He probably imagined it differently. British pop and rock singer Rod Stewart is currently on his farewell tour across Europe. “One Last Time” is the name of the show on which he will present the biggest hits of his long career. But his concert in Leipzig last Friday was not only met with cheers. The reason: Stewart dedicated his song “Rhythm of my Heart” to the people of Ukraine.
“I am dressed in the Ukrainian colors and I would like to dedicate this to the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army,” the singer told his fans before the song, as the news portal “Tag 24” reports in its concert review. Then he shouted: “Fuck Putin!” During the song, images of the war were shown on the video screen behind him.
According to several media reports, the mood in the sold-out Arena Leipzig changed after that. The “FAZ” newspaper, for example, reported in its review that the audience stopped clapping after Stewart’s call. When the Ukrainian flag was flying on the video screen towards the end of the song and President Volodymyr Selenskyj was visible, many viewers began to boo and whistle. Videos can also be seen on the X platform in which viewers boo Stewart.
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According to the “FAZ”, Rod Stewart then looked briefly irritated and mumbled “Thank you for being so kind”, then the show continued. On X, several users commented after the concert: “Poor performance”, wrote one, “Embarrassing as a concert guest”, another.
Rod Stewart has been campaigning for Ukraine since the beginning of the war and in 2022 rented a house in Great Britain for a refugee Ukrainian family. On his farewell tour, he is now dedicating a song to Ukraine at each concert. At his concert in Berlin last Saturday in the Uber Arena, the audience apparently reacted differently to the political statement. According to the “BZ”, there was loud cheering after his shout of “Fuck Putin”.