it took a toll on his personal life, drawing him away from the people he loved the most. With the immeasurable highs of global stardom had come crushing lows that he had to deal with and confront.
With the release of his 1988 single ‘Forever Young’, which arrived at a point where his popularity in the charts was beginning to wane, he chose to address the effect that constant touring and working had on his family life, with the song’s lyrics lamenting the amount of time he’d spent away from home. During a 2022 interview with Smooth Radio, he declared that it was one of his favourite songs that he’d ever written because of its deeply personal themes, and even revealed that its popularity had inexplicably reached unprecedented heights in the US.
“I love ‘Forever Young’, because that was a real heartfelt song about my kids,” the singer divulged. “I suddenly realised I’d missed a good five years of Sean and Kimberly’s life because I was so busy touring all the time.”
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Despite it touching on an incredibly raw subject matter for Stewart, it ended up resonating with the audience he’d established for himself several thousand miles from home, more so than it ever did for his native fanbase. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big hit in England,” he added, “but it’s like a national anthem here”.
‘Forever Young’ is a true example of how popularity and success aren’t everything, and given how it demonstrated to Stewart’s fans that, beneath all of the showmanship, he was a real human being with tangible emotions, it arguably helped a considerable portion of his audience to connect with him in a way they’d never previously done.
