Rod Stewart before he was famous

The nobody years

1. 

   1960 No call from Brentford

   Brentford gave him a football trial, then never called him back.

   Left school at fifteen and worked briefly as a silk-screen printer. Source

2. 

   early 1960s Highgate Cemetery labourer

   He worked briefly as a labourer at Highgate Cemetery.

   He delivered newspapers and worked in the family shop. Source

3. 

   1963 Deported from Spain

   After busking across Europe, Spain deported him for vagrancy.

   He was deported from Spain for vagrancy after busking across Europe. Source

4. 

   1964 Heard on a platform

   Long John Baldry heard his harmonica on a platform and hired him.

   Singer Long John Baldry heard him playing harmonica on a railway platform and hired him. Source

5. 1945

   Was born at home on Archway Road in Highgate, the youngest of five children. Source

6. 1950s

   His Scottish father was a builder who later bought a newsagent's shop. Source

7. 1956

   He failed the eleven-plus exam. Source

8. 1950s

   Captained his school football team and played for Middlesex Schoolboys. Source

9. 1960

   He went for trials at Brentford football club, which never called him back. Source

10. early 1960s

    He worked briefly as a labourer at Highgate Cemetery. Source

11. early 1960s

    He also worked in a funeral parlour and as a fence erector and sign writer. Source

Reconstructions of documented moments, generated with AI. Not archive photographs, and not depictions of real people. © The Nobody Years