Leo Sayer's Biography

Leo was born Gerard Hugh Sayer on May 21st. 1948, to Thomas Sayer and Teresa Nolan at 193b, Upper Shoreham Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, in Sussex, England. He was the second child of three (his older sister Kathleen and younger brother Brian). His father was the managing engineer at Southlands Hospital where the family home was situated in the hospital grounds...

This house no longer exists. Leo's primary education was at St. Peter's School in Shoreham, next door to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter's, where Tom Sayer sang in the church choir and Leo served as an altar boy. The Sayer family were devout catholics, and Leo was inducted into the church choir under the educated ear of Father Dermot MacHale, the Parish Priest. To this day Leo attributes 'the finding of his voice' to Father MacHale, who gave singing lessons to the boy chorister.

At his secondary school (Blessed Robert Southwell in Goring, Sussex) Leo showed a particular gift for drawing and painting. He performed with a band of friends at school singing Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley songs he'd learnt from the record collection of his older cousin, David Day.

Thanks to David, Leo was introduced to Buddy Holly meets The Crickets and the first Bob Dylan album, records that would have a great influence on his life. He was now 16 and it was the year of 1964. Leo left school and entered a course for commercial art and graphic design at the West Sussex College of Art in Worthing, Sussex. Many things happened for Leo at Art School. He started listening to Rhythm and Blues, singing with local soul bands. He used to sit and draw on Worthing beach, trying to play the mouth organ - his new passion. He recollects that on the beach one day he met a mysterious stranger who taught him how to bend notes on the instrument. Following this meeting Leo was hooked on the 'blues harp' and played on the 20 minute train journey from his home to the Art School every day, and sat in and jammed with local blues bands. At Art School, Leo and some friends formed an Arts and Music club called 'The Worthing Workshop'. Leo sang and played with what became the house band, 'Terraplane Blues'.

Meanwhile, Leo was finding he had a non-conformist streak, rebelling against the basically uncreative regime back at the college. He left after completing only two years of the three year course. He picked up work immediately at a nearby Brighton design studio. The mid sixties were an exciting time for young Leo. He moved up to London in late 1967, when the youth revolution was changing the world. He met painters and musicians, got inspired and started writing poetry. He worked in Art studios designing record covers, worked for top advertising agencies and illustrated famous 60's magazines. He frequented Soho and Kensington folk clubs and got up to play the harmonica. feeling confident he went freelance as an artist, but got into trouble with too much work and not enough money.

Suffering a mild breakdown he came back down to Shoreham-by-Sea. Leo lived on a houseboat for a while on the river Adur in Shoreham and took a rest. It was now 1969. He helped run a folk club at the 'Lady Jane' pub next to the boat and worked locally in a factory that imported German cars. Some his old friends were playing now in bands and he joined them, now lead singer as well as harmonica player. He flung himself into the music and started writing songs, setting some of his old poems to music. He gradually built up a band of mates that called itself Patches.

The Melody Maker newspaper had a 'Battle Of The Bands' contest that Patches entered. They had a good act and narrowly missed winning the local heat. The contest was a turning point for Leo, still known as Gerry at the time, for he had now decided what he wanted to do with his life. It was now 1970 and he was 22 years old. Around this time a Brighton newspaper, The Evening Argus, ran an advert for another talent contest. This audition, which took place at Brighton's Pavilion Theatre, was held by David Courtney, who with his father's encouragement was about to set up a talent agency.

This time Patches, comprising of Gerry Sayer (vocals and harmonica), Max Chetwynd (guitars), Mick Morris (drums) and Ian Whitmore (bass), entered and won the audition. It turned out that David Courtney was more than just a promoter. He'd played drums with early 60's pop star Adam Faith, played piano and was also a budding songwriter.

So began what would turn out to be a remarkable creative partnership. At David's Wycombe Terrace flat, the two started writing songs at a prolific and rapid pace.

