Leo Sayer celebrates his golden years with 50th anniversary gig at Music Hall

By Martin Hutchinson

October 14 2022, 5:00 pm

Leo Sayer will be celebrating 50 years as a recording artist with a gig at Aberdeen's Music Hall.

Leo Sayer will be celebrating the milestone of 50 years as a recording artist the only way he knows how – via a huge UK tour including a visit to Aberdeen.

Leo is one of the most successful British artists of all time, racking up millions of album sales, transatlantic number one singles and a slew of awards.

His army of hit singles includes Thunder In My Heart, The Show Must Go On, One Man Band, Moonlighting, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, How Much Love, I Can’t Stop Loving You, More Than I Can Say and the timeless When I Need You.

He will be bringing that impressive back catalogue to the Music Hall on Sunday October 16, along with new work.

Leo Sayer will be playing hits from his back catalogue in a gig at the Music Hall in Aberdeen.

During lockdown, while Leo was at home in Australia he was extremely active, spending a lot of time recording and releasing new singles.

He also found time to self-produce a new album – Northern Songs, his own take on songs written and composed by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison which is out now on CD and vinyl.

How Leo Sayer found his showbiz name – and never looked back

Gerard Hugh Sayer was born in Shoreham-by-Sea in May 1948 and was ‘discovered’ by David Courtney, who was the manager of Adam Faith at the time. Initially, they wrote songs together, penning Roger Daltrey’s solo hit Giving It All Away.

He then launched his recording career and struck the big time with his second solo single The Show Must Go On, which got to number two in the charts in 1973.

Leo explains how he came up with his showbiz name.

Leo Sayer’s pierrot costume made him a memorable figure when he first appeared on Top Of The Pops in 1973.

“It was because of my huge head of hair when I first met Adam Faith. His wife Jackie said I reminded them of a TV cartoon called ‘Leo The Lion’. I tried using the name and it stuck.”

When Leo first appeared on the BBC show Top Of The Pops he cut a striking figure dressed in a pierrot costume which certainly made people sit up and take notice.

The image was a success as it cemented Leo in our minds and when the next single, One Man Band, was released it flew up the charts.

New chapter for Leo Sayer with life in Australia

In the early years of the new millennium, Leo emigrated to Australia and became a citizen in 2009.

“At 55 years old I needed a career restart. There were so many new opportunities awaiting me here that weren’t on offer any more in the UK. I always loved visiting here on tour in the 70s and had so many wonderful experiences, so I couldn’t think of a better place to move to.”

Leo’s Northern Songs is his take on some of the great numbers originally recorded by The Beatles. And apart from Mark Kennedy’s drums on one track (Hey Jude), Leo played all the instruments, arranged the songs, and produced the album.

“I find that I’ve become a One Man Band recording-wise,” he said.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to be able to do, and I’m always imagining fully finished songs in my head. I guess I just had to wait until the technology caught up, and now I can do it all. This process does take a lot longer though, but it feels highly rewarding to me.”

Why Leo Sayer decided to honour The Beatles in his new album

Leo says that it wasn’t an ambition to pay homage to The Fab Four.

“No, not really, I didn’t pre-conceive it but it kinda presented itself when I was experimenting with working on my own.

Leo Sayer, who is at the Music Hall on Sunday, carved a new career for himself when he moved to Australia.

“The Beatles’ songwriting is a collection of musical masterpieces, so they are great songs to interpret, and I found myself thinking of what could be done with them. By the time I’d tried approaching three of the tracks, and got them finished to my satisfaction, I knew I had to continue.”