LONDON, Ont. - Rockin’ in the round agrees with Rod Stewart — and his fans.

Spending much of the night atop of a round logo of his beloved Glasgow Celtic soccer club, the British rock singer returned to the John Labatt Centre enjoying the loud and happy worship of about 9,000 fans who surrounded him.

Some fans might have thought the number for the night would be 62, as in he looks and sounds darn fine for 62.

It was actually 29, as Stewart made clear.

“Good evening, London, Ontario . . (we’ll be doing) 29 songs . . . 29,” Stewart announced after romping through two of them, You Wear It Well from the early 1970s and his cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Have You Ever Seen the Rain? The Creedence cover had prompted the first big singalong of the night — with Stewart and the band falling silent and allowing thousands of boomer-aged admirers to shout out part of the famous chorus.

Stewart is touring to support Still the Same . . . Great Rock Classics of Our Time. It offers Stewart’s versions of classic rock by the likes of CCR, Bonnie Tyler, Bob Seger and Bob Dylan.

The first 10 songs of the night allowed Rod to roam.

The stage configuration built around a series of loops made for plenty of audience hand-slapping opportunities whenever the star left his perch atop the green-and-white Celtic logo.

A lovely Reason to Believe, again from his early 1970s recordings, and one of his many nods to R&B This Old Heart of Mine, gave Rod and fans the chance to meet. This also helped the fans get up and cheering.

Stewart had shown his trademark humour, in part through the acres of plaid and tartan that swathed the stage, the soundboard and several of his band member’s outfits.

Stewart loves his Scottish roots, but this had to be a wee joke.

So did the short and funny video, done up like a movie trailer, dubbed him The Rodfather and joked that long ago the soccer-enthusiast had to choose between “a life of kicking balls and kicking ass.” It took a few shots at unlamented boy bands who have come and gone while Rod has rocked on and on — and showed his soccer skills. The fans laughed.

It was no joke later when Stewart mentioned the “high definition” TV screens above his elaborate set. The images, except for the banal sunset which dumbed down Ever seen the Rain, were top notch.

Other acts will have a tough time matching the shots of Stewart and his band in action. On a personal note, the photos of the Stewart family — seen during his cover of Cat Stevens’ Father & Son — or the joyous shot of a long-haired Stewart with one of his idols, the late Temptations’ singer David Ruffin, were terrific ways to add visuals to Stewart’s singing.

Much less terrific was the long and thudding double drum solo — yes, the man has two drummers in his band this time — during the Ruffin tribute, (I Know I’m) Losing You.

To judge by the audience, this view is a minority report.

Basically, the drum solo was an excuse for Stewart to make his first change of the night. When he disappeared into the centre of the stage, presumably to a hidden dressing room, he was in a blue shirt and white tie, having doffed his blue jacket before Reason to Believe, the third number.

He emerged in a Vegas black outfit with dark sequin styles and a glittering belt accessory.

That was the cue for silly, disco Rod to show up in the first half with Hot Legs and other songs bringing out the Europop noise in his band. The singing was still good. It was just that the band sounded dismal in

contrast to the Rodettes (his vocal backup trio), fiddle and pedal steel that dominated his country soul numbers in the first half.

It was Stewart’s third concert at the downtown London arena.

His two concerts at the London arena in 2004 found Stewart spending some time in crooner mode, celebrating The Great American Songbook. His first songbook had been released in 2002. It eventually grew to a four-CD series covers of pop standards from the 1930s and 1940s by songwriters such as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin.

After bouncing around with rock legends such as Long John Baldry, Mick Fleetwood and the Jeff Beck Group, he settled in as the lead singer of the Faces in 1970.

Almost in tandem with Faces’ album releases, Stewart began releasing solo efforts of his own, of which 1971’s Every Picture Tells a Story marked his breakthrough. Maggie May, originally a B-side, sent the single and album to No. 1 in the U.S. and U.K. simultaneously — a chart first.

Eventually leaving the Faces, Stewart would go on to become not only one of the biggest acts of the 1970s, but eventually one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

You Wear It Well, This Old Heart of Mine, Tonight’s the Night and Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? were just some of his more than 60 hit singles. Naturally, said success saw him living large during the 1970s, dating model Dee Harrington and actress Britt Ekland.

Since 1998, he’s dated Penny Lancaster and they’re to be married sometime this year.

Stewart has also fathered seven children.