'Buzzing' Rod Stewart duets with Celtic singer after watching Neil Lennon's men beat Rangers

The Hoops-daft rockstar belted out Irish ballad Grace, following a tempestuous match that all-but secured an eighth consecutive title.

Rod Stewart, 74, wraps up in hooded jacket as he supports Celtic team with sons Alastair, 13, and Aiden, seven, during rare outing in Glasgow

Keeping in theme with his beloved team, the musician sported a bright green cardigan, teamed with a matching satin scarf and a crisp white shirt. 

The father-of-eight was every inch the doting fan as he donned striped socks and a pair of loafers emblazoned with the word: 'Celtic'.

The stunning blonde shared the pic getting a 'wee cuddle' from the singer from inside Celtic Park as she prepares to cheer on the Bhoys with Leigh.

Caitlyn said on her Instagram post: "Struggling after a few too many gins at Mrs Browns Boys last night (which was amazing) but a wee cuddle from Rod before today's game has helped."

                             Rod is at the big game today to cheer on his beloved Celts.

SIR Rod Stewart’s favourite boozer has shut down.

The Celtic daft rocker, 77 — who is attending today’s Old Firm clash — won’t be able to celebrate at The Wee Barrel in Paisley if the Hoops win as it went bust.

Rod previously hailed it as a “good Scots pub” and once took his now wife Penny Lancaster there on a date.

One local said: “It’s closed down. It looks a right mess.”

Official documents show Wee Barrel Ltd was dissolved in October.

Celtic v Rangers - Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 31: Celtic Fan and Singer Rod Stewart arrives at the stadium ahead of the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on March 31, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Penny Lancaster, 47, holds hands with husband Rod Stewart, 74, as they enjoy a day of shopping in Paris

She's joined her musician husband in Paris to promote his upcoming world tour.

But Penny Lancaster enjoyed a day off with Rod Stewart on Tuesday, leaving the work behind to hit the designer stores of the French capital.

The besotted couple dressed up for their day, with model Penny, 47, looking chic in a camel coat as she held hands with a dapper Rod, 74.  

Penny showed off her trim figure in ultra skinny trousers, with a silk shirt tucked in, and teamed with her smart coat and matching suede boots.

Rod meanwhile was typically dapper in a red sweater and tie layered under a black coat and paired with jeans and brogues.  

Penny Lancaster and Rod Stewart match in camel coats as they cosy up for Instagram snaps during singer's promo tour in Paris

He's about to embark on a mammoth world tour.

But before Rod Stewart, 74, heads out on the road in May, his wife Penny Lancaster, 48, is making sure she gets in some quality time, joining the musician for a promo event in Paris on Monday.

The devoted couple matched their outfits for their busy day in the French capital, cosying up for an Instagram snap in coordinating camel coats.

Penny looked as chic as ever in her smart coat, layered over a tan suit and accessorised with comfy sneakers and dark shades.

Rod meanwhile added a flash of his signature tartan with his jazzy trousers, looking smart as he finished off his look with a yellow sweater and brogues.

The legendary singer looked besotted with his gorgeous wife, holding her hand and snuggling into her shoulder for the photo.

'Accompanying hubby on his European promo trip, for his up coming tour,' Penny captioned the snap.

She also showed off the pair's shared taste for bright footwear in another Insta, laughing: 'Rod and I both went for it with our sock and shoe arrangements today.'  

And relax: Penny also uploaded a snap of Rod taking a break from work basking in the Parisian sunshine as he relaxed in theirplush hotel room in between interviews

'It was a-shaggin' and a-drinkin'' - Rod Stewart on women, regrets, happiness, and his wife Penny

The Scottish king of blue-eyed soul, Rod Stewart talks to Barry Egan about not being tight with money, family, women, sex, regrets, happiness, his wife Penny, football, and ageing

"But I realised when I left school and I became a beatnik and I started playing guitar on Brighton Beach - I wrote a song about it," he says, meaning the first love tale Brighton Beach on the 2013 album Time:

'I sang to you the songs of Lamb and Jack/You were Greta Garbo and I was Cadillac'.

