SIR Rod Stewart has put his days of heavy boozing behind him and has adopted a healthier lifestyle after knee and ankle surgery.
The legendary rocker, 76, recently had £8,000 ankle fusion surgery, having previously had his knee replaced, following years of playing footy on unforgiving LA pitches.
Wear and tear on the body has inspired him to take up some new hobbies, as well as pass up on the partying.
Speaking to Harry Redknapp and co-host Dodge Woodall on tomorrow’s The Harry Redknapp Show podcast, he said: “I’ve just had a full knee replacement and I’ve also had an ankle fusion – all thanks to football.
“I like to box on the big bag in my gym but after a gig these days, I’ll order four of five bottles of red wine a bottle of Bacardi but these days it’s mostly for the band. They always come back to my dressing room for a celebration after every gig.”
The Maggie May crooner lifted the lid on receiving his knighthood from Prince William – admitting he got “p****d” at Buckingham Palace.
Revealing what Wills said to him, Rod explained: “He said: ‘So, are you still singing’? I said: ‘Yeah mate, I’ve got a big family. I’ve got to.’
“It was a proud moment though. I wish my dad had seen it. I went to the palace, got p***ed at lunchtime. The Queen asked me how Wills had done saying ‘Did he make a good job of it?’ I said ‘Yeah’. I’m definitely a Royalist for sure.”
Father-of-eight Rod has also buried the hatchet with his old friend-turned-rival Elton John after they fell out in 2018.
The former Faces frontman slammed Elton’s 300-date farewell tour as “dishonest”, which promoted a stinging response in the Rocketman’s autobiography Me.
But explaining that the pair have now kissed and made up, Rod said: “So we’re mates again now. I do love him. We rowed because I was a bit spiteful about his tour. I went on a TV Show where they plied me with lots of drink and I said: ‘Well, I just see it as money grabbing. He’s retired three times’. It was spiteful and I regret it. I really do.”
The Harry Redknapp Show podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Global Player and Amazon Prime, with new episodes every Tuesday.
