Rod Stewart live in Athens December 2025

As I have already said, before Bruce there was Rod. He helped me go through early adolescence before Bruce took over the job in its later stages. Therefore it was fitting that I should see him live given the fact that I became a fan by means of a live album, namely “Absolutely Live” from 1982. And I did see him live, six years ago in Brighton. For years I was under the impression that he had given up on the hits and dedicated himself to the so-called “Great American Songbook” focusing on songs from the 30's 40's etc like other artists had done in their later years (Bryan Ferry comes to mind).That was because he had released a few albums in that series in the early 2000's. But no, a friend who had already seen him live reassured me he was still playing the hits and he was still kicking footballs towards the audience at the end of his shows. So, seeing him at Brighton was a wonderful and rewarding experience. And suddenly, earlier this year, it was announced that he would finally be coming to Greece on his “One Last Time” tour, a tour whose name made it feel like a farewell. I couldn't afford to miss this opportunity so I went to see him again.

As I entered the venue I noticed the big stage with a red curtain draped in front of it with “Let The Good Times Roll” projected on it. Rod was right on time beginning with “Addicted To Love” while his usual female musicians were mimicking the original Robert Palmer video. He performed quite a few covers, which meant that some of the familiar hits were left out, but that did not reduce the enjoyment of the show. “It's A Heartache" was especially suited to his voice while “People Get Ready” brought back memories of Bruce from earlier this year (yes, that Bruce) who often sings a snippet of it while performing “Land Of Hope And Dreams”. My personal favourite “Young Turks” was still there, the song that made me a fan back in 1982 when I saw the video with it's images of teenage escapism... As was “Maggie May”. And who can forget “Da Ya Think I'm Sexy”? Not even Rod himself. That was the song that angered rock purists in Greece back in the day who accused him of selling out to disco. Nobody seemed to mind now, though. There was a small disagreement with an audience member at the beginning of it but it was quickly resolved. And it was before that song that he kicked footballs towards the audience.

 

It's Rod's habit to let his band play some songs without him. In Brighton they played Mark Knopfler's “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way". Now, they performed ”I'm Every Woman” and "Proud Mary" with lead vocals by one of his backing singers. And since Tina Turner is not with us anymore that backing singer sung her part when Rod came back on stage to perform "It Takes Two"

As you would expect there weren't many young people in the audience. That meant that the arena was filled with people who knew him from back then. And they were proud that they had finally seen him live. He rewarded them (I mean us) by ending the concert in the best way possible: With “Sailing”. The first Rod Stewart song I had ever heard when I was still a little kid. Following that, "Love Train" was the very final song.

Bye bye Rod! Enjoy your retirement! Unless you want to come back. Then we'll come to see you no matter how old you (or we) are... (Come to think of it he didn't say "goodbye" at the end of the show, did he? He said "see you"...)

 

SETLIST:
01. Addicted To Love
02. You Wear It Well
03. Ooh La La
04. Having A Party
05. It's A Heartache
06. Rollin' & Tumblin'
07. Forever Young
08. The First Cut Is The Deepest
09. Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)
10. Maggie May
11. I'd Rather Go Blind
12. Young Turks
13. Downtown Train
14. I'm Every Woman
15. I Don't Want To Talk About It
16. People Get Ready
17. Have I Told You Lately
18. Proud Mary
19. Baby Jane
20. It Takes Two
21. Some Guys Have All The Luck
22. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?
23. Sailing
Encore:
24. Love Train