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Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Leo Sayer: 'I got to sing a duet with Miss Piggy, a wonderful thing'
Leo Sayer has bittersweet memories of the night he opened for the Beach Boys and their tortured genius songwriter Brian Wilson, who passed away recently. 'We did a massive concert with The Beach Boys in 1977 when my star was really rising America, with two number ones. I got booked to do a gig with the Beach Boys. It was fantastic to be asked. But when we got to the gig, it was a bit weird, because Hell's Angels guys were doing the security. They wouldn't give us a dressing room trailer. It was about 40–50,000 people there at a race track in Rhode Island.' Without a trailer of his own, Sayer was mooching about backstage when Wilson noticed him. 'Brian saw me sitting by somebody else's trailer or by the steps somewhere backstage, and beckoned me into his cabin. I remember him and his lovely wife, Marilyn – not with us either anymore – making me tea, and Brian chatting away, and me asking him all these silly questions: how did you write this? He answered every single question. The guy was such a gentleman.' Wilson was familiar with Sayer's music – hits such as When I Need You, More Than I Can Say and the global number one, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. 'I'm not in that same stratosphere as those guys but he was kind and gracious. We had a good talk about songwriting. You pinch yourself to think I'm that close to talking to someone like that, who's your hero,' says Sayer. Leo Sayer IN 1975. (Photo by) Sayer (77) is speaking from Australia, his home for the past 20 years. He is talking ahead of a return to Ireland for a national tour – and a chance to reconnect with a country close to his heart. Growing up in the English coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea, he was always keenly aware of his family's Irish heritage, passed down through his mother, from Maguiresbridge in Co Fermanagh. 'My mother was Irish from Maguiresbridge in Ulster, near Enniskillen. We used to come over every summer as school kids - me and my brother. It was a pretty standard thing –every school holiday from the age of three until about 15 or so. "It was so much fun. Ceilis and donkey derbies and meeting up with relatives all over the north and on the border towns as well as Cavan and Donegal.' His creative side largely comes from his Irish roots, he feels. 'A guy, I think his name is Michael Daley, he's been writing a book about the Irish living in Britain and how they all felt growing up. And I was able to describe to him how a lot of my creative spirit came from that Gaelic experience. "It left a feeling of freedom, of honesty. My English side of the family – they were all very reserved, and I loved the lack of reserve that the Irish had – the country Irish, you know? "It probably wouldn't be the same in the city, but the country Irish… they just said how they felt. They didn't hold back. If they were asked to sing a song, they'd sing a full pelt, I love that, and that had a big effect on me. I thought, hang on, you can express these things. You don't have to be shy and quiet and retiring. Why not? You could be outgoing.' Sayer clocked up his biggest hits in the 1970s, when the music industry was a bit of a Wild West and artists such as David Bowie and Elvis were duped by unscrupulous managers who convinced them that the business side of music was best left to others. Things were much the same for Sayer. He has spoken openly about how his manager, the late pop star and actor Adam Faith, hoodwinked him – how those glory days topping the charts papered over a darker truth about his finances. However, he also nonetheless speaks positively of Faith, who passed away in 2003. He may have taken advantage of Sayer - but he also helped turn him into a chart-topper. All these years later, the singer's feelings are complicated, to say the least. 'He ripped me off. That was his form of management. At the same time, he took me where I was and he opened so many doors. His influence was quite incredible, and he truly believed in me; otherwise, he wouldn't have been both my producer and manager. We made some incredible records in those early days together. So I can't think bitterly of him. I didn't get rich. That's one side of it.' Unlike many British stars who were content to be big in the UK, he was always keen on doing well in America. This led to some surreal situations – sitting backstage in Rhode Island without a dressing room only to be introduced to Brian Wilson was one. Another was his appearance on the Muppet Show in 1978 when he sang with Kermit the Frog and struck up a firm friendship with Muppets creator Jim Henson and with Frank Oz, the puppeteer and voice of Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. 