"People would stand," adds Rod, "and listen and gather around and say: 'Play that, play this one.' So I thought I must be doing something right. I didn't give it that much attention though. I never dreamt I'd make it as a singer."

What did Rod think he'd end up doing?

"I don't know," says Rod, who grew up at 507 Archway Road, in Highgate, north London, the youngest of five children.

Did his dad say, 'Get a trade?'

"My dad actually got me into a trade. He got me a job as a silk screen printer at a place called Shand Kid, an Irish family who are wallpaper makers in Kentish Town."

Could Rod do plumbing like his dad, Bob (born in Edinburgh and a Hibernian supporter), a plumber who plied his trade in North London?

"Nah. I never took to the plumbing." Nor grave-measuring, another job he tried his hand at.

What Rod did take to, and with no small aplomb, was being a rock star...

"I tried to be a footballer, first," Rod laughs. "I wasn't good enough. Not by a long chalk. And along came music, which saved me. I was never worried, like 'I want to get married, I've got no money'. I was so set on singing."

Did Rod know he could always literally sing for his supper?

"I didn't realise it at the time. I had no idea it would be what it is now," he says, of his global super-stardom, "but I deeply felt that I could make a living. How big a living, I don't know. But when you feel that commitment and that burning in your chest, that helps."

The difference between you, and kids who go into music now, is that you wanted to sing great songs but kids now just want to be famous, I say.

"That's true. I've always said that all of us that came through the 1960s, whether it's Elton or Bowie, God bless him, or The Stones, the last thing on our mind - and I think I speak for everybody - was becoming wealthy or becoming famous. I just wanted to get up and sing."

Who did Rod want to be?

"I wanted to sound like Sam Cooke. I kept trying and I think that's how I ended up with such an individual voice," he says, adding that "to be still doing what I'm doing, still thoroughly enjoying it, is great. I'm fit and the voice is good. The new show that we are bringing over, we will be doing a lot of songs that we haven't done before, like Losing You, Angel, Every Picture Tells A Story; all from that album which everybody loves to hear," he says, meaning his third solo, 1971's Every Picture Tells A Story.

"I am hugely looking forward to doing the big show in Cork on May 25 in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, it's going to be a great night," says Rod who has been playing here since the 1970s: wowing audiences everywhere from Nowlan Park in Kilkenny in 2005 and 2016 to Limerick's Thomond Park in 2009 to the RDS in Dublin (over 10 times, both indoors and out) and the Point Theatre and then 3 Arena (on nine occasions between them) and Odyssey Arena Belfast 14 times.

For someone so famous, the one-time grave measurer has a healthy sense of humour, often at his own expense, as I found out when I run a few funny tales by him...

Is it true that when he and his old mucker from the Faces, Ronnie Wood and a gang of friends walked into a bar once upon a time, that Rod bent down to tie his shoe laces so as the rest of them would reach the bar before him, thus meaning that Rod would not have to buy a round of drinks?

"That is always exaggerated. I make a joke of it. I am not a tight guy. Or I would go to the front and say: 'Anyone want a drink?' And then step back!" he laughs.

What about Rod allegedly saying once: "I don't mind buying a round, but I don't like buying two?"

He laughs again. "That's a wind-up! I'm a very generous person! That used to be my wind-up because I had a Scottish father! People automatically think Scots are tight, so I took on that image of tightness." I ask Rod is it true he wrote a letter to one of his famous girlfriends (Britt Ekland) in the 1970s who had walked out on him which read, simply, and to the point: "Please come home. Tired w**king."

Is that true?

"It might have been! It was funny at the time. But when you are 74 - cringing! I suppose it's better than Prince Charles saying: 'I want to be your tampon.' That is the worst!"

I throw another quote at him from his past: "You can be with the most beautiful woman in the world and still be unhappy?"

