Rod Stewart has admitted that he is baffled he hasn’t received a knighthood from the Queen, even though his contemporaries Tom Jones, 73, and Mick Jagger, 69, have already been given the honour. "Mick doesn’t pay taxes here and Tom lives in America," said Rod, who shares homes in Los Angeles and Essex with his wife, former model Penny Lancaster. "If my time comes it will," he added. "But if it doesn’t, I’m not bothered."
While he is yet to receive his invite from Buckingham Palace, the rocker does joke that he has a shared interest with the monarch. "The Queen and I have one thing in common – the same hairstyle for 45 years," quipped Rod, who received a CBE from Prince Charles in 2007.The 68-year-old singer is convinced he's a better singer than Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger. "Mick is a fine blues singer but technically not as good as me," he added, in the interview with Radio Times. "He's made the most of what he's got." Rod insisted there is no jealousy between the rock stars. "There's never been much rivalry between any of our generation – well, maybe me and Elton but that’s friendly. "British television viewers will get a glimpse of Rod’s life when the documentary Can’t Stop Me Now is screened on 9 July.
He reveals that while he let the cameras into his life, he wouldn’t let them film his model railway set. "There are very few places in my life that I like to keep private: that’s one of them," he said.Rod has previously revealed that he builds miniature buildings for his model railway while relaxing in his dressing room on tour.His Beverley Hills home includes a model railway layout that takes up 139sq m of the third floor of the property. The railway set is a recreation of 1940s New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads and features model skyscrapers that are more than 5ft high. "I pity the man who doesn’t have a hobby like this one," he once said. "It’s just the most supreme relaxation. "Rod remains passionate about his music. His latest album Time was released in May 2013 and shot to the top of the British charts, giving the Maggie May singer his first number one album in 34 years.The album features a cover of Tom Waite's Picture in a Frame which the rocker wanted to include as it reminded him of a brief time when he and Penny split. "Penny and I broke up for two weeks and the song is about that time," Rod said, "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. "Rod’s latest international tour starts 3 July 2013 in Dortmund.