'Jim was a good friend, and sadly no longer with us. And Frank turned out to be a marvelous film director. This team of those two were wonderful to work with, very inspiring. And I did other shows with them, a Julie Andrews special. And I did the Johnny Carson Show, The Tonight Show. It was hosted by Kermit the Frog, and I got to sing a duet with Miss Piggy, which was a wonderful thing.' At the peak of his success, it seemed that Sayer could top the charts at will. He looks back on those days as a blur – it was all happening at such speed it was difficult to take it all in. 'Initially, anyway, all the way up to 1979, everything's at breakneck pace, and you're trying to keep up, so you don't really sort of stop and sit and look at everything. In fact, you don't dare do that. Because we all thought in those days that anyone over 40 would no longer be able to do this. Look at Jagger and Paul McCartney and Billy Joel and me and Rod Stewart. We're all still doing it, which is incredible.' Leo Sayer: A Question of Taste Television: I've been enjoying a show called MobLand. There's an Irish side to it because it stars Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as his Irish wife. It's been absolutely delicious to watch. It's by Guy Richie, and I love his productions – he's such a great writer and director. A scene from A Complete Unknown. Cinema: I loved A Complete Unknown about Bob Dylan. It was so brilliantly done. God knows how it didn't get an Oscar. I thought the same thing with the Elvis movie - the Baz Luhrman film. It was just incredible. Books: There's a series of books by a guy called Henry Porter. The most recent one is the Enigma Girl. It's fantastic. His plots are incredible and believable. Unlike a John le Carré, he's bringing it right up to date. You're reading something that has so many overtones of the crisis and chaos of modern life and modern geopolitics. Leo Sayer plays National Opera House, Wexford, Friday July 11; BGE Theatre, Dublin, July 12; and Cork Opera House, July 13
Belfast Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Music superstar (77) opens up on NI relatives… and making Gerry Adams shake hands with political rival at gig: 'The audience went mad'
He may be 77, but singer loves the job too to even think about hanging up his mic He came to prominence in 1973 when his debut single The Show Must Go On reached number two in the charts, and at 77, Leo Sayer has no plans to quit. The singer, also known for hits such as You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, When I Need You, Thunder in My Heart and Moonlighting, is still playing to packed venues around the globe and will visit Belfast next month as part of his Still Feel Like Dancing tour.
Belfast Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast-bound Leo Sayer still feels like dancing: ‘I've relatives scattered all over Ireland, so I've a special love for the country'
He may be 77, but singer loves the job too to even think about hanging up his mic He came to prominence in 1973 when his debut single The Show Must Go On reached number two in the charts, and at 77, Leo Sayer has no plans to quit. The singer, also known for hits such as You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, When I Need You, Thunder in My Heart and Moonlighting, is still playing to packed venues around the globe and will visit Belfast next month as part of his Still Feel Like Dancing tour.
Irish Post
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Leo Sayer's Irish soul and broader backstory
FOR Leo Sayer, Ireland was never just the place his mother came from — it was the heart of his childhood summers, the wellspring of his inspiration, and the secret engine of his songs. Long before You Make Me Feel Like Dancing became a Grammy-winning anthem, young Gerard Hugh Sayer — born in Shoreham-by-Sea on England's south coast — was perched on a barstool in Belfast's Crown Liquor Saloon, listening to Dominic Behan recite poetry and soaking up the wild lyricism of the Irish oral tradition. Leo Sayer has strong Irish connections. His mother, Teresa Nolan, was born near Enniskillen, and her family are all based around the border counties, both north and south. She came from a large family, so Leo — or Gerard, as he was born — still has cousins, nieces and nephews scattered around the region. 'We'd load into the car and head for Fermanagh. My mum and dad and three kids — every summer until I was about 15 or 16. 'Home' in Ireland was Maguiresbridge,' Leo says. 'So from about the age of three or four till I was 15 or 16, it was Fermanagh every summer. Of course, we'd travel about to other counties — Donegal and Sligo, mostly. "I had one grandfather who had a farm near Swanlinbar in Cavan. Another grandfather, Hugh Nolan, was postmaster in Newry. A great man altogether!' Leo Sayer has strong Irish connections (Pic: Tony Mott) So Gerard (Leo) Sayer's early years were typical of so many children of the diaspora — particularly in the 20th century — and still part of the yearly rhythm for many families in the 21st. Leo was interested in music from an early age. 