As a Brit, Rod Stewart can’t vote in U.S. elections, but that doesn’t stop him from having an opinion about his former friend, President Donald Trump.
Speaking to the U.K. publication Radio Times, Rod says, “I’m not a great fan of Trump. I knew him very, very well. I used to go to his house. I live literally half a mile away. … We’re both on the beach. I used to go to his Christmas parties.”
“He’s always been a bit of a man’s man. I liked him for that,” Rod continues. “But he didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well. But since he became president, he became another guy. Somebody I didn’t know.” Rod also shares that when he joked about Trump onstage in Las Vegas, he got booed.
The interview came in advance of Rod performing at the U.K.’s iconic Glastonbury Festival. He’ll play what’s called the “Legends slot,” on the afternoon of June 29. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says, “I’ve got to bring [my band, crew and equipment] back from America. It’s going to cost me [over $400,000] to do it and they only pay you about [$162,000]. So, it’s going to cost me.”
But, Rod says, doing the show is such an honor that “it doesn’t matter.”
Rod also promises three special guests, all singers, plus his former Faces bandmate and current Rolling Stones guitarist Rod Wood. He’s concerned that he won’t be able to fit all his hits in the 75-minute slot he’s allotted, but says, “I’m really looking forward to it. And it is a different gig. It’s like when you’re playing a cup final: you’re trying to treat it like another game. But, of course, it’s not. It’s special.”
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