WEBVTT - ‘Dance the night away’ with pop icon Leo Sayer this September

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<v Speaker 1>He's touring Australia. He's back this bloke. I was traveling

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<v Speaker 1>and a.

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<v Speaker 2>Road felling hungry, and corners are signs food and drinks

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<v Speaker 2>for everyone, so naturally I thought I would take me

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<v Speaker 2>a log sun.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know which songs he's going to choose for

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<v Speaker 1>the set list, because there's about a million of them

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<v Speaker 1>that we love. Leo Sayer, pop legend englishman turned Australian,

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<v Speaker 1>joins us on the show. Now, hello mate, how are you?

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<v Speaker 2>How are you doing? Bowie? Everything good?

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<v Speaker 1>Good?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>What about you?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? Not bad, not bad. I'm over in New South

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<v Speaker 2>Wales and would you believe it? Just about to go

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<v Speaker 2>over and tour the UK before I come, So I'm

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<v Speaker 2>doing to warm up over there, you know, before we

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<v Speaker 2>do the important gigs.

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<v Speaker 1>He's still got that funny accent. Mate, Hey, I actually

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<v Speaker 1>do you know?

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<v Speaker 2>But if I go to England they all say, I'll

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<v Speaker 2>stand Australian. So how do you win?

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<v Speaker 1>I was singing about you, and often artists when they

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<v Speaker 1>reach a certain each and with such a big back catalog,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes you can be made a night. You could if

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<v Speaker 1>you hadn't gone Australian, you could be surly by now.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, look, if I'd have spent my time doing charity

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<v Speaker 2>work and all that sort of stuff, probably, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>but look, I'm happy to be judged by my music

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<v Speaker 2>rather than my actions. You know. But it looks if

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<v Speaker 2>you have a long career, there's always going to be

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<v Speaker 2>moments when you have fantastics. But I mean, I met

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<v Speaker 2>the Queen about Elizabeth so many times, and then the

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<v Speaker 2>last time I saw it, I said, oh, nice to

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<v Speaker 2>meet you. Your Majesty said no, you don't have to

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<v Speaker 2>call me your manjesty because we know each other. We're friends.

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<v Speaker 1>How good isn't that nice?

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<v Speaker 2>He was an amazing lady. So you know, you get

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<v Speaker 2>these incredible experiences. They come with the job and you

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<v Speaker 2>just absorbed them. You know. If I was to be knighted,

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<v Speaker 2>I'd be Oh, I'd be the proudest Englishman. But I

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<v Speaker 2>think I'm even more out to be an Australian. So

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<v Speaker 2>let's have an oam first. I think.

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<v Speaker 1>My chick bugger, hey mate, when you when you look

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<v Speaker 1>back at we often I'm a bit younger than you.

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<v Speaker 1>But on a countdown kid, right, So we talk about

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<v Speaker 1>the Countdown era, how influential it was, how it shaked down,

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<v Speaker 1>musical tastes. How important it was. The show itself gave

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<v Speaker 1>you a massive platform in this country, didn't it, And

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<v Speaker 1>that all those film clips and that's it was a

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<v Speaker 1>big part of Australian history, and you're a big part

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<v Speaker 1>of Australian music history because of it.

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<v Speaker 2>No, that's beautiful. I when I came over in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>seventy five on the first tour, I didn't know who

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<v Speaker 2>Molly Meldon was. Yeah. Yeah, and this bloke is very unusual.

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<v Speaker 2>Bloke stepped on the plane as we arrived in Melbourne

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<v Speaker 2>and they sort of shimmied me off the plane, which

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<v Speaker 2>was a bit peculiar. I thought, what have I done?

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<v Speaker 2>And I get arrested and it was him. And there

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<v Speaker 2>was a car on the tarmac, and we straightened at

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<v Speaker 2>the car and there's a camera crew, you know, on

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<v Speaker 2>the front seat, and those days massively bulky cameras as well.

