Sir Jackie Stewart honoured by sons' song for 70th birthday
Three-time F1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart received an emotional birthday present from his two sons Paul and Mark as he reached 70 this year - a specially-recorded song and DVD tribute in his honour...with a little help from 'Slowhand' himself, music legend Eric Clapton.
Stewart turned 70 back in June, but a surprise party to celebrate was thrown only recently, and the unquestionable highlight of the evening was when a film of his life and achievements - both on and off the race track - was played to him, accompanied by the song 'Fly Free'.
The film was produced by Sir Jackie's younger son Mark, whilst 'Fly Free' was both written and sung by keen and talented musician Paul, with Clapton on the guitar. Paul - who raced successfully himself as far as International F3000 (now GP2 Series) level in the early 1990s, before going on to focus his efforts and expertise on team management in British F3 and alongside his father in F1 with the eponymously-named Stewart Grand Prix - sang the song at the party, and explained the meaning behind it.
"The words are really close to our hearts," he admitted, dedicating it to both his mother and father. "When we were growing up our father always said to us 'if you fly with crows you'll be shot at...fly free...be strong'. It's a simple message, but one that my brother Mark and I live by."
The song and its sentiment touched Sir Jackie so deeply that he has decided to share it, and both the single and DVD are available on download at http://www.sirjackiestewart.com, with all proceeds going to F1's chosen charity, the Grand Prix Mechanics' Charitable Trust.