'The family were devout Catholics, and so I became an altar boy. Our parish priest in Shoreham, Father Dermot MacHale, really helped my interest in music — singing in particular. I was an altar boy, then a chorister, and that brought my singing voice along. He was a big inspiration.' Leo has perfect pitch and a photographic music memory, which helped him carve out a stratospherically successful career. Inspiration for Leo's lyricism also came from another family connection. 'Through one side of my family in Ireland,' he says, 'and this is an interesting connection — we are related to the Behan family. 'So if you can imagine a young kid of, like, seven or eight years old going to Belfast and sitting in that famous pub opposite the Europa Hotel, the Crown Liquor Saloon bar... sitting there and hearing poetry coming from Dominic Behan — and sometimes his brother Brendan Behan, when he was out of nick, you know. 'So I heard those guys, and the passion of writing. I remember Dominic recommending Flann O'Brien, and reading his books — and James Joyce as well.' Leo — the musical career Leo moved to London in late 1967, right at the moment the youth revolution was changing the world. There, he met painters and musicians, started writing poetry and working on a book. By day, he designed record covers and illustrated top '60s magazines. By night, he frequented Soho and Kensington folk clubs — and sometimes got up to play the harmonica. 'I was at art school. I was very much into folk and blues music, and I was playing harmonica. After a while, I went up to London and hung out with loads of musicians — some of them from the acoustic world, people like John Martyn and Ralph McTell, even some Irish musicians as well, you know... but also kind of hanging out with blues bands. I was singing with people like Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, before they were in Cream with Eric Clapton, in the Graham Bond Organisation. So I'd be sitting in on gigs, singing, playing harmonica — and that was, for me, a nice contrast to working in the art studio during the day... sometimes doing rather boring work.' Sayer pictured in 1974 In 1970, a talent contest led him to David Courtney, a songwriter and drummer. The two clicked creatively, writing songs in Courtney's Brighton flat. Their demos caught the attention of Courtney's former bandmate, Adam Faith, who soon managed Leo and launched his career. His 1973 debut album Silverbird — featuring the now-iconic Pierrot image — established him as a unique voice, bolstered by support from Roger Daltrey, who recorded several Sayer-penned tracks. Hits from his second album Just A Boy confirmed Leo's popularity, even after ditching the clown costume. International tours followed, showcasing his dynamic stage presence in venues like The Troubadour in L.A. After parting ways with Courtney, Sayer continued to score hits, including Moonlighting, and by 1976 had teamed with producer Richard Perry. The result was Endless Flight, featuring You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (US No.1, Grammy winner) and When I Need You (No.1 worldwide), cementing his global fame. His band included alumni of the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder, and he appeared regularly on US television. Albums like Thunder in My Heart and Leo Sayer followed, but by the early 1980s, career pressures and personal changes — including divorce and a dissatisfaction with the drift toward cabaret — took a toll. A comeback came with 1980's Living in a Fantasy, powered by the hit More Than I Can Say. Collaborations with Alan Tarney and Arif Mardin brought further chart success. In the 1990s, he embraced dance-pop and found surprising popularity in Russia and Vietnam. A 1997 remix revived student interest, and in 2006 a DJ Meck version of Thunder in My Heart returned Leo to the UK No.1 spot. With multiple reinventions and a career spanning decades, Leo Sayer remains a significant figure in international pop history. He now lives in Australia, in the wine region of New South Wales. 'It's an area called the Southern Highlands. It's lovely, only about 600 people here live here in our town. It's nice and quiet, and have my studio in my house where I make all my records. "It gives me a great sense of freedom living here, and has really reignited my love for music — not that the flme had ever really gone out' He remains busy, touring as well as recording. His British and Irish tour begins next month at the GuilFest in Cranleigh. Leo Sayer's tour of England and Ireland Saturday, July 5 — GuilFest 2025, Cranleigh Monday, July 7 — Wyvern Theatre, Swindon Wednesday, July 9 — Grand Theatre, Blackpool Friday, July 11 — National Opera House, Wexford Saturday, July 12 — Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin Sunday, July 13 — Cork Opera House, Cork Friday, July 25 — Ulster Hall, Belfast See More: Irish, Leo Sayer, Music, Tour