They worked separately - David bashing out melodies on his Knight upright piano, Leo in the next room, surrounded by books of poems and lyrics that he'd been writing since his early teens. Early tapes of the two working together reveal Dave's bright pop melodies mixing wonderfully with Leo's bruised loner lyrics. Those tapes are still around today and show how songs like 'One Man Band' and 'Giving It All Away' originally developed. There was an abortive attempt to get a deal with Beatles producer, George Martin, for his new Air Records label. Then they took the songs that they had demoed to David's ex - employer Adam Faith.

Adam's response was immediate and dynamic. At the meeting, Adam made arrangements for Leo's band Patches to record a session at London's Olympic Studios, just a few days later. They were going to make a single. David's song 'Living In America' was to be the A-side and Leo and David had written the B-side, 'The Hour Is Love'.

The session itself was exciting. The Who were recording next door and wanting to meet Adam, added their input to the session, Keith Moon helping with the drum track. With Adam at the helm, things started happening very quickly. Gerry Sayer became Leo Sayer, his head of curls inspiring Adam's wife Jackie to christen him with his new name, after the lion. He signed a long term contract with Adam for management, recording and publishing. At this time, with his career starting to look good, Leo proposed to his girlfriend Janice and they arranged to get married in Brighton. The Patches single came out on Warner Brothers in the U.K. It wasn't a success but undaunted, Adam and David prepared to produce the first album for Leo. They chose Richard Branson's Manor Studios in Oxford, to start the recording. During these first sessions Leo's band Patches was disbanded, and session players were hired with only Max Chetwynd, guitarist and Leo's first co-writer, staying on.

The early recording of 'Silverbird' was a difficult and haphazard process, the team being strong on ideas but inexperienced at record production. Nevertheless, the recording environment really inspired the two writers and new material moved the project along nicely. Keith Altham, the Who's publicist, who now also represented Leo, recommended singer Roger Daltrey's studio in his barn in Sussex to Adam, David and Leo. In the secluded and relaxed environment at Roger's, the recording took further shape with the team creating tracks like the unique 'The Show Must Go On'.

Further recording and mixing went on in London at Olympic Studios and the Beatles' famed Apple Studios. Soon the album, titled 'Silverbird' after one of the songs on the album, was complete. Roger Daltrey, meanwhile, had so liked the songs Leo and David were writing for Silverbird that he asked them to write all the songs for his first solo album, and for Adam and David to produce it. The boys were thrilled and gave Roger some new songs that they had intended for the next Leo album. Among these were 'Giving It All Away' and 'One Man Band' that later appeared on Leo's album Just A Boy. 'Daltrey' (1973 Track Records) was released ahead of 'Silverbird', to excellent critical response.

The first single 'Giving It All Away' became a hit in Britain and made the U.S. top ten. Soon, with Adam's coaxing, everyone wanted to know about the boy who wrote songs for Roger Daltrey.

In early 1973 the head of Warner Brothers records in America, Joe Smith, visited Brighton to meet Leo and see him perform. Warners duly signed up Leo for a ten album deal for the States, Canada and South America. Chrysalis Records, who were also Leo's live agents, matched this deal, releasing Leo's records for the rest of the world. Roger Daltrey had a cousin, Graham Hughes, who was a well respected photographer. Leo met with him just after he'd shot Roger's album cover and was intrigued by some fashion photos Graham showed him.

What had inspired Leo was the presence of a Belgian mime artist Julien in the guise of Pierrot the theatrical mime amongst the models in the shoot. Leo thought he had found the image that he felt went with his songs, and with Graham, Julien and make-up artist Kirsty Climo's help, the pierrot look was born. Graham Hughes classic cover portrays Leo as himself on the front and as the pierrot on the back. Leo was playing lots of concerts at this point, on the road with Adam, who was guiding his young charge. They were inseparable. One night on the way back from a gig supporting Procul Harum, after dropping Leo home, Adam had a near fatal car crash. As he lay in bed recovering in hospital all he could talk about was Leo's first single from the album, 'Why Is Everybody Going Home'

The album was released in the U.K. and the U.S. simultaneously, to great critical acclaim. The B.B.C. offered Leo a slot on their T.V. rock show, 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. On the show Leo performed for the first time as the Pierrot and gained an instantly positive reaction from the viewing public and the critics. Leo went out on a British and European tour supporting Roxy Music, appearing on stage as the Pierrot. Janice, his wife, made the costumes and applied the make up.

