“We’re not mates”: Rod Stewart speaks out about 50-year feud with Elton John
The long-running feud between Sir Elton John and Rod Stewart has followed the duo as they’ve grown their careers for the last half of a century.
Although it was initially tongue-in-cheek, this no longer appears to be the case according to a recent interview in The Sun.
When Rod Stewart was asked about his thoughts on Elton John’s 300-date farewell tour, he didn’t hold back.
“I certainly won’t do 300 dates and then retire. I’ll just fade away like the old soldier I am,” he admitted.
When the interviewer inquired as to whether or not Elton and Rod have been in touch, Rod replied bluntly: “No, we’re not mates any more. We don’t talk to each other.”
However, it wasn’t always this way. The pair have bantered on and off for the last 50 years.
In many ways, the duo are chalk and cheese. With Elton being extravagant and prone to tantrums, Rod is a bit more laidback and a bit cheap.
The pair did share a love of football as well as a competitive streak, which is what kept the feud going for so long.
The pair have snipped at each other over a variety of things, including Elton’s weight.
"I really seriously think he (Elton) has got to lose a little bit of weight. He's looking really large," quipped Rod
"He always has a go about my nose and hair, so we just bitch every now and then," Rod admitted to The Morning Bulletin.
The pair used to insist that this was their way of showing affection, especially with Elton explaining that he and Rod were “cut from the same cloth”.
"We try and publicise the fact that we always have a go at each other in the papers, but in fact we do that for reasons only known to us, really. We're actually very good friends," said Elton.
However, that no longer appears to be the case.
It seems though that Rod wouldn’t mind following in the footsteps of Elton and his late close friend Freddie Mercury in the form of a biopic being made about his music and life.
When Rod was asked whether or not he could bear to watch himself on screen, he quickly replied: “Oh, are you kidding? My ego? I’d love it. Me and my two youngest sons went to see Bohemian Rhapsody.
"My boys were saying, ‘Dad, I can play you when you were eight’ and ‘I’ll play you when you were 13’.”