"That's true," Rod says now. "That's absolutely true." What informed that statement? "There was a point before I met Rachel [Hunter], my second wife, where I was down in Cannes. I had a wonderful hotel suite. I had one of my best mates, who had come from Aberdeen, Ricky. We were down there to cut a TV commercial with Tina Turner. I had the whole of the top floor of the hotel. I was flying women in. My assistant at the time would go out and pick 'em up and another one would be dropped off.

"I thought: 'This is really shallow. Are you really happy?' Nine times out of 10, guys would go: 'This is f**king great!'"

I say to Rod that it has echoes of George Best in 1974: having won a fortune in a casino, and with a former Miss World beside him in bed in a hotel suite with a bottle of Champagne in a bucket and a heap of cash on the drawer, he orders some room service. The waiter, upon arrival, in a suite with the naked ex-Miss World, the pile of dosh and the bubbly upside down in the bucket turns to the Manchester United legend and says...

"Tell me, George, where did it all go wrong?" says a roaring-with-laughter Rod, taking up the tale of Georgie's debauchery in London.

"But it was shallow," Rod says, meaning his debauched time in the penthouse suite in the South of France. "It was a-shaggin' and a-drinkin' and a-shaggin'... "

Rod lived what many young men considered the dream life in the 1970s. He was, to use his own phrase, a-shaggin' his way around the world, and many young men of that era would have happily dealt with the shallowness of it all and done ditto had they had the same opportunities.

"That's what I always said," says Rod now. "Most blokes would have done it. But I was creeping up in age, and I really wanted to settle down. Then I met Rachel and we were married for eight years. Then I was married to Penny.

"I couldn't be more deeply happy than I am now. If I wasn't, I would tell you!" he says. "I really would.

"Penny is a great woman. She was supposed to come to Ireland with me. But we've had a bit of a family incident, so she couldn't come," Rod says of the English model, photographer and TV star who he met in 1999 and married in the summer of 2007 in La Cervara, a cloistered medieval monastery in Portofino. They have two kids, Aiden and Alastair.

Before that, Rod was married to Alana Hamilton from 1979 to 1984; they have a son Sean and a daughter Kimberly. He was with supermodel Kelly Emberg until 1990 (they have a daughter Ruby).

He married another model Rachel Hunter, with whom he has two children, Renee and Liam. Rachel unceremoniously left him in 1999. (Rod also has a daughter, born 1963, Sarah from a relationship Rod had in the early 1960s with Susannah Boffey.)

What has Rod learned about life in his 74 years?

"Ah! What an almighty question!" he laughs. "That happiness is the be-all-and-end-all. The second to that is good health. I know they are cliches but they are really important, good health and happiness. And money can go a little way to giving you both, but it can't buy you either," says Stewart.

Does Rod regret how he ended relationships? He seemed to run from confrontation with women. Where did that come from?

"It was the way it was done then. It was, 'Ah, f**k 'em, it's finished, move on to the next one'. And that is one thing I do regret in my life. I have said it over and over again, and hopefully, youngsters will pick it up now and not be as brutal as I was," he says with self-lacerating honesty.

Are there maybe things that people think about him that are untrue? "That I'm tight! Which I'm not! What would you say?" he asks me directly.

Maybe some people don't realise what a great singer you are, which has been perhaps obscured by - "some of the razzmatazz?" Rod interrupts.

It would be worse if there was razzmatazz and no songs, Rod.

"No substance. Yeah, I do think the song writing gets overlooked. I am very proud of the songs I have written."

It says something about Rod Stewart, that when asked what songs of his he is most proud of, he says without hesitation, The Killing Of Georgie from 1976. The remarkable song tells the story of a gay man who was knifed to death in New York City. Rod told Mojo magazine in 1995 that The Killing Of Georgie was "a true story about a gay friend of the Faces. He was especially close to me and Mac [Ian McLagan, keyboards].

