Rocker Rod Stewart, 68, has revealed that he and wife Penny Lancaster briefly split and that their two-week separation inspired a track from his new album Time. Speaking to Australian magazine Life, Rod said, "I cover Tom Waits' Picture In A Frame. Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song is about that time. "I asked her for a photo of herself in a frame so that I could see her when I went to bed and when I woke up."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe couple now have a solid marriage and live in the US with their two young sons. Despite loving the Los Angeles lifestyle, Rod said that he would consider a move back to British soil. Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Rod told presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that he and Penny often get homesick. "We may have to come back for my two sons' education, but it's a long way off yet," he said. "Penny loves it [the US] but she misses her family because all of her family are here, as are mine, but I just can't quite get used to the winters!".
Rod and Penny's sons Alastair and Aiden are part of the wider Stewart clan, which includes the rocker's designer daughter Kimberly, herself mum to Delilah, who is one and whose father is actor Benicio Del Toro. The Stewarts are pictured below during a holiday in Disneyland.
Family is clearly a source of pride for the father of eight, who is currently promoting his new material and upcoming tour which kicks off in June. "Life is tremendous. I have eight children altogether... and now a grandfather, and I see all the kids every day, most of them. "I love having all my kids around me. It costs me a pretty penny, but there you are!" Reflecting on his musical legacy Rod added, "There was a point in my career where I'd given up on song writing because I didn't think I had anything to say and I was getting lazy... then I realised I had a lot to write about." "There's a song about divorce - which I know a great deal about! There are songs about starting out in showbiz and the support I got from my dad, and tributes of my children." Rod's wife Penny recently told HELLO! that she separates her famous husband's public and private personas. She said, "There's Rod the rock star who gets up on the stage and sings, and there's the Rod I'm married to, the very funny, very loving, family man who just loves being surrounded by the people he loves and those who love him."