'The Show Must Go On' was released as the second single and became his first hit, rising to No. 2 in the U.K. single charts.

The 'Silverbird'album was a hit as well, with another No. 2 position, this time in the U.K. album charts. B.B.C. broadcast 'Leo In Concert' from the Shepherds Bush T.V. theatre (now the Empire), and Leo appeared on Top Of The Pops. As the year of 1973 drew to a close, he was making headlines in the press with both The Melody Maker and The Sun newspaper (on the cover of it's new year issue) predicting Leo to be 'The Star Of 74'.

In the U.S. Three Dog Night took their cover version of 'The Show Must Go On' to the top of the U.S. charts. They had seen Leo on British television dressed as the Pierrot and so appeared on U.S. T.V., in their interpretation of Leo as circus clowns. Ironically they also changed (or maybe misread) Leo's lyric from 'I won't let the show go on' to 'We must let the show go on....'. Leo was annoyed at this, but the success of Leo and David's songs in a new market set the scene for the first U.S. tour. Leo made an immediate impact on the audiences over there, and the biggest names in the music industry turned out to see the boy with the white face and white suit.

Leo was impressed too, falling in love with America. He played week long performances at prestigious venues, supporting J.J. Cale in Memphis, Larry Coryell in Los Angeles (at The Troubadour), playing in Boston, Washington and San Francisco. Finally at The Bottom Line in New York, Leo headlined, supported by Hall and Oates. Leo had privately vowed he would drop the Pierrot look as soon as he had become successful. By his return to England in June 1974, he felt he had accomplished this, but it was a nervous Leo that approached his first shows in the public eye without the make up. Leo played his biggest gig yet that summer at London's Crystal Palace Bowl supporting Rick Wakeman. He needn't have worried too much, for the U.S. tour was deemed a success, his new tour in the U.K. was sold out and he was featured on the front covers of every British music magazine.

Adam, David and Leo had already started work on Leo's second album 'Just A Boy', cutting Leo's version of 'One Man Band' in Los Angeles while Leo was on the American tour. More recording took place at Kingsway Recorders in Holborn, London. This time the recording went smoothly and the right results were quickly accomplished. The boys were learning how to make records. Some of the songs, like 'Long Tall Glasses' were written in the studio. 'Long Tall Glasses', written about Leo's reaction to his first American tour, became his premier top ten single there. The album's back cover pointedly depicted a group of Leos giving Pierrot the elbow.

The photograph was taken by Terry O'Neill, who had now become Leo's exclusive photographer. The front cover was a painting of Leo by Humphrey Butler-Bowden, who had previously painted for Paul McCartney's Wings. The singles, 'One Man Band' and 'Long Tall Glasses' both hit the charts in the U.K. and around the world. Leo was now popular in Europe and made many T.V. appearances there. He played in Paris at The Theatre D' Champs Elysees.

The theatre was the home of one of his great heroes, mime artist Marcel Marceau. In late 1974 British promoter Paul Dainty took Leo down to Australia for the first time. The reaction was amazing. Two hit albums had really stirred up the crowds there and Leo was mobbed by fans when he arrived at Sydney Airport. The shows were all sell outs and Leo broke Australian box office records... Leo was becoming an accomplished stage performer by now and the second U.S. tour which followed underlined this. Leo's band now included Chris Stainton, famed keyboardist from the Greaseband, who had backed Joe Cocker at Woodstock.

