During the final date of his UK tour, Rod Stewart had a surprise for fans — a duet with his 94-year-old sister.
On Monday night, the “Maggie May” singer’s sister, Mary, walked out onto the stage at his Edinburgh Castle show to perform his 1975 track “Sailing” with him.
“This is my sister! 94!” he said, introducing her to the crowd.
Together, they sang the song with their arms wrapped around each other.
Stewart, 78, reflected on the experience in a subsequent interview with The Mirror, where he revealed how thrilled he was to be on stage with Mary as he completed this leg of his tour.
“At 94, she’s on a rock ’n’ roll stage and loving it. She has and continues to teach me about life,” he told the publication.
The British singer — who, per the L.A. Times is the youngest of five siblings — has two living sisters, Mary and Peggy.
Last year, Stewart’s two brothers, Bob and Don, died just two months apart.
“It’s with great sadness that I announce the loss of my brother Bob last night, who joins my brother Don on the great football pitch in the sky,” he wrote in an Instagram tribute.
He continued, “I’ve lost two of my best mates in the space of two months. RIP Don and Bob ‘irreplaceable buddies.'”
Back in June, Stewart told BBC Breakfast that he was planning to move away from making rock music. While he told host Charlie Stayt that “rockstars are performing into incredible ages now,” he declared: “I am actually stopping.”
But the Grammy winner clarified in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that he wasn’t retiring. “No, no, no, no, no, no,” he explained. “I love what I do.”
Instead, he revealed plans to pivot into the swing genre for his next album, which will feature pianist Jools Holland and will hopefully be released Valentine’s Day 2024.
“There’s only so many years I want to keep singing ‘Hot Legs’ and ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?'” he says. “This really is fine music, and I’ve got the voice and the talent to pull it off, as you will hear when you hear the album. I can’t imagine doing great big venues with it — we’ll have to do smaller venues, which will be fun with a 19-piece orchestra. Rod is now your jazz singer.”
But Stewart’s rock songs aren’t entirely off the table, he said, adding that he’s “not taking my songs to the cemetery and burying them.”
“I might bring them out on the odd occasion, but I basically would like to put them to rest for a little while,” he continued.
Stewart will wrap his European tour July 22 before heading to North America the following week for a string of shows through September. In November, the legendary musician is set to resume his Las Vegas residency.
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