Sir Rod Stewart, 80, has lauded “generous” pal Sir Elton John, 78, as he delved into their respective careers in the spotlight.
Both men are two of Britain’s best-known and best-loved musicians, racking up countless number one hits, headline gigs and platinum albums between them.
And their respective careers gained traction at similar times in their lives, with Sir Rod bagging his first number one for Maggie May in 1971 before Sir Elton followed suit in 1976 with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.
Speaking in a new podcast, Sir Rod revealed it wasn’t just in the charts where the two musicians regularly occupied the same space, but they even lived a stone’s throw away from one another in the 1970s.
Sir Rod was grilled about his friendly yet competitive nature during an appearance on The Peter Crouch Podcast, with Sir Elton being used as an example.
“Yeah, it is (competitive). It’s been that way since – we both used to live real close to each other in the early 70s in Ascot,” Sir Rod explained.
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“So we’d spend Christmases together and, you know, the Christmas presents he bought me… You see, I thought I was buying him a big Christmas present.
“It was like a fridge and you press a button and steam comes up, champagne and everything like that, and then it goes down, and it was 600 quid. He gave me a f***ing Rembrandt.”
“Unbelievable,” Sir Rod added while hosts Peter Crouch, Steve Sidwell, and Chris Stark shared a laugh.
Sir Rod then heaped praise on his musical pal with a short but sweet tribute. “He is one of the most generous guys I’ve ever met,” he continued.
Sadly, however, despite admitting he looks back on his friendship with Sir Elton and other showbiz pals fondly, Sir Rod claimed he doesn’t see the Rocket Man hitmaker that often nowadays.
“Woody [Ronnie Wood], I (see) a lot. Just recently, because we’re going to do Glastonbury together,” Sir Rod told the trio.
He went on: “Elton, sometimes, you know, birthdays, but nowhere near how we used to.
“I think probably because he doesn’t drink anymore and Woody doesn’t drink, and I still do, they stay away from me.”
Naturally, conversation turned towards football. Sir Rod is one of Celtic’s most famous fans, while Sir Elton even had a stand named after him at Watford FC’s stadium, Vicarage Road.
When asked if Sir Elton used to take him along to his beloved Watford, Sir Rod replied: “Oh, my God, yeah. We used to go.
“We’d be up all night doing drugs and things, and then a knock on the door at 10 o’clock in the morning. ‘Come on, Stewart!’
“And he’d come in, he’s had this top hat on. ‘We’re going to see Watford!’ He’s all smartly dressed. It was lovely.”
But was Sir Elton any good at the game? “Two-bob. He loved the game he could never play it. He weren’t bad at throw-ins,” Sir Rod said with a laugh.
Sir Rod’s podcast appearance comes just days after he hit headlines for his appearance at this year’s American Music Awards.
The legendary rocker was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by five of his children at the ceremony, admitting: “I am absolutely flabbergasted. I didn’t know they were here – my children.”
The veteran rocker was so overwhelmed by the surprise that he dropped an expletive during his acceptance speech, which was edited out of the CBS broadcast.
“I’m so f***ing overwhelmed that you’re here,” Stewart said to his children, according to MailOnline.
