“Everybody there is against that, which makes me want to do it even more,” says the pop legend.

“Apparently, the idea didn’t ‘test’ well, whatever the f*** that means.”

Rod admits he is frustrated that J Records and its chairman Clive Davis do not share his vision.

The 63-year-old singer adds: “I want to do records for my peace of mind. So when I do kick the bucket, I can say, ‘I did that’.”

He has already rejected an idea for a new CD that the record label wanted him to do instead.

“Clive Davis wanted a Christmas album but I’m not into that so much,” reveals Rod.

Since moving to J Records he has been a regular chart topper again around the world with his Great American Songbook albums of cover versions of standards – the fifth and final of which will be his next release.

Rod the Mod was hoping to follow that up with some country and western classics but now it looks like that radical idea isn’t going to happen. Shame.