"That song still resonates today," Rod says now, "and I still get the wonderful pleasure of people coming up to me and saying: 'That song saved my life, because I was closeted. I didn't know what to do. I felt this way. That song opened a door.'"

In 2013, Rod said in an interview about being "trapped down all sorts of unhelpful mental alleys." What were the alleys?

"I think I got really lazy. I took a bit of a bashing from a well-known producer, who said 'Your song-writing is not very good any more', or something along those lines, when I presented Young Turks to him, which went on to become a top-10 single in America." Did Rod send him the gold record? "F**k off!" he laughs (presumably the sentiment he expressed to the cloth-eared record exec.) "But I think I became a little lazy. I didn't have any faith in my song-writing. I couldn't be bothered."

In terms of defiant f**k-offs, did Rod have that attitude to the media in the late 1970s when he was getting a lot of criticism? In 1979, after the Blondes Have More Fun album - which included such feminist anthems as Ain't Love a Bitch, Dirty Weekend, Attractive Female Wanted, and Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? - The New York Times noted a tad hysterically, albeit more about his taste in clobber: 'Mr Stewart comes close to defining the word vulgarity. He dresses in a manner that can only be called silly, tarting himself up in androgynous glitter. He remains a lesser artist than the real greats of rock.'

Rod is gracious enough to say: "You know, the criticism, you've got to accept it. You can't... I watched the Freddie Mercury movie the other night with my kids for the second time. There was one point I didn't actually think was in it. When the song Bohemian Rhapsody came out in 1975, it was terribly criticised by all the music papers. And yet, what a masterpiece. I thought it was a masterpiece when it came out."

How does Rod keep his voice muscles healthy?

"It's okay when I'm not on tour. I can do what I want. I can drink. I don't smoke. I don't drink that much, but I can enjoy a brandy now and then. When I'm on tour, it's silence. I warm up for about an hour before a show. Then I warm down for about half an hour and then it is more or less, silence."

How does that compare to Rod touring at the zenith of his 1970s and 1980s excess where he stayed out all night a-shaggin and a-drinkin'? (The latter activity was immortalised in Tora, Tora, Tora (Out with the Boys) from 1982.) "That was a whole different issue. It's like a young athlete. You can go out to do it and play! But as you get older, you've got to protect it more.

"My voice used to be really high. I was really out there. I can't sing that high any more. There's about seven songs where we have to change the key a little lower. It's like everything else, the vocal chords are not as flexible. There is still great passion in them. It's an age thing."

Does he ever get tired of playing, say, The First Cut Is The Deepest?

"Nah. Nah. I never do. Some times I get a little tired of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - that's the only one. But the audience don't get tired of it, and that's the most important thing. The audience. It always has been the most important and always will be."

I say that I couldn't imagine him ever giving this up."I will one day. Nothing goes on forever."

But you will never stop singing, I say.

"No, no, no. But there will come a time when I am not going to do the shows I do now. Not that they take up a lot of energy - I am really fit - and I enjoy the shows. The minute I stop enjoying them, or people don't buy tickets to come and see them, or I feel that's coming, I won't wait until that moment. Then, I'll change. I'd like to go out and do The American Song Book, in smaller theatres, and just enjoy it."

What would Rod's life be like without football?

"It's a scary thought! I often pose this question to the audiences: 'What would we have done without football?' Especially me! I've played it. I've watched it. I've read about it. I've even written about it. And I still love it as much as I did when I was younger."

Did Penny wash your dirty gear?

"Er, no! She would never do that. That was left to somebody else. But she used to come and watch us play. She'd say, 'God, some of those blokes don't half smell after a Saturday night and then they sweat on a Sunday so she decided not to watch any more."

Rod Stewart believes he has 'lost his teen son to girls and Fortnite'

Rod Stewart has lamented losing his 13-year-old son to computer games – and girls.

The dad-of-eight told how he misses “the boy” in Alastair, his eldest son with model Penny Lancaster, now that he is a teenager.

He said: “First it was Fortnite, now he has got his phone, so it is all girls. There is a side I feel I have lost in him in the past two or three years.

