Leo Sayer

[ausfan2]

In the old forum we discussed Linda's appearance on the Leo Sayer Show and her duet with Leo Sater singing Tumblin'Dice.

At that time the question was asked: what happened to Leo Sayer?

He now lives in Australia and is very busy in the local entertainment industry.

[the Scribe]

Leo reminds me so much of this guy:



One of my favorite songs by Leo was written by Andrew Gold

[ausfan2]

Leo Sayer on his new album, Selfie, his book and the perks of going solo

Lisa Rockman
Newcastle Herald
29 September 2019

The perpetually effervescent Leo Sayer has done it again.

Not content with penning an autobiography and touring Europe, the Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter has also written a new album and announced an Australian tour.

Sayer wrote, performed, produced and arranged every single track on his album Selfie, with the exception of three co-writes. And he did it all in his home studio in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

"It's been a challenge but I built a studio to do this and I really do love working on my own," he tells Weekender.

"I just love going into the room with nothing and watching it grow.

"It's a bit of an adventurous record and it was a bit of a scary thing to do because I decided that I didn't want to have anyone else in the studio and that I was going to do the whole bloody thing myself.

"Sometimes when you've got musos around you and you've all got different ideas, you get all this input which changes the original concept of a song into something else. That's a great thing to do on stage but sometimes in the studio you get this idea in your head and you just want to hold onto it."

I think I'm sitting on a great biopic here, you know. I don't know if anyone would be interested but there is an incredible film to be made out of all this. I wonder who would play the young me? Maybe Robert Downey Jr.

Leo Sayer
Sayer is known the world over for songs like Thunder In My Heart, More Than I Can Say, Moonlighting, The Show Must Go On, One Man Band, I Can't Stop Loving You, Orchard Road and the transatlantic number one smash hits When I Need You and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. He has also written songs for the likes of Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Roger Daltrey, Dolly Parton, Three Dog Night, Gene Pitney and Jennifer Warnes.

He's made appearances on The Muppets and The Wiggles and features on the Charles Angels soundtrack. He has performed intimate showcases as well as the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Central Park in New York, the Las Vegas Hilton and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Yes, the man has been there and done that.

On Selfie, you hear snippets of sounds that are vintage Sayer but with a contemporary polish. He doesn't stray too far from the sound people know and love him for. As the album name suggests, it's Sayer looking at himself - through a 2019 lens.

"When you're left to your own devices you become an echo of everything that you've heard, but you also become an echo of some of the tricks you've learnt," he explains.

"There are lots of different quotes from early songs in there and people have spotted that and it's quite interesting. I found myself doing the strings and I was emulating my wonderful arranger Gene Page, who used to do all the Supremes and Four Tops hits, and the arrangements for Thunder In My Heart and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. He had this lovely style with swinging strings, I mean, he was the guy behind Barry White.

"Gene is no longer with us and I wished I could have him in the room for some of the songs because I needed his great counter-melodies. I should have paid tribute to him and added his name in the credits - I listened to everything he had done over the years and thought 'Yeah, that's the style I'm after'."

He does pay tribute to Marvin Gaye on the album, though, and even names a song after him. Sayer is a huge fan.

The 40-plus years he spent "standing behind incredible producers, absorbing what they're doing and thinking" helped Sayer in the studio. He had the knowledge, he just needed the courage to go it alone.

"So here I am at the ripe old age of 71 and suddenly I know things I would never have known at 24 and I'm chasing that dream of being a real solo artist," he says.

"The way that we make records now, the way that we work, I wouldn't think that Dr Dre and I have any different way of working although we come to a completely different musical conclusion.

"We sit down with a computer and a recording desk and we throw sounds into it, and we manipulate those sounds, and that's the way all records are made now. The end product is going to sound contemporary because I am working in a contemporary way."

[alyn]

Leo was a huge star in the seventies in the uk and he had a few more hits in the eighties. His voice was always rated highly by fans, other musicians and the music press, a very genuine soul voice with a huge range and power. Initially his hit singles were kind of seen as novelty songs but then he gained more credibility in the mid-70s, albums and singles, but eventually becoming too pop and ballad orientated until he became 'old hat'. He continued to make albums and was desperate to regain his successful profile, tried to hop on various styles, but the magic had gone. He did make an excellent live album in 1999 (recorded in London) which I believe shows off his voice brilliantly and his best songs are performed with a very accomplished band. But it didn't bring success and sadly he didn't really improve his showbiz profile by appearing on Celebrity Big Brother which showed him cracking under the pressure, it was like a slow car crash. He has lived in Australia for years and I'm sure enjoys some success there, I'm amused to hear how his Aussie accent has now appeared. I hate to say it but he does cut a sad figure these days, but I'm sure his fans still enjoy his new albums when he makes them, I bought a couple in the 2000s but.... dull.

I would advise anyone a bit interested to check out the 1999 live album as a first port of call...Endless Flight is just amazing, Giving It All Away, Can't Stop Loving You, Moonlighting, One Man Band.... it all showcases his vocal talent perfectly. After that, there are plenty of 'Greatest Hits' selections out there. And personally, I don't think Tumblin' Dice suited his style at all, he never was a flat-out rocking type.