Biografía de Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer on 21 May 1948) is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s. His first seven hit singles in the United Kingdom all reached the Top 10 – a feat first registered by his one-time manager, Adam Faith.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Discography
3.1 Albums
3.2 Singles
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Early life
Sayer was born on 21 May 1948 to an Irish mother and English father in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England. He was initially discovered by musician David Courtney, who then co-managed him with the singer turned manager, Adam Faith.
In January 1967, while 18-year old Sayer was working as a hall porter at the King's Hotel in Hove, he assisted in the rescue of guests from a fire that damaged the first floor of the hotel. He was rescued by builders working on a block of flats beside the hotel.
Career
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 without The Who in 1973.
That same year, Sayer began his career as a recording artist. At the time of his initial chart breakthrough in the UK, with his second single "The Show Must Go On", he wore a pierrot style costume and make-up and the song went quickly to number two. He had several subsequent single hits including, "One Man Band" (1974), "Long Tall Glasses" (1974) and "Moonlighting" (1975). In 1976, Sayer recorded three Beatles songs, "I Am the Walrus", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" for the film, All This and World War II.
In 1977, he had a US number one with "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (a Grammy Award winner for the year's best Rhythm and Blues Song), as well as the romantic ballad, "When I Need You" (1977), which reached number one in both the UK and US. Written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager, it was Sayer's first UK chart-topper (after three number two hits) and his second successive US number one. It was also the first of two UK chart-toppers in a row for producer Richard Perry.
Sayer also made cover versions of Bobby Vee's Sonny Curtis/Jerry Allison composition, "More Than I Can Say" (his fourth UK number 2 hit and US number 2), and Buddy Holly's "Raining in My Heart" (1979) and "Orchard Road" in 1983. In the US, three of his singles - "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (1977), "When I Need You" (1977) and "More Than I Can Say" (1980) - were certified gold.[citation needed]
Sayer provided songs for the soundtrack of the French-Belgian animated film, Le Chainon manquant in 1980. In 1981 he was the voice of Dan the forest ranger in The Raccoons on Ice, the second of four specials serving as a predecessor to the Canadian animated series The Raccoons. He also sang several songs for the special, all of which were included on the 1983 album Lake Freeze.[citation needed]
In 1990, he contributed to the last studio collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, Woolfson's solo album Freudiana, performing "I Am A Mirror".
Sayer performed at the Sanremo Music Festival in 1990, with "The Moth And The Flame" (English version of "Tu... sì" by Mango) and, in 1991, with "All Alone" (English version of "Dubbi No" by Mietta).
On 12 February 2006, he made a surprise return to number one in the UK Singles Chart, with Meck's remix of "Thunder In My Heart". It was his first appearance in the UK Top 10 for almost 24 years, and his second UK chart-topper, almost three decades after his first.[citation needed] Leo Sayer: At His Very Best, a career-spanning compilation album, was released in the UK on 6 March 2006. It featured the Meck single, alongside "When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing". In 2008, Sayer released a new album in Australia, Don't Wait Until Tomorrow. This album, produced by Garth Porter (from the Australian pop band Sherbet), and released by Universal Music Australia, featured selections from his catalog in an entirely new setting, re-arranged with strings and acoustic and jazz instrumentation.[citation needed]
In January 2009, Sayer became an Australian citizen, having lived in Sydney, New South Wales since 2005.
Sayer has appeared in various TV shows including The Muppet Show (1978's Episode 3.02 on which he sang "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", "The Show Must Go On", and "When I Need You"); The Wiggles 2008 DVD, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, which featured Sayer's hit of the same name; Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2007; and the Australian television comedy, Stupid, Stupid Man. In the episode "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" of the television series The Simpsons, a character mentions Sayer as being another singer he likes, after Elvis Presley.
Discography
Albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
NLD
NO
NZ
SWE
US
1973 Silverbird 2 - - - - 209
UK: Silver
1974 Just a Boy 4 - - 35 - 16
UK: Silver
1975 Another Year 8 - - - - 125
UK: Silver
1976 Endless Flight 4 15 20 4 27 10
UK: Platinum
US: Platinum
CAN: 2× Platinum
1977 Thunder in My Heart 8 - 14 11 19 37
UK: Gold
1978 Leo Sayer 15 - 12 21 18 101
UK: Gold
1979 The Very Best of Leo Sayer 1 - 14 1 5 -
UK: Gold
FIN: Gold
1979 Here 44 - 17 50 - -
UK: Gold
1980 Living in a Fantasy 15 29 9 - 15 36
UK: Silver
1982 World Radio 30 - 4 35 - -
1983 Have You Ever Been in Love 15 - - - - -
UK: Gold
1990 Cool Touch - - - - - -
1993 All the Best 26 - - - - -
1999 The Definitive Hits Collection 35 - - - - -
1999 Live in London - - - - - -
2004 Endless Journey - The Essential Leo Sayer 52 - - - - -
2005 Voice In My Head - - - - - -
2006 Leo Sayer: At His Very Best 30 - - - - -
2008 Don't Wait Until Tomorrow * - - - - - -
* - Australia release only
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
US CAN
1973 "Why Is Everybody Going Home" - - -
"The Show Must Go On" 2 - -
UK: Gold
1974 "One Man Band" 6 96 -
"Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance)" 4 9 -
1975 "Moonlighting" 2 - -
UK: Silver
1976 "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" 2 1 1
UK: Silver
US: Gold
1977 "When I Need You" 1 1 1
UK: Gold
US: Gold
"How Much Love" 10 17 8
"Thunder in My Heart" 22 38 23
"Easy To Love" - 36 -
"There Isn't Anything" - - -
1978 "Dancing The Night Away" - - -
"I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)" 6 - -
UK: Silver
"Raining in My Heart" 21 47 -
1979 "When the Money Runs Out" - - -
1980 "More Than I Can Say" 2 2 3
UK: Silver
US: Gold
"Once in a While" - - -
"Shake the Hand" - - -
"Takin' the Brakes Off" - - -
1981 "Living in a Fantasy" - 23 14
1982 "Have You Ever Been in Love" 10 - -
Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
"Heart (Stop Beating in Time)" 22 - -
1983 "Orchard Road" 16 - -
"Till You Come Back to Me" 51 - -
1984 "Sea Of Heartbreak" - - -
1986 "Unchained Melody" 54 - -
"Real Life" - - -
1990 "Cool Touch" (Germany) - - -
1992 "I Will Fight for You" (Germany) - - -
1993 "When I Need You" (re-issue) 65 - -
1998 "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"
(Groove Generation featuring Leo Sayer) 32 - -
2006 "Thunder in My Heart Again"
(Meck featuring Leo Sayer) (Hit position #16 in Australia) 1 - -
Notes
Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955–2002 - Billboard/Record Research
Fuente: webmaster a través de Musica.com