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<v Speaker 2>So this guy's leaning over and Molly's started asking me questions.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm thinking, okay, this is it. We were going live

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<v Speaker 2>on the way to the studio way and all I

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<v Speaker 2>was worried about was my wife was stuck behind me

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<v Speaker 2>somewhere still on the plane. And I've been ferreted away

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<v Speaker 2>and that was my introduction to Countdown straight to the studio,

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<v Speaker 2>straight on air, and the backing track was already playing

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<v Speaker 2>for me to go and sing. And I'm not thinking

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't even have a chance to see Melbourne yet.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't that amazing? It's amazing it was. But it was

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<v Speaker 1>like that.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I loved the way that they made shows

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<v Speaker 2>because everything was they just thought of an idea, they

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<v Speaker 2>felt it and they did it, you know. And there

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<v Speaker 2>were plenty of shows that tried to do that again

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<v Speaker 2>after but they never quite succeeded with that vibe, did they.

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<v Speaker 2>And that was all about Molly.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I don't know if you remember this, mate, but

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<v Speaker 1>there was a video made by ac DC in the

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<v Speaker 1>back of a flat big truck gets a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh. I love that, Love that. That's one of the

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<v Speaker 2>great ones all time.

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<v Speaker 1>It's fifty years old this week and they're looking to

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<v Speaker 1>remake it. They're looking to redo it. Melbourne City I

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<v Speaker 1>call that.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, I love that.

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<v Speaker 1>And they did create those moments, didn't it? In our

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<v Speaker 1>history and what we got I always felt even towards you. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like I know you because you did host

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<v Speaker 1>Countdown on your as well as your songs. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'll ask you about your voice in a minute,

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<v Speaker 1>but the songs and the act, it felt like we

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<v Speaker 1>knew you as a bloke.

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<v Speaker 2>Well yeah, Molly actually asked me the two hundredth show

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<v Speaker 2>in England and we did it over there. He went

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<v Speaker 2>turtle And so I'm kind of famed for the guy

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<v Speaker 2>in the noctop of the Bond, but I love Bond.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I didn't mean to do it. It was just

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<v Speaker 2>that he was in the shot. You know.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he's from he's from this town, made he's from

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<v Speaker 1>the city.

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<v Speaker 2>And I know he's a lovely boy and he's.

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<v Speaker 1>Got a statue in down on Frio.

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<v Speaker 2>He was very he was a very fun guy. He

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<v Speaker 2>cracks such amazing jokes. He was like he could have

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<v Speaker 2>done stand up. I reckon.

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<v Speaker 1>Heyleo. Why now? And what's in the song is how

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<v Speaker 1>you're putting it together?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh look, there's everything in there. We don't have a

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<v Speaker 2>support act. I do the whole show. It's structured to

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<v Speaker 2>really take you on a journey through all the songs

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<v Speaker 2>and all the career. It's there's there's so much contrasting

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<v Speaker 2>music in there, which I'm very proud of you know.

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<v Speaker 2>There's ballads, and there's story songs, and there's dance songs,

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<v Speaker 2>and there's rock songs. So everything's in there, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>And and it kind of like the lyrics take over

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<v Speaker 2>the narrative of the of the tale as it were,

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<v Speaker 2>you know. And I think that that's that's something that

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<v Speaker 2>I do that is very different to other people, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>and it makes the show, you know. So I'm on

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<v Speaker 2>stage for about an hour and three quarters and yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's cutting everything in is a tricky one, but

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<v Speaker 2>we managed to.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, you and I'll let you suggest the song

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<v Speaker 1>we can go out with.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, here's the thing. I mean, I do the same

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<v Speaker 2>show in England exactly as I do in Australia.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so that's a unique.

