Rock legend Rod Stewart has invited a special guest band to support him on stage at this July's concert in Newcastle.
The star, who will be playing the Utilita Arena on July 9, picked a band of fellow Scots to perform alongside him after they impressed him with their full-on shows.
Johnny Mac and the Faithful are a seven-piece Glasgow-based set-up playing Celtic-folk and Americana whose members have played and worked with such names as the Pogues' Shane MacGowan and Simple Minds.
Stewart initially became pals with them when they opened for him at a 2017 gig celebrating the 50-year anniversary of his beloved Celtic Football Club’s European Cup victory.
He invited frontman John McLaughlin - an award-winning songwriter who has penned hits for the likes of Westlife, Busted and Echo & The Bunnymen - to co-write a song, Julia, which appears on his latest number one album Blood Red Roses and he then singled them out to join his Live in Concert tour this summer.
Now, following the success of their support slots at those outdoor stadium shows, the singer has asked them to accompany him to Newcastle .
The news has delighted frontman and singer John McLaughlin who said that while, individually, they "have been blessed to have played and worked with some of greatest and infamous stars of our time", he said their proudest moment had been supporting Stewart at the Celtic Football Club gig."
And he said of their later collaborations, it was "a dream come true" to "get to work with your rock ’n' roll hero".
His band, who have a first album coming out soon, are a bunch of lifelong friends, all with Scottish or Irish roots, whose music is said to be able to kick-start any party, with covers of folk classics such Dirty Old Town and original songs including You Make My Monday Morning Feel Like Saturday Night.
Tickets are still available for Tuesday's concert. See here .
