Leo Sayer Live review by Martin Hutchinson.

Leo Sayer

A Masterclass in Stagecraft and Singing

Martin Hutchinson reports from Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on the 31st of October.

He may be small in stature, but his voice and stage presence make him seem like a giant!

The long-awaited return to the UK by Leo Sayer resulted in a great crowd in Manchester, who were treated to a masterclass in stagecraft and singing in a two-hour journey through Leo’s stellar career. And it is a career that has lasted fifty years!

Before he even sang a note, Leo introduced his band. I’ve never seen that happen before, they usually get name-checked either during or at the end of the gig. The show kicked off with a trio of early hits, ‘The Show Must Go On’ (‘Silverbird’, 1973); ‘One Man Band’ (‘Just a Boy’, 1974) and ‘Moonlighting’ (‘Another Year’, 1975), as well as ‘Train’ (‘Just a Boy’). I’m pleased to report that Leo still has his trademark curly locks (which originally gave him the name ‘Leo’, as in a lion’s mane), and he leapt about the stage as if he was twenty-four instead of seventy-four. And he showed lots of humour (complete with the occasional naughty word). His voice is a strong as ever and he continued to belt out hit after hit, including ‘Raining in My Heart’ (‘Leo Sayer’, 1978); ‘Orchard Road’ (‘Have You Ever Been in Love’, 1983) and ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You (Though I Try)’ (‘Leo Sayer’) … and that only took us to the interval!

More hits followed after the break, and with two tracks from his recent album of Beatles’ covers ‘Northern Songs’, his whole career was covered. Leo performed ‘Across the Universe’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ (which was a lot more ‘Rocky’ than the Fab Four’s version) and the mobile phones (modern day replacement for lighters) were brandished during ‘When I Need You’ (‘Endless Flight’), whilst everybody was on their feet for ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ (‘Endless Flight’).

It was a complete history of Leo Sayer. If you recall the 1979 compilation album, ‘The Very Best Of Leo Sayer’, he sang all but one of the tracks off that album, only omitting his cover of The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’.

For the encore, Leo took us back to the very beginning in 1973 and two songs that he co-wrote which were used by Roger Daltrey on his first solo album, 1973’s ‘Daltrey’: ‘It’s a Hard Life’ and ‘Givin’ It All Away’. As the whole audience gave Sayer and his band a much deserved ovation, the speakers burst into life with ‘The Werewolves of London’ and the musicians playfully larked about as vampires. Well, it was Halloween!

Set List: ‘The Show Must Go On’; ‘One Man Band’; ‘Moonlighting’; ‘Train’; ‘Dancing the Night Away’; ‘Raining In My Heart’; ‘Have You Ever Been in Love’; ‘Bedsitter Land’; ‘Orchard Road’; ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’.

Interval.

‘Thunder In My Heart’; ‘More Than I Can Say’; ‘Eleanor Rigby’; ‘Across the Universe’; ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’; ‘When I Need You’; ‘Long Tall Glasses’; ‘How Much Love’.

Encores: ‘It’s a Hard Life’; ‘Givin’ It All Away’.

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