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<v Speaker 2>Thing that you know, my career has meant the same

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<v Speaker 2>in both places and the same hits.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, mate, you had you had a unique voice. You

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<v Speaker 1>could do the low register stuff. You've got a great

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<v Speaker 1>raspy rock voice. If you need it, you can do

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<v Speaker 1>the I was going to say, can you still can

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<v Speaker 1>you still do the falsetto?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? Just about I can't And you make me fillow

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<v Speaker 2>dance and I can't keep going the whole song. I

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<v Speaker 2>break off on after a while, but it's still there.

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<v Speaker 2>And there are other songs where the falsetto is in. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>you're there.

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<v Speaker 1>So the pipes are holding up. That's good, mate, pipes.

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<v Speaker 2>Are holding up, the hair is still on. It's all good.

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<v Speaker 1>Where you are playing. It's just a natural that I'll

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<v Speaker 1>call you mate. I don't don't know why that is,

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<v Speaker 1>but I hope that's gone.

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<v Speaker 2>Mate.

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<v Speaker 1>I am a mate first as straying too. Since nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>I've already had a couple.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm talking to my mate Bowie.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, everywhere your mate, Mandra Thursday September eleventh of the

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<v Speaker 1>Impact and playing at the Astor on Friday September twelfth.

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<v Speaker 1>They're both riper venues. Why should people come along.

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<v Speaker 2>That because they're going to see something very special that's timeless.

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<v Speaker 2>I think, yeah, it's not just me, I mean all

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<v Speaker 2>of us guys from our era. The music we made

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<v Speaker 2>was very special. We didn't have mobile phones or social

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<v Speaker 2>media or anything like that. We were able to spend

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of time concentrating on creating these songs, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>because nobody disturbed us, which was wonderful. There was nothing

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<v Speaker 2>to sidetrack us or take our attention away. These days,

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<v Speaker 2>it's not so easy. So I think it's we're echoing

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<v Speaker 2>a fantastic time in life, in our lives, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>And a lot of people come along because they'll say, oh,

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<v Speaker 2>that's a special song or Tide Road, you know, that's

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<v Speaker 2>the song we got married to. So it's nostalgia as well,

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<v Speaker 2>you know.

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<v Speaker 1>Nice to know, you know, when you look back. Nice

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<v Speaker 1>to know that good songs hold up when you play

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<v Speaker 1>live now, mate, when you play live now, what are

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<v Speaker 1>there any that you kind of have you reworked a

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<v Speaker 1>bit or you feel differently about them or yeah, were quite.

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<v Speaker 2>A few of them actually, yeah, because you know, for

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<v Speaker 2>songs fifty years old, you can't do it exactly the

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<v Speaker 2>same as the record. And also I think that that's

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<v Speaker 2>an additive in the concert if you kind of can

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<v Speaker 2>adapt the songs. I mean, some people take it too fast, Moose.

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<v Speaker 2>People criticize Bob Dylan because he's not doing it exactly

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<v Speaker 2>the same. But some of his songs are seventy years old,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, so what do you expect him to do? So?

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<v Speaker 2>But we do adapt them, and we and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>some of the songs we brought something new to like

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<v Speaker 2>reiining in my heart I do, and it's a big

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<v Speaker 2>harmonica and guitar duet in that. You know, we kind

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<v Speaker 2>of play off each other and that becomes a feature

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<v Speaker 2>in itself, and we play with the rhythm of that

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<v Speaker 2>and play with the speed of it, and it becomes

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<v Speaker 2>a bit of a showstopper, you know, in a way.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, really nice to talk to you. I think

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people listening to are my age or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a bit older, who who remember you fondly and

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<v Speaker 1>always love not only the music but your personality. So

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<v Speaker 1>it'd be nice to see you here. See you in

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<v Speaker 1>ziptimper mate, good man, Thank you for chatting.

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<v Speaker 2>To us, No really looking forward to us.

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<v Speaker 1>Can we be fab all right? All right, cheers buddy,

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<v Speaker 1>see your man now. All the best, Leo Sayer.