Leo Sayer.
Johnny Marr is an English musician, songwriter, and singer (born Johnny Martin Maher) in Manchester in October 1963 and at the age of 13 formed his first band, the Paris Valentinos. He played in several bands, the most recent being Freak Party. But by early 1982, after losing their singer, Marr approached Rob Allman, the singer with White Dice. He showed little interest and instead suggested Steven Morrissey, the singer with the Nosebleeds. In May, and through a third-party it was arranged for Marr to meet Morrissey at his home. They seemed to hit it off and with Marr’s first bass player, Andy Rourke, and Mike Joyce on drums they formed the Smiths.
Within months they signed to Rough Trade Records and in May 1983 released their first single “Hand in Glove.” Now with an ever-growing fan base they recorded their first album, which was released in early 1984 and reached number two in the UK Chart. This was quickly followed by their second album, the controversial, “Meat is Murder.”
Their third album “The Queen Is Dead” was awarded the accolade by Spin magazine as being one of the greatest albums ever made. This resulted in the NME dubbing the Smiths the most important rock band of all time.
Marr's guitar sounds are instantly recognisable, with his jangly Rickenbacker and Fender Telecaster and synonymous with the Smith’s sound. Marr said, when performing with the band, he wanted to play a music which was pop. "100% of my focus was on providing interesting guitar hooks and putting some kind of space-age twist on the guitarist's role. The pop guitarist crossed with the mad professor. That's how I thought of myself."
In early 1986, Rourke was fired by the band for his use of heroin, but within weeks he was reinstated. But other problems were already looming and despite their continued success, personal differences within the band and the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr created a huge problem.
Marr left the group in July 1987, and despite auditions to find a replacement no one was considered suitable. So, by the time their next tranche of music was released the band had long split.
One of the reasons given by Morrissey was the fact that Marr was working and recording with other artists, however, he later told Tim Samuels, a BBC journalist, that it was due to the lack of a managerial figure and business problems.
Marr's guitar playing had a massive effect on many of the Manchester bands that followed the Smiths including: John Squire - Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher - Oasis, and no doubt many more. He has since performed with numerous other bands and singers including: the Pretenders, Pet Shop Boys, collaborating with Hans Zimmer, on film soundtracks, Talking Heads. Joss Stone, Bryan Ferry and so many more.
In 2010 in a poll conducted by the BBC, Marr was voted the fourth-best guitarist of the last 30 years and Phil Alexander, editor-in-chief of Mojo described him as "arguably Britain's last great guitar stylist." In 2013, the NME, honoured Marr with its "Godlike Genius" award: "Not content with rewriting the history of music with one of the world's greatest ever bands, the Smiths, he's continued to push boundaries and evolve throughout his career, working with some of the best and most exciting artists on the planet."
Despite several attempts at reforming the Smiths it seems very unlikely.
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BY-------Graham Sclater
My first recollection of Leo Sayer was his appearance on Top of The Pops dressed as a clown and singing his second release, “The Show Must Go On.”
Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer was born in the UK in 1948. In January 1967, at the age of 18, he was working as a hall porter at the King's Hotel in Hove. He assisted in rescuing elderly guests from a serious fire that damaged the hotel's first floor. Later that year, he was discovered by songwriter David Courtney and began his musical career. It was six years before they achieved success with their co-write “Giving It All Away,” which in 1973, gave Roger Daltry of the Who his first solo hit. They co-wrote all but two of the tracks on his subsequent album release, Daltrey. That began what was to be a roller coaster ride for Sayer as a singer in his own right. Under the management of sixties sensation Adam Faith, he was signed to Chrysalis Records in the UK and Warner Bros. Records in the USA. That was a masterstroke because it gave him two companies promoting him and his music in very different territories.
His debut single, "Why Is Everybody Going Home," was not a success, but his second
single, “The Show Must Go On” was an immediate hit. Much of it had to do with his
costume, which caused a huge stir across TV stations in the UK and Europe. The single
went to No. 2 on the UK singles chart and the ensuing debut album Silverbird
contained all tracks co-written with David Courtney, who also co-produced the album
with Adam Faith.
Strangely, in 1974, Sayer’s first hit was the last hit record, for Three Dog Night, which reached Number 4 on the US Billboard charts. Sayer’s following singles were all major hits in the UK: "One Man Band" went to No. 6 in 1974, "Long Tall Glasses" (UK No. 4, 1974) became his first Top Ten hit in the US, reaching No. 9 in the Billboard charts, and "Moonlighting" reached No. 2 in the UK charts in 1975. In 1976, Sayer recorded three Beatles for the Beatles-themed concept films “I Am the Walrus, Let It Be,” and “Long and Winding Road.” Between 1973 and 1977, he consistently had successful Top 10 albums on the UK albums chart.
He also achieved success as an album artist in the US, beginning with his second LP, Just A Boy in 1973 which reached No. 16. In 1976, his fourth album, Endless Flight, consolidated his international popularity, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 10 in the US; it also charted strongly in other countries including Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, and was certified as a platinum album in both the UK and the US, and double-platinum in Canada. His first seven singles all reached the Top 10.
The peak of his career came in 1977, when he achieved two consecutive number-one hits in the US, first with the disco-styled “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” and “When I Need You,” a song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager, which was also his first number-one hit in the UK
In 1979, the compilation album The Very Best of Leo Sayer (originally released by Chrysalis in the UK and elsewhere, with its first release in the US in 2000 by Rhino Records with different cover art) became Sayer's first UK No. 1 album and his seventh consecutive UK Top 20 album. Sayer also guest-starred in the second episode of the third season of The Muppet Show where he performed "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing", "The Show Must Go On", and "When I Need You."
As well as When I Need You, Sayer also covered versions of “More Than I Can Say.” “Raining In My Heart,” and in 1979, the Bee Gee’s little-known, “Heart (Stop Beating in Time)” 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.
As well as his own music Sayer has written songs used in film soundtracks and he even voiced “Dan” the Ranger in the animated Canadian series, The Raccoons
On 12 February 2006, Sayer returned to number one on the UK single charts with DJ Meck’s remix of “Thunder in My Heart,” which was his first appearance in the Top 10 in almost 24 years. Sayer, having lived in Sydney since 2005, became an Australian citizen in January 2009.
Sayer released his album 1992 on Demon Record on 29 November 2024 which contained a selection of his songs recorded that year but unreleased until now. Although Sayer still suffers from the effects of injuries to his legs and ankles that were caused by a fall off a stage in 1977, he continues to tour.
Catch him while you can.
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