Rod Stewart Discusses Taking a Break from Rock ‘N’ Roll — and Clears Up Those ‘Toxic’ L.A. Comments

Rod Stewart wants to make one thing known: he’s not going anywhere.

While the legendary singer, 78, is planning to pivot away from the rock ‘n’ roll genre for swing, he tells PEOPLE over a phone call from his home in England that he’s absolutely “not retiring.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” he reiterates. “I love what I do.”

In a lot of ways though, this is the end of an era for Stewart, who doesn’t see himself doing a big rock ‘n’ roll tour again.

“This will be the last time ’round, I think, to do the rock ‘n’ roll stuff because I want to move on to swing music and the Great American Song Book,” he says. “But I’m 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. No more big tours. I’ve said farewell to Australia and New Zealand and Mexico, so it’s time to say farewell to the U.S. now.”

Before kicking off the North American leg of his tour on July 29, Stewart will perform seven dates across the U.K. from June 24 to July 7. “It’s always a thrill to play Great Britain,” he says.

After six decades of performing rock music, Stewart has found a new challenge in swing. He says his new album with pianist Jools Holland is done, and he plans to have it released on 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.”

At 78, Stewart does everything he can to keep his voice in tip-top shape. “That means a couple of hours singing a few days before these shows start,” he says.

He keeps the same mindset with his body. When he’s not performing, Stewart can often be found at home in his swimming pool, doing underwater SAS training, the program designed to prepare athletes for the British Special Air Service.

“You have a big rubber brick, and you’ve got to swim the length of the pool and push it the length of the pool, on the bottom of the pool,” he says. “It’s really wonderful. Well, sometimes it’s not wonderful because I don’t want to do it, but I’d say it’s fun.”

In between his shows, Stewart makes sure to do some kind of training or workout four days a week, whether it’s running on his track or playing soccer. On the day of his PEOPLE chat, he has already done 45 minutes of cardio at the “highest maximum heart rate I possibly could given my age,” he says.

“I work out extensively,” he says. “But I’m generally very fit. I’ve played soccer all my life, and I don’t smoke. It’s funny, critics keep saying on this tour, ‘Oh, he’s gone off the stage to have a rest.’ No I haven’t! I’ve gone off the stage because I’m wringing wet. I’m so bloody fit, you won’t believe it.”

What helps him sustain life on tour now is the fact that it looks a lot different from his early hard-rocking days with his former Faces bandmates Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Ronnie Wood.

“In the old days we all traveled up the length and breadth of Britain in the back of an old van,” he says. “Not now. I travel on a private jet and stay in the best hotels, so it’s a lot easier than it used to be. I think I deserve it. I don’t party like I used to, but I’m still a bit of a lad on a Friday and Saturday night. Sunday, I have to rest. I do enjoy a glass of wine every night, and I’ve just had me liver checked, and that’s all OK.”

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For moments of celebration, Stewart has a new drink to toast with: his very own Scotch whisky, Wolfie’s. He unveiled the brand last month.

“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” he says. “I have a lot of Scottish blood in me having a Scottish father, and I’m proud of my Scottish heritage. Whisky is the number one drink from Scotland. I wouldn’t say it was a natural move — I didn’t use to drink it, but I do now. I’ve actually fallen in love with whisky, and I like it in cocktails. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a big success.”

In July, Stewart will bring his eight kids and three grandkids (on May 9, his daughter Ruby welcomed her son Otis, whom she shares with partner Jake Kalick, and then on May 12, his son Liam welcomed son Louie with his girlfriend, Nicole) together for his tour dates in Spain.

“I’ve rented a huge house there, so the whole family is coming,” he says. “So it’s going to be wonderful. Dad has to work, of course. I have to go off and work every other night, but we’ll all be together, which is difficult because they’ve all got their own lives now. But it may be the last time we do it.”
After his tour is completed, Stewart plans to reside in England as his more-permanent home base. Earlier this month, he listed his sprawling Los Angeles chateau for $70 million — but he wants to clear up the reports of him calling the city “toxic.”

“Let me get one thing straight here: [the press] quoted me saying Los Angeles was toxic. It’s not toxic,” he says. “It might be to other people, but I’ve had some of my best fun and years in Los Angeles. I’ve lived there since 1975, and I adore the place. I won’t take a penny under what I’ve asked for the house because basically, I don’t want to sell it, and the kids don’t want me to sell it either. There’s too many fond memories. But L.A. is not toxic. Sometimes the air’s a bit dirty, but I love L.A.”

One thing he’s also put a lot of consideration into selling is his music catalog. After two years of negotiations with Hipgnosis Songs Capital, Stewart announced his decision not to sell his life’s work to the U.K. investment company earlier this month, choosing instead to retain ownership himself.

“I’m waiting for someone I think will look after my life’s work and who that will be, I don’t know at this moment in time,” he says. “It’s very important. It’s the family jewel.”

Though there are a lot of exciting changes for Stewart on the horizon, he says nothing comes close to time at home with his wife, model Penny Lancaster, 52, and his children.

“[I love] seeing my children grow up, and I have to be a different father to each of them because they’re all such radically different ages,” he says. “I love what I do for a living, and I love my wife. I am truly blessed. That’s all I can say.”