“I suppose it’s growth, he is becoming a teen, and it is an awkward time for him. I miss him so much. I miss the boy in him.”

Celtic fan Rod Stewart leaves MASSIVE wreath at Rangers legend Eric Caldow's funeral

ROD Stewart has left a MASSIVE wreath at Rangers legend Eric Caldow's funeral.

The major hoops fan paid tribute to the 85-year-old Gers icon who recently passed away.

He left the huge flower display fileld with Rangers colours along with a note that said 'Mr Caldow your one of the greatest'.

The deathof Eric Caldow saw the passing of arguably the finest footballer Cumnock and its surrounding area has produced.

Eric’s final years were blighted, first by the early loss of his beloved wife Laura, then by the onset of Alzheimer’s, but, nothing can dim the lustre of his football legacy.

Rod Stewart, 74, looks suave in cream waistcoat and tweed flat cap as he packs on the PDA with wife Penny Lancaster, 47, at Cheltenham Festival

He's set to celebrate his 12-year wedding anniversary with his third wife later this year.

And Rod Stewart, 74, and Penny Lancaster, 47, put on a loved-up display as they were arm-in-arm for day three of the Cheltenham Festival at Prestbury Park on St. Patrick's Thursday. 

The rock legend cut a typically dapper figure as he teamed a checked cream waistcoat with a crisp white shirt, a shiny gold tie and his signature Celtic pin.

Maintaining his style savvy ways, the award-winning musician complemented his ensemble with corduroy khaki trousers and a longline coat.

Tweed served as Rod's statement theme as he rocked a slick flat cap and smart footwear of the same pattern.

Meanwhile, former model Penny wrapped up against the chilly climes in a black fluffy coat, tied in with indigo jeans and thigh-high boots.

Feeling sleepy? Rod appeared tired as he rested his head on his wife's shoulder

Wacky: The Sailing singer put on a kooky display as he pulled a hilarious face while Penny looked into the distance

Suave: Maintaining his style savvy ways, the award-winning musician complemented his ensemble with corduroy khaki trousers and a longline coat

Looking good: Tweed served as Rod's statement theme as he rocked a slick flat cap and smart footwear of the same pattern

Ryan Tubridy opens up on special Late Late Show interview with 'new best friend' Rod Stewart

'He was really honest, really warm, he loved the fans'

Ryan Tubridy opened up on his special interview with his "new best friend" rock legend Rod Stewart.

The British singer was in Ireland earlier this week to chat with the Late Late Show host, and Tubs revealed it was the first time he had met the legendary rock star.

He said on RTE Radio: "It's always very peculiar meeting these guys wondering what he's going to be like in real life, are they going to be a little bit under-whelming, a little bit ordinary and not interesting or whatever.

"Here's the beauty of it, if I wasn't crazy about the experience I would just  be quiet and say 'Yeah Rod's on, good luck enjoy it'.

"But when someone really exceeds your expectations I love to share that.

"He came in with an entourage of his tour manager, that's it.

"I've seen, dare I say lesser well-known people, with an entourage the size of a small village in Ireland, and all the associated nonsense that comes with that."

The long-time Late Late Show host went on to rave about his chat with the beloved singer-songwriter, and claimed it was one of his favourite ever interviews.

He added: "There were some lovely moments in the interview.

"He was really honest, really warm, he loved the fans, he did stuff that was really kind to the fans off air, so he's one of those people who doesn't just turn it on.

"It was a lovely experience.

"Probably one of my favourite singer interviews I've done in 15 years of chat shows, and you'll see that on Friday night and I hope it doesn't disappoint, because he didn't disappoint. It was a pleasure."

Rod Stewart pictured at grave of wife of 1916 leader Joseph Plunkett during Glasnevin Cemetery visit

The British singer was in Dublin to pre-record a special interview with the Late Late Show

Rod Stewart at the grave of Grace Gifford-Plunket, the wife of 1916 leader Joseph Plunkett

Rod Stewart has been pictured at the grave of Grace Gifford-Plunket, the wife of 1916 leader Joseph Plunkett.

