Rod Stewart - I Was Only Joking

What this video is

Released in January 1978 as the third single from Rod Stewart's 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free, 'I Was Only Joking' represents a pivotal confessional turn in Stewart's career — a semi-autobiographical reckoning with youthful recklessness, broken promises, and personal regret co-written with guitarist Gary Grainger. The song references Stewart's real-life relationship with Susannah Boffey and alludes to an…

Why it matters

A defining document of late-1970s British soft rock and confessional balladry. The track and video helped signal Stewart's evolution from raw Faces-era rock into a more introspective adult rock mode. Its influence on male confessional rock songwriting and the understated, mood-driven promo video…

The director

Bruce Gowers (21 Dec 1940 – 15 Jan 2023) was a Scottish-born British television director and producer. He trained at the BBC and began as a cable puller and cameraman before directing. His landmark 1975 Queen 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video brought international…