Rod Stewart, 80, dismissed medical advice in major career decision following painful injury: ‘No way!’
Sir Rod Stewart has revealed he deliberately ignored medical advice to repair his broken nose, choosing to preserve his distinctive husky voice rather than improve his breathing.
The 80-year-old singer made the admission this week, disclosing that doctors had offered to straighten his nose following a football injury but warned the procedure could alter his vocal quality.
“They actually said that ‘if you straighten your nose out, you’ll breathe better, but you might lose your voice’. And I said ‘no way’,” Stewart recalled.
The football injury occurred when Stewart received “an elbow across the nose playing football”, as he recounted during an appearance on BBC Sounds’ Sidetracked podcast with Nick Grimshaw and Annie Macmanus.
The incident left him with a broken nose that fundamentally altered his breathing and created the raspy quality that would become his trademark sound.
Medical professionals who examined the injury were clear about the trade-off Stewart would face.
“Doctors have said it’s because I broke my nose playing football, which has given me this huskiness,” the Maggie May singer explained.
The decision to refuse corrective surgery meant accepting permanent breathing difficulties in exchange for maintaining the vocal characteristics that had helped define his career.
Stewart characterised the raspiness in his voice as “purely by accident and obviously maybe God’s gift”, acknowledging the fortuitous nature of his signature sound.
Despite choosing to keep his damaged nose, the veteran performer maintains a demanding vocal care regime.
“Tons and tons of water,” he explained, detailing his preparation routine that includes an hour of warm-ups before performances and thirty minutes of exercises afterwards.
When his voice becomes strained from overuse during concerts, Stewart employs strict recovery measures.
“I have to wear a sign which says I can not talk to anybody, and I have voice rest for eight to ten hours.
“It works miracles. My voice always comes back. It really is the crown jewels,” he revealed.
Stewart’s health challenges extend beyond his vocal concerns. The singer cancelled his Las Vegas performance on Sunday “due to illness”, announcing on Instagram that the show would be rescheduled.
The cancellation comes just weeks before his scheduled appearance at Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.
Stewart has faced serious health battles throughout his career, including thyroid cancer in May 2000 that required throat surgery and forced him to relearn singing techniques.
In 2017, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer but received the all-clear following treatment.
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Stewart chose not to inform his children about the diagnosis at the time, later explaining he “didn’t want to worry them”.
Last year, Stewart cancelled a string of concerts due to different health woes, such as Covid-19 and strep throat.