The British singer was in Dublin this week to record a special interview with RTE's Late Late Show.

Fans who were in attendance at the pre-recording said he spoke passionately about his visit to the grave site, and of the people involved in the 1916 Easter Rising.

He's famously recorded a version of the love song 'Grace', which tells the story of Grace Gifford-Plunket marrying Joseph Plunkett the night before his execution.

The image was shared by the Dublin South 1916 Centenary Committee.

They said: "Rod Stewart standing at the grave of Grace Gifford-Plunkett today in Glasnevin Cemetery. He has recorded a version of the Irish love song 'Grace' which tells the story of Grace marrying 1916 leader Joseph Plunkett the night before his execution."

Rod Stewart, 74, cuts a dapper figure in suit and Celtic tie pin as he cheers on his beloved team in Glasgow

He's been a loyal Celtic super fan through thick and thin.

And Rod Stewart was wearing his fandom on his chest as he sported a bedazzling tie pin at the team's match against Aberdeen on Glasgow on Saturday.

The Handbags and Gladrags hitmaker, 74, cut a dapper figure as he cheered on his favourite team with son Aiden, seven by his side.

He donned a black military-style blazer adorned with silver buttons and featuring silk panels. 

Showing off his love for the team, the Do Ya Think I'm Sexy singer sported a black silk tie with a silver Celtic tie pin on it.

His blonde locks were styled in a spiky quiff while dark shades covered his eyes.

His adorable son was clad in a the Celtic kit as they enjoyed a family day out.

Rock on: The Handbags and Gladrags hitmaker, 74, cut a dapper figure as he cheered on his favourite team with son Aiden, seven by his side

We are selling (at last)! Sir Rod Stewart sells Essex mansion for knock-down £4.5m three years after putting it on market with £7.5million asking price Here's where you can enter in text. Feel free to edit, move, delete or add a different page element.

• Sir Rod Stewart first put Wood House in Essex on the market for £7.5 million in 2016 but has struggled to sell it
• His wife Penny Lancaster blamed Brexit for the lack of interest in property Winston Churchill once stayed at 
• Estate agents Savills have announced on their website that the sprawling house was sold earlier this month
• The property was sold for £4.5 million - though Sir Rod still made a profit after paying £1.2 million for it in 1986

Three years after putting his mansion up for sale, Sir Rod Stewart has finally managed to find a buyer - though he has dropped £3 million from the original asking price. 

Sir Rod put Wood House in Essex on the market for £7.5 million in 2016, but struggled to sell the sprawling estate, with his wife Penny Lancaster blaming Brexit for the lack of interest.

The six-bedroom manor home has seen Sir Rod, 74, through two wives and several girlfriends and includes a boating lake, tennis courts, a swimming pool and huge gardens.

By November 2016, he had cut the price by £550,000 and he further reduced it to £5.95 million in early 2018.

He slashed the price by another £1.225 million last July after the property was advertised by estate agents Savills for £4,725,000.

Savills finally announced on their website that the house was sold earlier this month, though the identity of the buyer has not been disclosed.

A sale for the asking price will still come as a tidy profit for the singer, who is said to have paid £1.2million for the 28 acre property in Epping in 1986.

A sales brochure for the property read: 'The approach to The Wood House is quite exceptional; electric gates open to a driveway which cuts through the stunning grounds.

'This is a splendid and imposing historical period residence with conspicuous appeal - the interesting mix of Jacobean style with detailed pargetting to the exterior walls and full height leaded light bay windows with heavy oak mullions is at once impressive.

'The Wood House is set within truly stunning grounds which have been beautifully landscaped to ensure resplendent colour and year-round interest.'

The grade-II listed property also has a full-sized football pitch which Sir Rod has allowed players from Newcastle United, Liverpool, and his favourite team Celtic to train on.