Rod Stewart has always been larger than life—part rock ‘n’ roll rascal, part blue-eyed soul showman, and forever wrapped in glittering jackets that could light up an arena. At 80, his voice still carries that unmistakable rasp, a sound that has weathered decades without losing its bite. For many fans, he’ll always be the swaggering frontman of The Jeff Beck Group and Faces. But history almost wrote a different chapter for Stewart—one that could have seen him sharing a stage with Elton John and Freddie Mercury.
It happened sometime in the heady blur of the late ’70s and early ’80s, when all three icons were at the height of their fame, circling the same decadent parties and lavish Los Angeles nights. Fueled by friendship—and perhaps a generous dose of rock-star excess—they tossed around an idea for a supergroup. The name? Nose, Teeth & Hair—a playful nod to each man’s most distinctive feature, paired with a plan to dress like the singing sisters of old-school British variety act, The Beverley Sisters.
“Those were great nights, mate,” Stewart laughed in a 2020 chat on Chris Evans’ How to Wow podcast. “I don’t know if we were kidding each other about forming a band, but it just shows what a little cocaine and alcohol will do for you!”
The trio’s “rehearsals” were more sing-alongs than structured sessions, often breaking out into music during marathon nights in L.A. The dream faded before it ever solidified—though it was Freddie Mercury’s death in 1991 that finally closed the door on Nose, Teeth & Hair. Stewart remained close to Mercury until the end, later calling him “adorable” and “a sweet and funny man” in his 2012 autobiography.
There were moments when a collaboration came close. In 1984, during the making of Queen’s The Works, Stewart recorded vocals for a track called “Another Piece of My Heart.” The song lingered in the vaults for years before being reworked into “Let Me Live” for Queen’s 1995 album Made in Heaven—minus Stewart’s voice.
Elton John and Stewart’s friendship has been more complicated, peppered with teasing insults in the press and periods of silence. Still, they’ve joined forces on occasion, from the cheeky Broadway standard “Makin’ Whoopee” in 2005 to “Let Me Be Your Car” back in 1974.
The supergroup never made it past late-night laughter and wild ideas—but for a moment, three of rock’s most flamboyant stars imagined what could have been. And what a show that might have been.
