Glastonbury organisers have announced the first artist on the lineup for its 2025 festival... Rod Stewart.
The veteran rocker shared the news from his social media on Tuesday (26 November), writing: “I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that I’ll be playing 2025!
“After all these years, I’m proud and ready and more than able to take the stage again to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June. I’ll see you there!”
Glastonbury’s own social media confirmed that the “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” singer would take the teatime Legends Slot on Sunday, 29 June.
The announcement comes after Stewart insisted he has no immediate plans to retire but that he would be scaling back his world tours.
“This will be the end of large scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire. I love what I do, and I do what I love,” he said in a statement last week.
‘I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 metres in 18 seconds at the jolly age of 79.”
Stewart added: “I’d like to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next – smaller venues and more intimacy.”
“But then again, I may not…” signing off the statement as “The Ambiguous Sir Rod Stewart”.
Stewart follows in the foosteps of previous Legends including country-pop queen Shania Twain, Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton and Paul Simon.
He has a full back catalogue of hits with which to entertain his audience on the Pyramid Stage, including 11 No 1 albums and hits from “Maggie May” and “Sailing” to “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” and a cover of “The First Cut is the Deepest”.
In February this year, it was reported that Stewart had agreed to sell the rights to his song catalogue to Iconic Artists Group in a deal worth almost $100m (£79m).
In recent years Iconic Artists Group, founded by renowned music industry executive and manager Irving Azoff, has also purchased the back catalogues of artists including the Beach Boys, Cher, David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt and Dean Martin.
“Irving and I are a couple of old-timers and I believe we have a mutual respect and admiration for each other,” Stewart told the Wall Street Journal. “My life’s work is in safe hands with him.”
In August, Stewart hit back at tabloid reports that he was at loggerheads with his wife, model and TV personality Penny Lancaster, over whether they would move back to the UK or remain at their home in LA.
Stewart, 79, had reportedly promised Lancaster, 53, that they would return full-time to their Grade II-listed countryside mansion in Essex, which has 10 bedrooms.
In a post on Instagram on 29 August, the singer set the record straight on the rumours.
“There is absolutely no rift between Penny and I, and no disagreement on where we should reside, in fact it’s the opposite,” he said.
“We moved permanently back to our beloved Britain a year ago but are fortunate to also have homes in different countries, which we love to visit,” he wrote.
“Originally we did think it made sense to sell our house in LA, but having spent a wonderful time there this summer with family and friends during my Vegas residency we realised that it makes sense to keep our house there.”
He emphasised, “Penny and I could not be more in love with each other after 27 glorious years. Please trust me on this... there’s no disharmony in our marriage.”
Among the potential headliners rumoured to be joining Stewart at Glastonbury 2025 are Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sam Fender, The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo.
This year’s festival was headlined by pop-rock band Coldplay, pop star Dua Lipa and US R&B artist SZA, with Twain in the Legends slot.
