The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Still making us feel like dancing
Ahead of his gig in Perth tonight, Leo Sayer tells Gayle Ritchie why he still has thunder in his heart
M&S sandwiches, Hamish McAlpine, Nicola Sturgeon and Elvis. A conversation with Leo Sayer is as surprising as it is wide-ranging. I’m chatting to the 68-year-old tousle-haired superstar ahead of tonight’s gig in Perth. He’s bursting with enthusiasm and energy and is hugely excited to be returning to the area.
It’s a year since he was last in Courier Country, having played Rewind Festival at Scone Palace in 2016.
“It was great fun reliving the 80s and 90s. The audience was just amazing,” he says.
“I didn’t have much time to spend in Perthshire sadly but I love that part of the world and I always try to fit in more gigs in Scotland.”
Dundee is another of Leo’s favourite haunts and he’s a massive fan of singer-songwriter Michael Marra, affectionately known as the “Bard of Dundee”.
His rendition of Marra’s song, Hamish (The Goalie) is the stuff of legend, among Dundee United fans at least.
“That story has become more legendary as time has gone on,” says Leo.
“I loved Michael’s music and he wrote a few great songs that friends of mine were singing. For example, there was one about a roadie’s dog that Kiki Dee recorded. The songs were marvellous – lyrically beautiful, historical and witty.”
A mutual friend introduced the two musicians in a studio in London and they got on like a house on fire.
“We went to the pub, got merrily pissed together, discussed lyrics and poetry and within three hours we were the biggest friends in the world,” Leo recalls.
“He sent me a couple of albums and I was blown away by this song about the Dundee United goalkeeper, Hamish McAlpine.”
Leo was captivated by the story, which describes the night Monaco came to Tannadice in the European Cup and Grace Kelly was spotted in front of the Taylor Brothers Coal sign.
“It’s a wonderful example of worlds colliding and beautiful poetry,” he says.
“And the chorus, ‘Hamish kicks young men’s dreams into a burning flame’ – what a line!”
After hearing the song, Leo worked it out on piano and vocals, added some synthesisers and recorded his own version.
The next thing he knew, it had been released by Dundee United’s fan club, becoming a collector’s item virtually overnight.
Next on Leo’s list of goals is performing the anthem at Tannadice.
“Maybe next summer?” he teases.
“Let me see if I can arrange something with the football club. That would just be epic.”
Stranger things have happened – in fact, in Leo Sayer’s life they’re almost to be expected. Born Gerard Hugh Sayer in West Sussex (a select few family members still call him Gerry), Leo went to art college before being discovered
I didn’t have much time to spend in Perthshire sadly but I love that part of the world and I always try to fit in more gigs in Scotland
by musician David Courtney. The pair cowrote songs including Give It All Away, which gave Roger Daltrey of The Who his first solo hit in 1973.
The same year, Leo began his career as a recording artist under the management of former pop singer Adam Faith.
While Faith was a fantastic mentor, he was less generous with Leo’s money – “he ripped me off rotten” – and he took the What Do You Want (If You Don’t Want Money?) star to court to recover some of the cash in the 1990s.
Leo’s debut single, Why Is Everybody Going Home, failed to chart, but he achieved national prominence in the UK with his second single, The Show Must Go On, which he performed in a pierrot costume and makeup.
Major hits followed – One Man Band, Long Tall Glasses, Moonlighting – but the peak of his career came in 1977 when he released You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and When I Need You.
His fanbase, which was huge, included Paul McCartney, who advised him to keep his wild, curly mane of hair.
But Leo soon discovered there was an even bigger admirer hiding in the background... Elvis Presley.
“I fell off stage in the States in 1977 and cracked my knee,” he recalls.
“I had real problems doing the next series of shows and I got as far as Memphis and collapsed.
“A big guy, an ex-Miami Dolphin called Michael took me under his wing. He worked on my body every single day and got me fit. I heard he had an important boss but didn’t know who. Then one day he said his boss wanted to have a word. He came on the phone and started singing You Make Me Feel Like Dancing... and it was Elvis!”
Leo was blown away when The King asked him to hang out for a few days, saying he’d love to feed off the UK star’s energy.
“He said he’d been a bit down so we could have fun and sing a few songs,” says Leo. “It was lined up for the next day. But when I turned on the radio the next morning I heard the most awful news that Elvis was dead.”
Despite the fact he will be 70 next year, Leo has no plans to slow down and is still writing and recording “like mad”.
He’s halfway through a new album, due for release later this year and says he’s thrilled with the results thus far.
His new material is inspired by a combination of modern politics and the environment and features tracks about the planet and the refugee crisis.
“It’s not a time to be writing love songs. It’s a time to be using your voice for something good,” he says.
“We’re living in the most interesting and yet crazily dangerous time because most politicians are selfish or idiotic, although you’ve got a good lady in Nicola Sturgeon – I think she’s great.”
As a product of flower power, he counts himself lucky to have grown up in the 60s when it really seemed as if youth and love would conquer all.
Now older and a little wiser, he still harbours the same dreams. “If you realise the power of peace and love, you never want to give that up; you always want to try to bring that echo back,” he adds.
“People like me feel we have a job to do. It’s not just about making money, it’s about influencing things.”
Home for the last 12 years has been Australia. He misses M&S – “the sandwiches to be precise” – but that’s about it.
“I think if I lived in the UK I might be going to seed by now,” he laughs.
“I love living in exile, a bit like Hemingway, and I’m inspired by travelling.”
It helps that Leo is, in his own words, “ridiculously popular” down under and looked upon as “rock royalty”.
“I think my personality suits the Australian psyche,” he muses.
“They like guys like me who’re a bit extrovert. They like the showman.
“Oz is a lovely mix between England and the States; it doesn’t have all the hyperbole of the States and it still has a bit of that UK charm.”
So would be ever consider moving back to the UK?
“Sorry to say this but since Brexit, no way!
“I’ve lived with an Italian woman, Donatella, for 30 years, and I love Europe. I think Brexit is very shortsighted. To disassociate from Europe is really sad.
“I hope you guys go independent. If you do, I’ll definitely visit more.”