Rod

The Autobiography

By: Rod Stewart

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The long-awaited autobiography of one of rock's true megastars. Rod Stewart (aka Rod The Mod and to a very select few, Dad) was born the working-class son of a Scottish plumber in North London. He was never, as some stories later had it, a professional footballer or a gravedigger, though he did become a bit of a singer - and a fairly good one at that. Rod started out in the early 1960s, playing alongside acts like The Rolling Stones, before his distinctively raspy voice and natural onstage presence caught the eye of the iconic guitarist, Jeff Beck.

An often-interesting two year stint with Beck’s group paved the way into the angst-inducing (for the world's hoteliers) five years with the Faces, whose offstage antics with alcohol, hotel rooms, and groupies have become the stuff of legend. And during all this, he found a spare moment to write "Maggie May", among a few others, and launch a solo career that has seen him sell in excess of 200 million records, be inducted into the Hall of Fame twice, and play the world’s largest ever concert. Not bad, as he says, for a bloke with a frog in his throat.

And then, there is his not so private life: marriages, divorces and affairs with some of the world’s most beautiful women - Bond girls, movie stars and supermodels - a struggle with steroid dependency, and a brush with cancer which very nearly saw it all slip away. Rod’s is an incredible life, and here, thrillingly and for the first time, he tells the whole thing, leaving no knickers under the bed. Joyously entertaining and at times deeply moving, this is the remarkable story of a guy with one hell of a voice - and one hell of a head of hair.

©2012 Rod Stewart (P)2012 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Gravel in his voice, silk in his soul. The singer’s list of blondes is almost as long as his list of hits but behind the rock'n'roll persona, vividly portrayed in his new memoir, is a self deprecating man of manners...highly entertaining.” (The Sunday Times ‘Profile’)

“…one of the most entertaining, revealing, captivating books of the year...There's enough sex, drugs and rock'n'roll to satisfy even the most jaded of palates, and the tales from the wilder shores of showbusiness, from his three marriages to his passion for model railways, is captured with wit and panache…” (Simon Kelner, Independent)

“What we loved about this book is the feeling that you are having a personal conversation with Rod Stewart…there is a refreshing honesty and humour as he charts his life. Through decades of his music, he describes how his career has developed, his relationships with his children and the women in his life, his passion for football, as well as behind the scenes at his concerts…For the Rod Stewart fans this will be a wonderful Christmas present, but it also is a fascinating read for anyone. Highly Recommended!”(Hot Brands Cool Places)

Totally Entertaining

I knew his life would be full of fascinating, entertaining, funny stories and I fully expected to enjoy it, but I had no idea he's such a fantastically entertaining writer.

If you're interested in him already - definitely get it, you'll love it even more than you expect.
Detail, honesty and humour by the bucketload. Particularly loved hearing about the process of how certain classic songs came to be written, and all the detail about different bands and people he played with over the years - all written in a totally entertaining way. Always fast moving and entertaining. Never angsty or plodding. Of course not, it's Rod.

And even if you're not particularly interested in him - get it anyway. It's a brilliant read, never a dull moment. Everything you'd expect, plus fantastic descriptions of life in London and L.A the 50's, 60's, 70's. Lot's of it is hilarious and he comes across as such a likeable person, with the exception of how he treated some women along the way, but even that's O.K since karma eventually got him for it.

Not only highly recommended - he should write more books!!