THE Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum disc selling performer, Leo Sayer, visits Frome this Friday, 20th July, for the Frome Festival finale.
And he talks to Frome Times ahead of performance at the Cheese and Grain.
“Oh, it’s great!” he said about his gig in Frome. “It is such a nice opportunity to play small venues in the UK. I currently live in Australia so it’s nice to return. The smaller venues always give such a great vibe. All of my friends have mentioned to me what a great gig the Cheese and Grain in Frome is, and that I had to do it.”
Leo Sayer has wowed audiences worldwide with 16 hit singles and 26 hit albums to his name and sales of over 80 million, making him one of the most successful acts the UK has ever produced.
One of the all time great stage performers, Leo will be performing all the classic material with his band, including such hits as “The Show Must Go On” “One Man Band” “Long Tall Glasses” “Moonlighting” “Let It Be” “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” “When I Need You” “How Much Love” “Thunder In My Heart” “I Can’t Stop Loving You” “Raining In My Heart” “More Than I Can Say” “Have You Ever Been In Love.”
He was named as Best Male Artist of 1978 at the British Pop & Rock Awards (now the Brits) and had his own BBC TV show on Friday nights and also appeared on numerous chat and other shows including Michael Parkinson, Des O’Connor, Johnny Carson, Two Ronnies, Captain & Tenille, Kenny Everett, Dinah Shore, Les Dawson, The Muppet Show, Julie Andrews, Perry Como and appeared with his idol, Fred Astaire, on screen in Hollywood. As a songwriter he co-wrote “Giving It All Away” for Roger Daltrey, “Dreaming” for Cliff Richard and countless other songs for the likes of Tina Turner and Dolly Parton, whilst Three Dog Night’s cover of “The Show Must Go On” topped the US charts.
After a while out of the limelight, he was “re-discovered” by the MTV generation and ever since, has continued to tour the globe, to the ecstatic delight of millions of fans.
Tickets cost £25 and are available from office@ cheese andgrain.com, tel. 455420 or Raves from the Grave: 464666.
MUSIC icon, Leo Sayer, is performing as an encore show to this year’s Frome Festival at the Cheese and Grain on Friday 20th July. Prior to his show, the Frome Times caught up with him to discuss his career so far.
The Grammy-winning, multi-platinum disc-selling legend has wowed audiences worldwide with 16 hit singles and 26 hit albums to his name and sales of over 80 million, making him one of the most successful acts the UK has ever produced.
You’ve travelled around the world, performing in luxurious places. Why do you think it is important to do shows in smaller venues such as Frome?
“Oh, it’s great! It is such a nice opportunity to play small venues in the UK. I currently live in Australia so it’s nice to return. The smaller venues always give such a great vibe. All of my friends have mentioned to me what a great gig the Cheese and Grain in Frome is, and that I had to do it.
“The band and I have such a great following in the West Country and the South West and it’s a great opportunity to really get the venue packing with people who love what I do. It gives such a better atmosphere than some of the bigger concert halls, where it can become too formal. I just want people to join in, sing along and have fun.”
Are you excited to visit/perform in Frome?
“It’s very sad that we never get enough time to see the towns where we perform. Now I don’t live in the UK, it would be good to see places I haven’t seen, or meet up with people I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s so sad that we don’t get enough time. However, I am good friends with Jenson Button (Formula 1 Motorsport World Champion from Frome) who continually sings the praises of Frome so, yes, I’m excited to visit.”
You are playing as an encore to this year’s Frome Festival. The line-up features some up and coming artists looking to make it in the industry. Do you have any advice for them?
“Today, the industry is so mechanised and out of anyone’s control, but it is important to keep your dream alive. There are artists to this day that still come out of nowhere, including one of my favourites at the moment Lorde – it’s all about catching the imagination.
“I guess my advice would be to be yourself, stick to your guns and don’t let people put you off. Nobody can predict the industry these days as there are so many different ways to enter it from Facebook to Youtube to reality shows. As long as you believe in yourself, don’t compromise for anyone and don’t sell yourself short, you will be remaining true to yourself. Once it becomes a job, you’ve not done it right – it should always remain a dream.”
Your career has spanned many decades – has it been difficult to keep up with changes in the industry?
“I would say, live short term in your ambitions. Of course, you can continue to dream big – I’m 70 and I’m still hugely ambitious, so much so that I don’t think i’ve written my best record yet! But keep to small milestones.
“My first milestone came when Roger Daltrey sang one of my records. Then my appearance on Top Of The Pops, then it was my first gig supporting Roxy Music at The Rainbow in London which was a huge deal as I had to impress them and their fans. But it’s important to only think of what you are doing at that time, don’t think of anything further.
“Then my international success came in America which then made me have to learn how to deal with what to say to the press. It was all a scary, but lovely experience. I always used to put myself in the shoes of The Beatles, think about how they were dealing with it. I stand by my thoughts that to get through fame, you have to deal with it with humour and grace, treat it all like a joke and be nice to people.”
Do you enjoy performing your back catalogue of hits during your performances?
“Yes! It’s what the people come to hear! I do have a new album on the way, so I might include some new songs during my performance in Frome. I haven’t decided yet.”
What is your favourite song to sing to a crowd?
“There are the usuals that get the crowd joining in such as ‘One Man Band’, ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’, ‘More Than I Can Say’ but my favourite is ‘Giving It All Away.’ It’s retrospective for me and was where my career started, it kicked it all off. It’s about relevance, and it’s still very relevant to me. It was also one of the songs Roger Daltrey sang too in 1973 – but that’s showing my age.”
For those people attending your show on the 20th July, what can they expect?
“It’s a very musical show full of catchy songs, if I can say that about my own songs, but I just want people to let themselves go, have a drink and have fun! I will kick the show off with ‘Thunder in my Heart’ which always gets the crowd going. It’s still always a surprise how many songs people recognise.
“It’s a long show that could easily be made longer, so I can’t perform all the hits, but I am excited to come back to the West Country to see some familiar faces and hopefully some new ones as well!”
