Hoops fan '˜Wee Jay' Beatty meets Rod Stewart at concert

CELTIC superfan Jay Beatty got the surprise of his young life when Scottish superstar Rod Stewart invited him to one of his shows.

Celtic superfan Jay Beatty. Picture: John Devlin

The 71-year-old star brought ‘Wee Jay’ backstage to chat football and meet his backing dancers after his performance in Belfast last night.

Jay, who has Down’s Syndrome, laughed and joked with the star. The pair even joined in with an attempt at Celtic’s famous huddle at one point.

Jay, 12, captured the hearts of the Celtic supporters when Hoops hero Georgios Samaras picked him up and carried him round the pitch as the team celebrated their league title in 2014.

During his concert, Rod dedicated “You’re in my heart” to the youngster and flashed a photo of Jay up on the big screen behind the stage.

The encounter was arranged by fellow Scots singer, Paolo Nutini, after Jay had told the Paisley popstar about his love for Rod’s music.

Jay’s father Martin said the youngster was delighted to get the chance to meet his hero thanks to Paolo’s intervention.

Martin said: “We’d met Paolo Nutini a couple of weeks back and he’s asked Jay who else he liked. Jay told him about Rod and he said he’d see what he can do.

“Rod’s people then got in touch with us out the blue saying that he’d love the chance to meet Jay and chat about the football with him.

“So we were invited to the concert last night (MON) and Rod spotted Jay in the crowd. He came over asked Jay to come and meet him after the show.

“He dedicated ‘You’re in my heart’ to Jay and flashed a photo of him up on the big screen behind the stage.”

He added: “Jay took it all in his stride. He absolutely loved the concert and then Rod spent half an hour chatting with him backstage.

“I was sitting nervously, with my hands shaking but Jay was hugging him and singing songs with him. It’s surreal to see my son sitting there with this massive star who’s worth millions.”

“For someone who is so famous you’d think you’d only get one minute with him but he was in no rush and couldn’t have been nicer. Jay loved it.

“Rod has even offered to take Jay for lunch before the League Cup final against Aberdeen.”

Earlier this month, Borussia Monchengladbach gave Jay a signed strip following their Champion’s League match with Celtic.

The german club also donated 3,000 euros to the Celtic Foundation, which Jay is an ambassador for.