It was now 1975 and after such an intensely successful working relationship, inevitably the hit team was starting to move in different directions. David Courtney, Leo's co-writer and co-producer with Adam Faith of all the work so far, had made a solo album of his own ('First Day', released on EMI records), and now Adam Faith also was set to release an album 'I Survive' in the U.K., on Warner Brothers Records. David was off to America and Adam was concentrating on his own career as an actor of some repute. Leo, with the help of a new co-writer, pianist and ex Supertramp bass player Frank Farrell, was busy preparing a third album, to be titled 'Another Year'.

In February 1975, Leo performed at the Midem music business festival in Cannes. He upset the organisers of the international gala by getting such a raucous standing ovation that the next act, a symphony orchestra conducted by the film director Frederic Fellini's composer Nina Rota, was unable to go onstage. They were kept waiting until the organisers managed to quieten the crowd. The unruly audience that Leo had so wound up included the heads of every major music organisation in the world. Leo was more than proud of the songs he'd written (on location in Spain) with Frank Farrell, but the recording of 'Another Year' became a rushed affair...

Adam insisted that everything was completed within two weeks, giving Leo little chance to bring out the epic nature of the songs. Still, the album contains many classics and was well received by the music press. The single 'Moonlighting' became a runaway hit in Britain, climbing to No. 2 in the charts.. A unique single success came out of Ireland too with 'I Will Not Stop Fighting' from the album. Leo spent the year touring and promoting the album.

He visited Britain, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, the Far East, and Europe. Adam meanwhile was in America searching for a new producer. Disappointed with his own efforts as a producer, and probably missing the input of David Courtney, he thought that Leo must now make an American record. In December 1975, Leo released a Christmas single in the U.K., this time a cover of the Beatles 'Let It Be'. It was produced by Adam and Russ Ballard (the same team as on 'Another Year'), but was not a success.

The same track turned up later on producer Lou Riesner's concept album 'All This And World War Two', released in early 1976. This record was the soundtrack for a bizarre film featuring various artists singing Beatles songs to footage from the second world war. Leo also contributed 'I Am The Walrus' and 'The Long And Winding Road' to accompaniments from the London Symphony Orchestra. In the spring of 1976, in Los Angeles, Leo met Richard Perry, who was Adam's first suggestion for an American producer. Richard had a distinguished reputation in the U.S. recording industry, having produced such acts as Barbra Streisand, Harry Nillson, Ringo Starr, Art Garfunkel and Diana Ross.

He'd seen Leo in concert and was impressed. The only problem was that Leo still wanted to sing his own songs and Richard was most interested in 'that voice'. He thought that to achieve really big success, Leo had to stretch his horizons beyond his songwriting.

The first session between the two was arranged in the summer of 1976 at Richard's Studio 55, on Melrose Boulevard in Hollywood. They recorded 'What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted', 'Tears Of A Clown' and 'Reflections', all covers. Leo was not sure about the direction, but loved the all star band Richard had provided. His voice soared in this setting, and he began to think that maybe that Richard was right. Throughout that summer the two worked steadily, patiently building the album that was to prove Leo's biggest success to date. Leo started writing exciting new songs in this environment, and he and wife Janice embraced L.A.'s melting pot atmosphere with undisguised relish. They rented a house in Laurel Canyon and really 'went Californian'. Leo wrote two songs for the album with New Yorker Barry Mann (who wrote 'You Lost That Lovin' Feeling', and 'On Broadway'), two songs with guitarist John Vastano, and most importantly penned 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' with Vini Poncia, who had produced Kiss and Ringo Starr.

'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' came from a jam session in the studio, with drums by the legendary Steve Gadd and guitars by the great Larry Carlton and Ray Parker Jr. (he of 'Ghostbusters' fame). When it was released in September 76 it rocketed up the charts to become Leo's first American number one. With such success, Leo was truly on top of the world and the ricochet of his U.S. popularity echoed around the globe. Endless Flight was critically well received, and though some felt Leo had lost some of his uniqueness in the process, none could deny the instant pop appeal of the album.

The little guy from Shoreham had turned a big corner.

