A Christmas Costa
In between dates Rod called in for a coffee in Harlow and had a great photo taken with Gary Marshall and his son.
Rod also texted his mate Piers Morgan on Talk TV to tell him he was watching as Piers talked about Harry and Meghan.
Utilita Arena Newcastle
The tour reached Newcastle on Saturday night for the final English date, Lesley Robinson took these fabulous shots
And Janice Guy was at the show and got some great photos
Judy Mansfield also got some superb shots
And to finish off Catharine Williams took these brilliant shots including our main shot of Ukraine/President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that has become such an important image on this tour.
To read the review from The Northern Echo go to
The SSE Arena, Belfast
The last night of the tour saw Rod in Belfast and even though the security didn’t want to let anyone dance Rod still got the party going even slipping in his version of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Somethin’ Else’ for his mate Big Al who was in the crowd and spotted by Daniel Beirne
Adrian Aicken took some shots to capture the night
Your chance to get your name in new Faces book…
Richard Houghton is giving everyone the chance to get theire name in his new Faces book when pre-ordering his new book A People’s History of The Faces.
Tell Everyone – A People’s History of The Faces is a lavishly illustrated collection of memories of one of the most celebrated bands in British rock history. The Faces formed in 1969 when singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood quit the Jeff Beck Group to team up with the remaining members of 60s chart toppers the Small Faces – Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones – whose own lead singer had left.
Inheriting fans from their previous bands, the Faces went on to play over 500 concerts. At one point they were acclaimed the greatest live rock act in the world, ahead of the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Faces shows could be brilliant or shambolic, depending on just how much alcohol they had imbibed. Legendary BBC DJ John Peel, an early champion of the band, named a 1973 Faces gig at Sunderland Locarno his all time favourite live concert.
The Faces had three Top 10 UK singles and a number one album with Ooh-La-La. In 1971, Rod’s single ‘Maggie May’ and album Every Picture Tells a Story topped the UK and US charts simultaneously, making him the first solo act to achieve this feat. It catapulted his career into an orbit that, along with Ronnie Wood joining the Rolling Stones, ultimately led to the Faces break up in 1975.
Written and compiled by Richard Houghton, this book brings together over 500 previously unpublished accounts of live Faces concerts. Fully illustrated with over 150 fan images, this is a book that tells the Faces story as it’s never been told before.
Tell Everyone – A People’s History is published on 2 June 2023 as a limited edition hardback. The book will retail for £25 but can be pre-ordered now for £20.
Anyone ordering the book by 31 January 2023 will have their name printed in the book as a book sponsor.
To order go to https://spenwoodbooks.com/
Pre-publication orders will ship w/c 22 May 2023.
This weeks Rod Art
This week we feature an amazing pencil drawing of a 90’s Rod by Dave from dst_sketchbook , Dave is based in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States and told SMILER this week ‘I once met Mr. Stewart and then-wife Rachel Hunter in Los Angeles, and both could not have been kinder. I have been a huge fan of Rod Stewart’s music for decades’.
To see more amazing work by dave go to https://www.instagram.com/dst_sketchbook/?hl=en
And as it’s Christmas here is another Rod Art treat ..a Sir Rod Stewart original art work
We still think Ronnie was the artist in the Faces!
Motown Master: Lamont Dozier at the BBC
On New Years Day BBC Two are screening Motown Master: Lamont Dozier at the BBC 9:00pm-10:00pm
Trevor Nelson presents a celebration of the work of the American singer, songwriter and producer, who died last August, featuring a rich selection from the BBC’s archive of performances of his work from over the decades. As one of the legendary trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, Lamont helped create the Motown sound that spread across the globe in the 1960s, setting a new standard in popular songwriting and winning fans like Bob Dylan and the Beatles with songs such as You Keep Me Hanging On, Baby Love, This Old Heart of Mine and Reach Out I’ll Be There. This collection features some Dozier’s best-loved and most recognisable hits, performed by Motown’s Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas, as well as by those who have kept his work alive including Phil Collins, Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart and Rag’n’Bone Man.
And finally ..
Myself and the rest of the team at SMILER would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we will be back next week hangovers permitting
