Leo Sayer Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gerard

Leo was born in 1948 in Sussex, England and named Gerard Hugh Sayer. He came from a Catholic family and learned to sing in the church choir. Having entered a talent contest, Leo was auditioned by David Courtney and began performing under the name of Gerry Sayer.

More importantly at that time, he and Courtney began a productive writing partnership with Leo writing the words which Courtney set to music.

Answer: Adam Faith

David Courtney, with whom Leo had formed his song writing partnership, had played drums for Adam Faith, and the duo took some of their work to him for his appraisal. Adam immediately booked Leo's band, named Patches, into a recording studio and took over as his manager. It was at this time that Gerard became Leo, dubbed with the name by David due to his hairstyle, which reminded Courtney of a lion.

Adam Faith had several UK hits including 'Poor Me' and 'Someone Else's Baby', both from 1960.

Answer: Roger Daltrey

Leo had met the members of The Who while recording, and was approached by Roger Daltrey to provide some songs for Daltrey's first solo album - named 'Daltrey' - to be released in 1973. Of the tracks on the album, Sayer and Courtney provided eight songs (one appeared twice) and the remaining two were credited to Adam Faith and David Courtney. 'Giving It All Away' was released as a single, and became Roger's biggest single hit when it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. Leo was unknown at the time, but the interest created by the Daltry album helped him to establish his own singing career.

Answer: The Show Must Go On

'The Show Must Go On' was Leo's second single, the first having sunk without trace. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, while the Three Dog Night version managed number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared on Leo's first album release, named 'Silverbird', on which he wrote, or part wrote, all of the songs.

The album reached number two of the UK Albums Chart, and made a little progress in the USA.

Answer: Pierrot

Leo had come across some fashion photos while recording his first album, and decided that the pierrot image suited him and his songs. Leo maintained the image during his promotion of his album and during his first tour in the USA, before dropping it once he felt his career had been established.

The schoolboy image was adopted by Gilbert O'Sullivan at the beginning of his career, while the cowboy and construction worker were among the members of Village People.

Answer: Dancing

'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' gave Leo his first number one record on the US Billboard Hot 100, while it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. Leo co-wrote the song with Vini Poncia, one of many Americans he was working with at the time, mainly in Los Angeles. The song appeared on Leo's 1976 album 'Endless Flight', which also included 'When I Need You' and 'How Much Love'.

Answer: Bobby Vee

'Whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah; I love you more than I can say; I'll love you twice as much tomorrow; whoa, whoa, love you more than I can say'. The song was actually written by two members of The Crickets, Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis, and the band recorded it themselves with minimal success. The Bobby Vee version (which I remember well) reached number four on the UK Singles Chart although it only managed a lowly number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Leo's version did even better, reaching number two in both the USA and UK, and number one on the Australian ARIA chart.

Answer: Cliff Richard

'Dreamin'' was released as a single from Cliff's album 'I'm No Hero', for which Alan Tarney contributed most of the songs, including the other big hit single 'A Little in Love'. 'Dreamin'' was the only one Leo provided for 'I'm No Hero', but his own album 'Living in a Fantasy' came out the same year with many of the songs co-written by Sayer and Tarney.

It was this album that included his recording of 'More Than I Can Say', the only hit single from this record.

Answer: Thunder in My Heart

'Thunder in My Heart' had originally been released in 1977 as the title track from the album of that name. It had been only a minor hit at the time, but Leo was asked for permission for the song to revamped by Meck (real name Craig Dimech). It was released under the title of 'Thunder in My Heart Again', with Leo's original vocals, and shot to the top of the UK Singles Chart.

Answer: Australia

Leo had always been popular in Australia, and he decided to live there permanently in 2005, settling in Sydney. He became an Australian citizen in 2009, marking the occasion with a concert and fireworks. Leo was still performing, mainly in Australia, in the 2010s, and has also made appearances on television shows such as 'The Wiggles' and the 2007 UK show 'Celebrity Big Brother'.