On the road Leo was now supported by an all star band. Nicky Hopkins on keyboards and Bobby Keys on saxophone were both from The Rolling Stones. Reggie McBride on bass and Steve Madaio on trumpet were from Stevie Wonder's band, percussionist Oliver C. Brown from K.C. and the Sunshine Band, and Don Preston on synthesisers from Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention. At the Roxy in L.A. during November 1976 they got rave reviews and the support act was Randy Crawford. Leo was now just twenty eight years old and firmly on top of his craft.

The second single, 'When I Need You' (a ballad by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer-Sager), brought even more success. For years in Britain, Leo had been 'knocking on the door' of the number one position in the U.K. music charts. He'd been kept at number two by the likes of Abba, Gary Glitter and Slade. In January 1977 he got his new year present, No 1 in the U.K. This was followed by his second number one in the U.S., then the same position in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Leo and Janice had all but given up on any ideas of a normal married life by now.

In the U.K. offers came in for Leo's own T.V. series. In the States he was wined and dined on Johnny Carson and all the big chat shows and in February 1977 got the biggest accolade of all, a coveted Grammy award for 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' (for best Rhythm & Blues song). He also won awards in Britain (a B.P.I. award and a T.V. Times award), Canada (a Juno award), and Europe (Belgium's Golden Lion). He was jetting constantly backwards and forwards between Europe and America. Back in England during March 1977, Leo appeared on T.V. for the B.B.C. with his own prime time special. He played in Windsor great park during the summer of 1977. The occasion was the Queen's Silver Jubilee, and Leo was presented to Her Majesty after the show.

'How Much Love' (written with Barry Mann) was the third single release from 'Endless Flight' and continued the trend as another chart hit. The album had now achieved platinum sales awards in both Britain and the States, where such a rating then equalled a staggering one million copies. The singles from the album had now sold roughly six million copies around the world. Richard Perry was eager to put out a follow up album for Leo as quickly as possible to continue this momentum.

Late summer and early autumn 1977 was spent recording 'Thunder In my Heart' at Studio 55. Now based, with Janice, in L.A., Leo had already started co-writing songs for the album. He wrote with Tom Snow (the album's title track), with Albert Hammond (who'd written 'When I Need You'), and with Michael Omartian (pianist on 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' and producer of singer Christopher Cross). The album featured more original material than 'Flight', and with Richard again collecting together L.A.'s finest musicians and arrangers, established Leo now as a white Rhythm & Blues artist, just as 'Endless Flight' represented his pop side.

Though the record bears witness to one of Leo's best periods in his recording career, Leo, Adam and Richard were to be disappointed as the sales didn't quite follow the same pattern as 'Endless Flight'. Nevertheless, both the 'Thunder In My Heart' and 'Easy To Love' singles got into the U.S. top forty, and the album reached number thirty eight in the charts. Leo was becoming a big draw on the U.S. concert scene, now headlining larger venues such as The Greek Theatre and Universal Amphitheatre in L.A., and Central Park in New York. He was now living as a tax exile from Britain and only returned for concert and television performances.

This mystique actually did him no harm as the British journalists now flew out to interview him in glamorous Beverly Hills. It should be pointed out that at just as he was heading for all the superstardom that his talent deserved, some might say that Leo was misdirected by his advisers. Adam brought in a partner, the agent, Colin Berlin, who ignoring Leo's rock and soul roots, directed him towards the more lucrative Las Vegas and cabaret market. Colin saw Leo as an all-round-entertainer and Leo worked hard on himself to fulfil that direction. Leo's work could be seen to be benefiting the people around Leo more than himself and after selling so many records, Leo started now to wonder why he wasn't a rich man. Pictures of the time show Leo be-suited and clean cut and definitely lacking his earlier 'edge'.

1978's 'Leo Sayer' was to be the last album of Leo's produced by Richard Perry. Against calls for more middle of the road material, Leo and Richard got introspective in their approach, the record showing yet another side of his talent. Leo brought out his harmonica and put a country feel into songs like the album's opener, Leo and Tom Snow's 'Stormy Weather', showing he was in tune with America's roots as well as his own. The album featured guitars by Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac, with backings by members of Linda Ronstadt's band and members of the rock band Toto. Richard's sensitivity as a producer is evident on the album's biggest hit, Englishman Billy Nicholl's 'I Can't Stop Loving You'. At this time Leo and his wife Janice, when not in Los Angeles, were living on the road.

