About 100 members of Rod Stewart's fan club are expected to meet before tonight's concert at the Coach and Horses pub in Thorpe Road, Norwich, writes David Bale.

Fans from across the UK including Wales and Scotland were already gathering at the pub in the early afternoon, including Janet 'Geordie Jan' from Newcastle.

After the Carrow Road concert she will have seen her idol five times in the last two weeks, including performances at Newbury, Swansea, Leeds and Aberdeen, and travelled by train from Aberdeen to Norwich yesterday, leaving the Scottish city at about 8am and arriving in Norwich about 10 hours later.

She has been a fan since she heard Rod's song, Maggie May on the radio 40 years ago, and is also going to see him at Hyde Park in London on June 26.

She said: 'I love his voice, his hair and the clothes he wears, and I just love watching him smile.

'He really entertains the crowd and it's like a football match. My favourite song of Rod's is The Downtown Lights.'

Another fan said that whether Rod was on form or not, they still enjoyed themselves at his concerts.

'We always have a great time whenever we get together as the fan club, and meet up before and after the concerts. We have all become really good friends,' he said.

Other fans had seen Rod play in Verona, Italy and Denmark recently, despite tickets at the Carrow Road concert setting them back between �100 and �125 each, they said.

The fan club is run by president Ian Roberts, who said that Rod's elder sister Mary is expected to attend tonight's concert, and was bringing some of her family from Suffolk to the gig.

Rod is not expected to stay overnight in Norwich as he always flies to his gigs by plane and then returns home to Epping, Essex, because he likes sleeping in his own bed, they added.