Photo credit:  AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – APRIL 09: Rod Stewart performs at Spark Arena on April 09, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Simpson/WireImage)

 

Rod Stewart says he’ll be once again slipping off his rock n’ roll shoes for something mellower, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. During a recent chat with BBC TV, Rod — who’ll soon be hitting the road in the UK with Boy George & Culture Club — explained,

“I’m not retiring, but I want to move on to. . . I had great success with The Great American Songbook, all-American standards, and I’ve just done a swing album with Jools Holland, which is going to come out next year, so I want to go in that direction. I just want to leave all the rock n’ roll stuff behind — for a while, maybe.”

This isn’t the first time Rod has talked about shifting gears musically. Last year he revealed to Forbes:

“I don’t want to be singing ‘Hot Legs’ when I’m 80. I’m not retiring, but this will be the last time we do these songs in America. I just want to make a clean sweep. I want to go on tour with a big band and just play this stuff that I love. It’s a different entity to rock n’ roll, although that’s where it all came from.”