The exhausting schedules in 1978 included the USA (a 65 date tour), Canada, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain (a 32 date tour). He finished the year by playing to 8000 people on one freezing night in Dublin. The US tour was briefly interrupted by a fall offstage in Wisconsin, which hit the headlines, but the little trouper still didn't miss a show. During the UK tour, over six weeks, you could see Leo headlining his own show on B.B.C. T.V. every Friday night, and he also guested famously on The Muppet Show and dueted with Miss Piggy from the Muppets on the Johnny Carson Show in New York. In Los Angeles he was heavily booked up on the T.V. chat show circuit and appeared on one show there with his idol, Fred Astaire. In early 1979, Leo was looking around for a new producer when his old chum Dave Courtney turned up on his L.A. doorstep.

Just like old times the two put their heads together and concocted 'Here', featuring new songs from Leo and David, and a great studio band, including Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn from Booker T. and the M.G.'s, and Al Kooper from Blood Sweat and Tears. Considering the 'Englishness' of Leo and David's characters, the album turned out to be a surprisingly American sounding affair, echoing their new found love for the American groove. Thus Ray Parker Jr. and Leo's 'When The Money Runs Out' was a rocking and funky single release. Back in England, 1979 also saw the release of 'The Very Best Of Leo Sayer', which thanks to a great T.V. advert which featured Leo dancing on the ceiling of a circulating room, saw Leo breaking his own and Chrysalis's sales records, the album going to No.1 in the UK album charts and being awarded double platinum status, which meant sales of two million units in the U.K. alone!

Leo had returned to live in London. He learnt to drive and bought a car. The British Pop and Rock awards (now The Brits) voted Leo 'Best Male Artist of 1978', and Leo and Janice bought the Kensington house of a famous watercolourist, Sir William Russell Flint, settling briefly to enjoy the comforts of home. It seemed that Leo had truly arrived at the pinnacle of his success, but there was little time to enjoy it. Cracks had started to appear in the myth of Leo and Janice's much publicised inseparable devotion to each other, and financial pressures meant Leo had to work in the far reaching world markets he now appealed to. Now he travelled through the Far East, visiting Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. He played in South Africa, to black audiences in the townships as well as to the rich at Sun City. He played casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe and Atlantic City in the U.S.

With a big orchestra added to Leo and the band's act, he co-headlined the showrooms with Bill Cosby. In 1980 Leo had a welcome return to the charts with 'More Than I Can Say', a classic song written by Jerry Alison and Sonny Curtis from Buddy Holly's backing group The Crickets, and originally recorded by Bobby Vee. It went to No.2 in the U.S.A. and Britain. 'More Than I Can Say' was taken from 1980's 'Living In A Fantasy' album, produced and co written by a new partner for Leo, Alan Tarney. Alan created for Leo an entirely new sound, the most surprising element being that, except for Trevor Spencer's drums, Alan played all the instruments.

With Alan Tarney, Leo wrote a hit song 'Dreaming' for Cliff Richard, another artist that Alan produced. It reached No.8 in the U.K. charts in August 1980. It was at this time (the 80's) that the techniques of recording were to dramatically change with the advent of new technology. Alan had one of the first of the new Fairlight sampling synthesisers. It was on this instrument that the two created the remarkable 'Orchard Road' as a demo, and the same demo released as a single became one of Leo's most enduring works. In 1982 Leo moved back to Los Angeles, to work with Arif Mardin, famed musical arranger and producer of Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack and The Bee Gees.

They recorded the album in two locations, Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles and at the legendary Atlantic Studios in New York City.

