smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | erhoek@comcast.net |
| Subject | Leo Sayer returns to the charts |
| Date | Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:27:27 +0000 |
[Part 1 text/plain (3.7 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Of interest to the resident Leo Sayer fans:
GOLDEN oldie Leo Sayer has rocketed back to the top of the charts for
the first time in nearly 30 years.
The 57-year-old singer has beaten off younger and trendier opposition
with a remix of his 1977 song Thunder in My Heart by ice-cool British
LA-based dance DJ Meck, pushing Notorious BIG, Diddy and Nelly down to
two with Nasty Girl.
Sayer's last No.1 was in 1977 with When I Need You. Last night he
admitted he was enjoying his return to pop stardom after his career went
into sharp decline in the 1980s.
"What's lovely is that I don't have to panic," he said. "Usually on the
verge of a No.1 record I'd have been a basket case. I'd have been under
sedation. But I'm 57, I've been there before. I'm really happy with my
life. This is all a bonus anyway."
Sayer's return to his chart-topping heyday was an accident. Meck, real
name Craig Dimech, stumbled across a copy of the original vinyl album
featuring the song in a junk shop in Hollywood.
He said: "I flicked through the title track and it absolutely blew me
away. The production values were just absolutely awesome, and lyrically
it's so heartfelt and angst-ridden. I really wanted to use some of the
record and beef it up and bring it up to date.
"You probably think of two or three records he did, that people
unfortunately think of as a bit naff or not cool. This is so not that
Leo Sayer."
Meck said that Sayer, who moved to Australia last year, was delighted
when he asked permission to release the track as a single dubbed Thunder
in My Heart Again. He added: "I think he was particularly excited that
someone in the world of dance had taken one of his records and tried to
do this."
The record began storming up the charts after Radio 1 heavyweights Pete
Tong and Jo Whiley backed the track. Tong said: "Meck's made it all
sound cool, and boy, does this one work. Stand back and watch it blow up
everywhere."
The original Thunder in My Heart single, designed to move Sayer away
from his trademark ballads into the popular disco scene, was a bit of a
flop on first release, failing to make the Top 20.
The pint-sized singer, with his trademark mass of curls, was condemned
hopelessly naff and he quit the UK, first for the US, then Australia.
Ewan Grant, a music consultant with Universal's new Apollo label, said
he had no problems with releasing a Leo Sayer song.
He said: "After Leo had a string of hits in the 1970s, he wanted to move
into the world of disco, and this was mocked by his peers at the time,
but actually it's a really good record. It's pretty bizarre that it's
all coming round for him again."
The single could now spark a revival for Sayer, whose greatest-hits
album, Endless Journey, is already making a return to record shops in
the wake of the single. It is not the first time he has been reworked by
modern acts. His You Make Me Feel Like Dancing was reworked by the
Groove Generation in 1998, reaching No.32.
Sayer made his opening mark on the charts in 1973. His debut album,
Silverbird, reached No.2 and the debut single, The Show Must Go On went
straight to the No.1 spot.
The Sussex-born former altarboy discovered his talent for singing in his
local church choir. He played in bands as an art student and
supplemented his wages as a typographic designer in London by busking
around the streets and in Underground stations.
He formed a band in 1971 that was signed by pop guru Adam Faith, but he
decided Sayer was the only member who could make it big and gave him a
contract for an album. Sayer also penned songs for other singers,
including The Who star Roger Daltrey's biggest-selling solo single,
Giving It All Away.
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.