Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer on 21 May 1948
in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex) is an English performing artist, now based in Australia, whose singing career has
spanned four decades.
Life and career
Sayer has had success with his single and album
releases, in both the UK and the U.S. He was
initially discovered by David Courtney, who co-managed him with the singer-turned-manager, Adam Faith. Sayer
began his music career co-writing songs with David Courtney, including "Giving It All Away," which
gave Roger Daltrey of The Who his first hit as a soloist in 1973.
That same year, Sayer began his career as a recording artist. At the time of his initial
chart breakthrough in Britain, with his debut hit
"The Show Must Go On," he wore a pierrot style outfit and make-up. He dropped it soon
afterwards, and his now distinctive curly hair is widely recognizable, often leading others to physically compare Sayer to
fitness guru, Richard Simmons.[citation needed] The name Leo was given him by Courtney, inspired by the star sign and lion-like mane.[citation needed]
In 1976, Sayer recorded three Beatles songs,
"I Am the Walrus," "Let It Be" and
"The Long and Winding Road" for the ill advised and ill-fated documentary, All This and World War
II.[citation needed]
His subsequent hits included, "Long Tall Glasses" and "Orchard Road." In 1977, he had hits with
"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (a U.S. number one), the romantic ballad, "When I Need You", which reached number one in both the UK and
U.S. Sayer also had remakes of Bobby Vee's
Sonny Curtis composition, "More Than I Can Say" (his fourth UK number 2 hit, and in the
U.S., number 2 pop and number one in the adult contemporary chart), and
Buddy Holly's "Raining In My Heart". In the U.S., three of his singles - "You Make Me Feel
Like Dancing," "When I Need You," and "More Than I Can Say" - were certified gold.
Sayer made an appearance on The Muppet Show during the third season (second
show) on which he sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You."
He also provided the soundtrack for the English
language version of the French-Belgian animated
film, The Missing Link (1980).[citation needed]
In 1990, he contributed to the last recording studio
collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric
Woolfson, the album Freudiana, performing "I Am A Mirror".[citation needed]
In 2000, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" was featured in the hit film, Charlie's Angels, and was on the accompanying
soundtrack album.
Sayer's debut UK hit, "The Show Must Go On," was covered by Three Dog Night for the
U.S. market and reached Number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974. Phil Collins covered
Sayer's song "I Can't Stop Loving You" for his 2002 album, Testify. It reached number one on the U.S. adult contemporary chart.
In 2005, Sayer moved to Sydney, Australia, where he remains based to this day. On 12 February 2006, made
a surprise return to number one in the UK Singles Chart, with Meck's remix of "Thunder In
My Heart." He has also appeared in the Australian comedy, Stupid, Stupid
Man.
Leo Sayer: At His Very Best, a career spanning compilation album, was
released in the UK on 6 March, 2006. It exclusively features the Meck single, alongside Sayer
classics such as, "When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing".
A 'Leo Sayer' is cockney rhyming slang for 'all-dayer", or an all-day drinking
session.[citation needed]
He is allegedly set to release a new single called 'Happy Hour' some time in the future.
Celebrity Big Brother 5
Sayer was the fifth person to join the Celebrity Big Brother
UK house at the start of the series.
When Jade Goody arrived on Day 3, the House was divided into two groups as part of a task,
(the 'masters' and the 'servants'),
with Sayer entering the servants' quarters. He participated as a night butler, but eventually
rebelled and pretended to be a mute, annoyed over a comment made by Dirk Benedict,
suggesting that he always talks over people. However, he eventually relented and began talking to his fellow servants again, but
continued his ridiculous miming antics in front of the masters and the Big Brother until the task ended.
Sayer was nominated for eviction, along with fellow housemates Dirk Benedict and Carole
Malone, with Sayer and Malone being joint favourites to leave the House. Howevever, Sayer quit on the day of the second
eviction and Presenter Davina McCall revealed that at
the time of his departure, he had the biggest percentage in the public vote and would have been leaving that evening
anyway.[1]
Sayer walked out of the Big Brother house on January 12, the same day he was due to face
eviction.[2] He broke an outside door with a broomstick,
made his way to the outer compound and then tussled with the security guards who were the obstacle between him and freedom,
issuing a tirade of abuse in the process.[3] Apparently,
his decision to leave was mainly due to Big Brother refusing to provide him with clean underwear.[4]
Personal life
Sayer had a 22 year personal relationship with his manager, Donatella Piccinetti. The couple
had an “open” relationship, with Piccinetti claiming in the press she had a sexual relationship with fellow Celebrity Big Brother contestant Donny Tourette after his
eviction from the show. The couple split in March 2007 after 22 years.[5].
Discography
Albums
Singles
- "The Show Must Go On" - 1973 - UK #2 (U.S. #4 in 1974 for Three Dog Night)
- "One Man Band" - 1974 - UK #6 / U.S. #96 (1975 release)
- "Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" - 1974 - UK #4 / U.S. #9 (1975 release)
- "Moonlighting" - 1975 - UK #2
- "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - 1976 - UK #2 / U.S. #1
- "When I Need You" - 1977 - UK & U.S. #1
- "How Much Love" - 1977 - UK #10 / U.S. #17
- "Thunder in My Heart" - 1977 - UK #22 / U.S. #38
- "Easy To Love" - 1977 - U.S. #36
- "I Can't Stop Lovin' You (Though I Try)" - 1978 - UK #6
- "Raining in My Heart" - 1978 - UK #21, U.S. # 47
- "More Than I Can Say" - 1980 - UK #2, U.S. #2
- "Living in a Fantasy" - 1981 - U.S. # 23
- "Have You Ever Been in Love" - 1982 - UK #10
- "Heart (Stop Beating in Time)" - 1982 - UK #22
- "Orchard Road" - 1983 - UK #16
- "Till You Come Back To Me" - 1983 - UK #51
- "Sea Of Heartbreak" - 1984 - UK #84
- "Unchained Melody" - 1986 - UK #54
- "I will fight for you" - 1992 - Germany
- "When I Need You" (re-issue) - 1993 - UK #65
- "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - The Groove Generation featuring Leo Sayer 1998 - UK #32
- "Thunder in My Heart Again" - Meck featuring Leo Sayer - 2006 - UK #1;
Australia #16
See also
References
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN
0-85112-190-X
- The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7
- Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2002 - Billboard Magazine/Record
Research
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)