Rod Stewart's most charitable moments as star pays for patients' health costs
Sir Rod Stewart is today meeting patients at The Princess Alexandra Hospital after he revealed he would be footing the bill for Brits to have important scans.
The legendary musician made an unexpected call to Sky News last month and pledged to help those requiring essential scans but had been placed on the lengthy NHS waiting lists.
Sir Rod, 78, vowed to help between 10 and 20 patients who needed a scan to assess their condition and speed up the treatment process.
Today, as he visits those who he is helping, The Mirror are looking back at some of his most charitable moments.
Charity dinner
Sir Rod Stewart made an unexpected announcement as he revealed he planned to appear at a charity gala dinner (Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Birley Clubs)Earlier this month, the Maggie May singer interrupted an interview on Talk Sport while his pal Jim White was chatting to DJ Eddy Temple-Morris about the upcoming gala dinner for the charity, My Black Dog.
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Addressing the situation, Jim said: "As Eddy is speaking I can see that Rod is lighting up my phone," as he revealed Rod had texted him saying: "I'll come and help, Jim. I'll be there, me old kilt!"
Sir Rod and his wife Penny Lancaster will be joined by fellow celebrities including broadcaster Chris Evans at the event held on March 2.
Singing barber
The musician left singing barber Peter Joannou speechless when he thanked him for raising £14,00 for Sussex Heart Charity (BBC)Sir Rod is certainly no stranger when it comes to unexpected announcements and this was no surprise.
The singer made a rather impromptu trip to Brighton to thank a barber who had raised £14,000 for charity which was aired on BBC's The One Show.
Peter Joannou set up shop in Brighton back in 2012 and made the decision to serenade those who were going past his balcony as he donned a tuxedo.
He went on to raise a staggering amount for the Sussex Heart Charity after lowering a bucket for donations down on a rope for his mini-shows.
Speaking about Peter, Sir Rod gushed: "Peter is an absolute hero," before saying: "You're a wonderful man."
However, Peter thought he was "seeing things" when he spotted the musician approaching his salon.
He had been singing from his window for nine years, delighting thousands of people on a regular basis.
Trach Mommas of Louisiana
Sir Rod instructed his management to reach out to one charity in America (PA)
The musician donated an eye-watering amount leaving Angela Lorio completely speechless (PA)Rod donated what was described as a "big cheque" to the disabled charity after they were recognised by the American government.
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It came after the people of Louisiana trekked to Washington D.C. to protest against the government health insurance cuts which aired on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront.
Angela Lorio who leads the group said they had only raised £5,300 out of the £23,000 they would need to make their way to Washington.
After spotting the broadcast, Sir Rod instructed his management to get in touch with the charity, saying: "I've just seen something on CNN that's heartbreaking.
"It was a group of families with severely disabled children who are driving to Washington to confront health care cuts, see if you can find out who they are, I'd like to help in some way."
In a video, Angela said: "So I just deposited the biggest cheque of my life, and it couldn't be from a more amazing person.
"Rod Stewart… What? Rod Stewart, like the Rod Stewart, saw this on CNN, and he was so moved."
Medical bill expenses
Last month, Sir Rod announced he would be paying for between 10 to 20 patients to have scans done privately (PA)During an unannounced call into Sky News, Sir Rod revealed he was left speechless after discovering private health clinics were lying empty as many waited for NHS treatment.
He recalled how a clinic he attended referred to patients as "customers" and said they hadn't been busy on the day he attended.
Sharing his horror at the waiting time, he said: "I would like to pay for 10 or 20 scans, I don't know how we're going to work this out but hopefully some other people will follow.
"It seems ridiculous that this particular scanning clinic was empty and there are people dying because they cannot get scans.
Sir Rod Stewart happily posed for selfies at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex after paying for patients to have scans done privately (PA)"Listen to me, I don't need the publicity, I just want to do some good things and I think this is a good thing and if other people followed me, I'd love it."
Sir Rod visited staff and patients at The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex on February 24 ahead of people going in for scans which he had paid for.
Upon arrival, he posed for selfies with nurses who appeared to be overjoyed by their A-list guest as they removed their face masks while wearing their hospital uniform.
Supporting Ukraine
Rod has housed a family of Ukrainian refugees following the barbaric Russian invasion (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)Following the barbaric and illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sir Rod rented a home for a "lovely" Ukrainian refugee family and paid all of their bills.
Despite the family not speaking a word of English, the musician took the family into a brand-new house and furnished their property while ensuring they wouldn't have to spend a penny for a year.
Speaking about meeting his new tenants, he said: "I walked through the door and they all came running down the stairs, all beautifully dressed in Ukrainian national costume."
Rod also ensured that he provided jobs for two other refugees working on his estate in Essex.
The rockstar also revealed that he and his nephew Warren had gathered trucks together and sent them over with the in-demand supplies needed by those still in Ukraine.
Rod funded the trip himself and revealed to The Mirror that he would have driven over himself, had he not been advised against it.
DIY pothole treatment
Sir Rod Stewart took matters into his own hands as he filled potholes close to his home that had been left by the council (sirrodstewart/Instagram)Potholes are the worst nightmare of every driver, especially the rich who drive low sports cars.
After being fed up with waiting for his local council to sort out the potholes close to Sir Rod's lavish home, he took matters into his own hands as he explained "no-one can be bothered to do it."
Speaking about his actions, he explained: "This is the state of the road near where I live in Harlow and it's been like this for ages.
"People are smashing their cars up, the other day, there was an ambulance with a burst tyre, my Ferrari can't go through here at all!
"'So me and the boys thought we would come and do it ourselves. We are filling the holes while millions and millions of pounds have been spent on the M11.
In a video shared to his Instagram, the hitmaker donned a high-vis jacket as he was seen holding a spade while correcting the holes in the tarmac.
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