Robin Stone: I'm not someone who imitates someone else, I'm me

The young Reinhard discovered his love of music when he was just three years old. It all began with a drum kit made by his father and the music of the Bee Gees. Today, as Robin Stone, his stage name, he can look back on a long career as a musician. The little Reinhard of yesteryear has turned his dream into a profession.
He is a boy from the Ruhr region, having grown up between coal tips and collieries. Even as a young boy, young Reinhard discovered his love of music. ‘I've always found music fascinating,’ he says looking back. ‘At the very beginning, it was the early Bee Gees that completely fascinated me. When their songs came on the radio, I would have loved to crawl into that machine. And it was clear to me: I wanted to do that too’.
His father built the little boy a drum kit, then little Reinhard sat on a pedestal, banged the drums like crazy and sang along to the Bee Gees' songs. Later, at the age of seven, his parents allowed him to take guitar lessons. However, this was not at all to the boy's taste. ‘I almost lost interest in music because I was always asked to play songs that I didn't really want to play. Folk songs and the like, that wasn't my thing at all,’ he says. Frustrated by his guitar teacher's instructions, Reinhard put his instrument back in the corner for a while. Until his brother, who is also very musical, picked it up and started strumming a few songs. Reinhard quickly got back into the swing of things and gradually taught himself to play the guitar.
His career continued in a few school bands and at the end of the 70s Reinhard decided to perform as a solo artist. One, if not THE trigger for this decision was Neil Young's concerts in the late 60s. ‘He stood on stage all alone with his guitar and entertained the audience. I thought that was great, I wanted that too’.
Over 50 years have passed since then and the young Reinhard, who now calls himself Robin Stone, still stands alone on stage with his guitar and entertains the audience, just like Neil Young did back then.
Stone's repertoire includes his solo programme with numerous cover songs, plus he has a Neil Young tribute band called Rust, a Smokie tribute band CCSmokie, a country band and a Rod Stewart tribute show. Reinhard discovered his love for good old Rod quite late in life. ‘It wasn't really my music at first,’ he looks back. ‘But then someone in our band suggested that we should play a Rod Stewart song. That was the starting signal for me to take a closer look at Rod Stewart and his music. And then I realised that what the man has done over the years is quite good,’ grins Reinhard.
More and more of the Brit's hits were added to his solo programme and he now even plays an exclusive Rod Stewart show several times a year at the Hansa Theatre in Dortmund entitled The Rhythm Of My Heart - A Tribute to Rod Stewart.
It is not only noticeable that Reinhard, alias Robin, comes close to the superstar vocally, but also bears a visual resemblance to the Maggie May singer. ‘I've often been asked about this, but I can't help it if there are similarities in appearance,’ says the singer from Schwerte. ‘I'm also not someone who imitates others. I am who I am and that's important to me,’ emphasises Reinhard.