Rod Stewart returns to his roots with surprising performance

How often do you walk past a busker and think ‘Hey’ he’s not bad?”

Back in the 1960s you might have wandered past a performer busking in the streets who is now a household name.

A household name like Rod Stewart.

Stewart was busking on Twickenham railway station around 1963 when a man stopped to watch him perform.

“I was sitting on a bench playing harmonica and singing Smokestack Lightning loudly,” said Rod Stewart, reports Busk.
The man who stopped was Long John Baldry.

“Baldry came along the platform and called out: Young man! You have a good voice, why don’t you join my band!” Baldry invited Rod to sit in with his band the All Stars at the Marquee a couple of nights later.

Next thing you know Stewart was hanging with big names, before going on to be a big name himself.

Read more: Charity worker in tears after Rod Stewart’s heart-warming donation.

Janis Joplin, Edith Piaf and B.B. King are other big names who all started out as buskers. 

Stewart has never forgotten his busking days and has joined in some busking fundraising events over the years.

He was spotted again yesterday busking at Piccadilly Circus with another regular busker Henry Facey. The pair sang a version of ‘Handbags and Gladrags’.

Do you ever stop to watch a busker? Do you ever give them money for their performance?