Rod Stewart Clarifies Rumors of His Retirement: ‘I Shall Never Retire!’

Rest assured, Rod Stewart does not have any plans to give up rock n’ roll for good. On Wednesday (June 21), the icon cleared up rumors regarding his retirement from the genre, in light of his recent statements that he wanted “to leave the rock ‘n’ roll stuff behind, for a while” in an interview with BBC Breakfast.

“I’d like to clear up any confusion that I may have caused with my dear fans and the media. I shall never retire! I was put on this Earth to be a singer and will keep doing so for as long as the good Lord lets me,” Stewart explained in an Instagram post. “I’ll be playing the hits as advertised for the U.K., U.S., South America and Vegas and into 2024 but no retirement as such.”

He continued, “During recent interviews, I’ve mentioned my newest passion is big band/swing music and when we wrap this greatest hits tour, its something I’m very eager to share with you. I could never turn my back on the songs that I’ve written and sung over the last six decades. They are like my children. I created them and I love them. I’ll always come back to them, just like I did after The Great American Songbook series, which I shall boastfully add, sold 26 million albums!”

In the BBC interview, Stewart stated that he is working on a “swing album with Jools Holland” that will arrive sometime in 2024. “Everything has to come to an end sooner or later,” the “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” singer told the outlet, likely prompting the retirement rumors.

Stewart concluded the optimistic message with a promise for what lies ahead: “I look forward to seeing you on the road with all the hits and I can’t wait to introduce you to my swing album next year.”

Read Stewart’s message below.