Sir Rod Stewart issues touching tribute as he breaks silence on Glastonbury

Sir Rod Stewart made his long-awaited return to the Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage with a triumphant performance during the Legends slot. His highly anticipated slot marked his return to the stage after cancelling a string of concertsdue to ill-health and a 23-year hiatus from the festival.

The 80-year-old emerged on stage to the sound of Scotland the Brave being played on bagpipes in a touching nod to his father Robert, who was born in Edinburgh. For 90 minutes, the rocker transported concertgoers through the highlights of his career as he sang numerous iconic hits, including Young Turks, Maggie May, and Sailing. Rod's Glastonbury takeover also saw him joined on stage by a number of surprise guests, including his Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, LuLu and Simply Red's Mick Hucknall.

Three days after his headline show, Rod took to Instagram with a heartfelt tribute to his special guests.

The award-winning musician reflected on the show as he posted a carousel of the moments the singers joined him on stage, which also highlighted his three outfit changes.

There was also a behind-the-scenes snap of him and Ronnie alongside their significant others, Penny Lancaster and Sally Wood.

Taking to the caption, Rod penned: "Massive thank you to Mick, @ronniewood, @lulukc for joining me on stage at @glastofest," with a red heart emoji.

One fan took to Instagram comments to praise the singer for "showing them all how it should be done at Glastonbury. You are a Legend." As another gushed: "You were amazing."

A third wrote: "Thoroughly enjoyed it mate. Still the GOAT and loved the banter with @ronniewood." As one echoed: "You and Ronnie still have that special chemistry, Rod! It's great to see you both on stage together again!"

Ahead of the show, the rocker shared his excitement and in a chat with Radio Times, he said: "I'm really looking forward to it.

"And it is a different gig, it's like when you're playing a cup final, you're trying to treat it like another game. But, of course, it's not. It's special. It'll be glamorous, it'll be sexy.

Rod added: "And we've got a little orchestra coming on to play with us. And we may have some bagpipes."

After taking to the stage, the father-of-eight took to video montage of his performance and thanked the legions of fans in the crowd as he praised: "You lot were magic, what an honour to play the Pyramid Stage and what a crowd."