Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (Shoreham-by-Sea, 21 May 1948). His nickname comes from his curly hair, which evokes associations with lions. In the late 1960s, Sayer was a member of the Terraplane Blues Band from London.
In 1971, he formed the band Patches with drummer Dave Courtney. Courtney had also played with the well-known pop star Adam Faith, who began managing artists in the early 1970s. Sayer was one of the first artists he offered a contract to, after Roger Daltrey, singer of The Who, had a solo hit in 1973 with Sayer's composition "Giving it all away."
That same year, Sayer's second single "The Show Must Go On" reached number 2 in the UK charts in November. Three Dog Night covered the song and scored a hit with it elsewhere in the world in early 1974, while Sayer was already charting in the UK with "One Man Band."
His breakthrough in the Netherlands came in 1974 with the hit "Long Tall Glasses." Other big hits included "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," "When I Need You," "More Than I Can Say," and "Orchard Road." In 1978, Leo Sayer won a Grammy for the song "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" in the category Best R&B Song.
From 1984, it became quiet around Sayer. A comeback in the early 1990s failed. In 2002, the song "Can't Stop Loving You" was covered by Phil Collins.
In 2006, DJ and producer Meck from Los Angeles made a remix of Sayer's record "Thunder in My Heart" (1977). Meck was intrigued by the story behind this record. Sayer had written the song after driving with his friend Tom Snow in a limousine along Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, watching all the beautiful women walking the streets. Sayer is very enthusiastic about Meck's new version. Meck named it "Thunder In My Heart Again." The song reached number 1 in the UK charts, number 4 in the Top 40, and number 9 in the Mega Top 50.
Sayer has lived in Australia since 2005 and has been an Australian citizen since 2009.
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, there are no (longer) any songs by Leo. Of course, you can fill our Top 2000 inspiration list on Spotify. Perhaps Leo Sayer will be back in it then?
Sunday Morning Classic
On 3 July 2022, Leo was our guest as Sunday Morning Classic with his second album "Just A Boy" from 1974.
On this modest album by Leo Sayer, he has not yet become a singer of overproduced, slick ballads, but he delivers a fine timeless pop album, or rather; an album by a singer-songwriter, with excellent songs. "Train," "Long Tall Glasses," and the later gifted to Roger Daltrey "Giving it All Away" (debut solo album 1973) are gems!
Source: NPO and Wikipedia Photo: AVRO and Ship Fan
Below you will find a selection of Leo Sayer's albums. If you are looking for a specific album, please let us know. We will gladly search for it for you!
