Rod Stewart turns 80 but remains the rock rebel

Some unkind people have referred to British singer Cliff Richard as a “perpetual teenager” because of his seeming refusal to age.

Yet, it is his countryman, rocker Rod Stewart, who – believe it or not – turns 80 today, who still looks more the young rebel than Sir Cliff, who is just four years his senior.

Sir Rod, who helped British rock conquer the world with a string of megahits, may be well beyond pensionable age… but with his spiky blond hair, his distinctive raspy voice and the energy of a man decades younger, he has no plans to retire.

“I love what I do, and I do what I love. I’m fit, have a full head of hair and can run 100m in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79,” he wrote last year.

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The star, who once scandalised some by the singing question Do ya think I’m sexy?, obviously has the confidence to think he still is.

Not everybody will be charmed by his music – despite its vast range, from driving rock to sentimental ballads – but no-one can deny that he is the embodiment of the expression that “age is just a number”.

You wear it well, Rod.