A single from the album 'Have You Ever Been In Love' by English writers, Andy Hill and Pete Sinfield, was yet another worldwide hit. Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees wrote the epic 'Heart Stop Beating In Time' especially for Leo, and Dave Courtney and Leo (yet again!) co-wrote four entirely new tracks, including the title song, 'World Radio'. While still keeping up his workaholic touring schedule, Leo somehow found time to fill the airwaves. He hosted two more self titled T.V. series for the B.B.C. during 1983 and 1984, appeared on talk shows, television specials and music shows as diverse as Des O'Connor, Michael Parkinson, The Two Ronnies, Captain and Tenille, Kenny Everett, Dinah Shore, Les Dawson, Julie Andrews and Perry Como. He co - hosted Solid Gold in America with Dionne Warwick, and in England hosted his own show on Radio 1. As a fan, he got heavily into Formula 1 motor racing, even driving John Watson and Niki Lauda's McLaren at Silverstone for the BBC. He followed the Grand Prix circus around the world, striking up friendships with many leading drivers, from Ayrton Senna to Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill.

In 1985 Leo and Janice were living apart. The news soon followed that the couple were to be divorced. The inevitable pressures of showbusiness on their marriage had taken their toll. Leo then split with Adam Faith and the British newspapers started to hone in on the apparently acrimonious end to one of British pop's most enduring partnerships. Leo said nothing and just carried on working, but a new musical direction was to prove difficult to achieve. After years of relying on others, he was now entirely writing, playing and producing his own music. He had built his own studio and was trying to run his own career from his own offices. It didn't work! Leo had meanwhile found a new partner, Italian Donatella Piccinetti. Donatella now exclusively manages and represents Leo.

The difficulties continued, however. In 1987 he had split up with his long time record company Chrysalis and was actively pursuing a new record deal. In 1988, now 40 years old, he was touring the UK again, albeit to audiences who became confused by the straight hair and pony tail he was now sporting! The lad hadn't lost his touch though, new songs revealing a harder edge and new depth to his work. The show reviews were good, a new audience was nurtured and the tour travelled on to great success in the Middle East, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Leo was still searching for that elusive hit though, and returned to the studio in 1989 with Alan Tarney, to record 'Cool Touch'.

Released on EMI records in 1990, the album was a journey into disco and soul, and though it wasn't the success that Leo and Alan had hoped for, the 'Cool Touch' single and video introduced Leo favourably to the new M.T.V. and dance generation of the 90's. Leo toured Australia again, and also in 1990 played two amazing concerts in Moscow. The entire audience sang along to 'One Man Band' and 'When I Need You' - in English! Leo was totally shocked, having had never been told before of his popularity behind the iron curtain. Between 1991 and 1996 Leo's career progressed steadily along similar lines, tours of the Far East and Australasia, some recording, some writing and co - writing, but there was no real breakthrough.

Then in 1997, Leo received an offer for a season of shows at The Cafe Royal, in the heart of London's West End. There was a press call, and representatives from the tabloid newspapers turned up to the opening night. A couple of journalists from The Sun newspaper ended up backstage after the show, raving about what they'd seen, and their next day's edition featured the start of a campaign to 'Bring back Leo Sayer'. Also at this time a group calling themselves The Groove Generation hit the UK charts with a 90's style re-working of Leo's classic 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing'.

This opened up an entirely new performance market to Leo and he started appearing in discos and at University dances and balls throughout the U.K. to a younger crowd, who thought he was the epitome of chic. The seventies revival had started, with Leo being one of the great pace setters. The Sun kept on flying the flag for Leo and soon he was the darling of the scene again, the much awaited comeback of Leo Sayer becoming a media and music business reality. Recently Leo has toured successfully the UK and Australia. Recent record releases are 'The Definitive Hits Collection' C.D. for Polygram-Universal and the 'Live In London' C.D. for ABM records.

His music is currently being featured in many TV commercials and feature films, his image is used in advertisements and his songs in hit musicals. He is currently at work writing and preparing a new studio album and is working on a musical based on his early songs. Future plans include more concert tours and live appearances.

Thirty years since the release of Silverbird, the lion is roaring again...