70s pop legend eyes a spot at Glastonbury as he launches huge comeback with new album and doc
HE is about to head out on a tour celebrating a career that spans an incredible five decades.
But Seventies pop star Leo Sayer isn’t just bringing his music back to the stage — he has a no-holds-barred autobiography, a new album and a TV documentary in the works too.
The You Make Me Feel Like Dancing singer will perform 19 concerts across the country this month and next, and is then hoping to return next year for a crowning-glory show at Glastonbury.
In an exclusive chat, Leo said of finally playing the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset: “The people who are doing the documentary with me — that’s their dream, to take me there.
“Please, God, they can get through to that.
“Yeah, that’d be great.
“It would be a great denouement of the career to do something like that.”
And Leo added: “There’s a new album coming.
“Well, I say new . . . it’s called 1992 and it’s a bunch of songs that I recorded and produced at that time in the Nineties.
“It’s kind of from the archives.
“I couldn’t get arrested in those days, quite honestly.
“Everybody in England would typically be saying, ‘Oh, Leo, you’ve had your time’.”
The star, who had a resurgence in 2006 when he topped the charts with Thunder In My Heart Again, spent five weeks in hospital last year after catching what he called a “nasty infection”, but he is now well and raring to go.
‘It’s in the genes’
And his trademark mop of curls is still very much intact.
He said with a laugh: “I’ve outlived my dad.
“He died at 74 and he had a pretty full head of hair.
“So I guess it’s in the genes.”
On his health now, he added: “I’ve got three stents in the heart.
“I’ve got a partial kneecap replacement
“I’ve got an irritable bowel. But basically, I’m good.
“I’ve still got the voice and I’ve still got the hair.
“So what else is there, really?
“I can move about a little bit on stage.
“They see me hobble about, you know, in my humble way. And they say, ‘Well, he’s still alive’.”
Long may he continue.
Stella’s a screen star
MERE mortals can’t pull off a dress that looks like a shattered windscreen – but Stella Maxwell can.
The ex-Victoria’s Secret Angel slinked down the red carpet at this weekend’s Venice Film Festival.
All the stars were out for the premiere of Battlefield, an Italian flick which is up for the Golden Lion gong.
Cate Blanchett was dripping in diamonds, while Sydney Sweeney covered up her bombshell curves in a voluminous, lace number.
It was on Eva Green to keep things classy in a simple, purple gown.
Ex-007 Daniel Craig upstaged them all, though, when he arrived during a breezy spell with wife actress Rachel Weisz to debut a new, much longer hairdo.
Time for ad break
AFTER saying Hello to her first Las Vegas crowd in November 2022, Adele is now getting ready to say goodbye.
The singer has just ten more dates remaining at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace and has revealed she plans to disappear for an “incredibly long time” after she wraps in Sin City this autumn.
Adele has spent the summer performing at her own pop-up stadium in Munich and broke down in tears during her final show in the Germany city on Saturday.
She told the audience: “I’m not the most comfortable performer, I know that, but I am very f***ing good at it.
“I’ve really enjoyed performing for nearly three years now, which is the longest I’ve ever done and probably the longest I would ever do.
“I have ten shows left after this, back in my residency.
“I still have exactly five weeks of shows.
“But after that I will not see you for an incredibly long time and I will hold you dear in my heart for that whole length of my break and I will fantasise about these shows.
“It has been amazing, I just need a rest.
“I’ve spent the past seven years building this life for myself, I want to live it now.”
No one deserves a nice pina colada on the beach more than you, Adele.
Oasis in top ten again
FANS jammed my phone on Saturday after I joined the seven million others desperately trying to get hold of Oasis tickets.
And now Noel and Liam Gallagher are clogging up the charts – much to my delight – with three of their best tunes now in the Top Ten.
Live Forever has jumped to No 4, while Don’t Look Back In Anger and Wonderwall are at No 7 and No 8.
The 30th anniversary reissue of debut album Definitely Maybe will hit No1 in the chart on Friday.
The brothers will also be vying for No1 spot in the singles as the week goes on and could dethrone Sabrina Carpenter, who has the top three chart positions with Taste, Please Please Please and Espresso.
I can’t wait for the gigs.
Liam’s five star spa
AFTER touring the world with One Direction, Liam Payne can’t be blamed for wanting a quieter life.
The Strip That Down singer celebrated turning 31 last week by enjoying a mini-break in the Lake District.
Joined by girlfriend Kate Cassidy, Liam, below, splashed the cash on a stay at the five-star Lodore Falls Spa and Hotel, which also has a very fancy outdoor pool.
My source said: “It was great for Liam to have some time off-grid with Kate.
“They spent a few days enjoying the country- side and the hotel spa.
“Liam had hoped to go kayaking but the wet weather scuppered his plans.”
He’s now back in Manchester filming new Netflix talent show Building The Band.
The week in Bizness
TOMORROW: Texas are at Hull’s Connexin Live to kick off their huge UK arena tour celebrating an incredible 35-year career. They go on to play London, Leeds, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow.
THURSDAY: The Mercury Prize will be awarded in a pared-down event at London’s Abbey Road Studios, broadcast on BBC Four. Charli XCX’s Brat is hot favourite to win the top gong.
FRIDAY: J-LO and Ben Affleck face an awkward reunion at the Toronto premiere of their film Unstoppable – which she stars in and he produced. It will be the first time they come face to face in public since she filed for divorce.
SUNDAY: The Weeknd plays a one-night-only concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which promises to “offer a glimpse into what’s next for the artist”. It will be live-streamed on YouTube from 1am.
SAM SMITH is busy giving Go Compare man Wynne Evans’ moustache a run for its money.
The singer has clearly been working hard on growing his facial hair – and a tash like Wynne’s must take a bit of grooming.
I bet beard oil is now top of the list on Sam’s rider.