Leo Sayer has met everyone – rock legends, sport superstars, future presidents …

About this episode

Leo Sayer reflects on his colorful career and encounters with various legends in music and sports.

Leo Sayer burst onto national telly in 1973 dressed as a Pierrot with the Show Must Go On launching a 50-year career in colourful company – songwriters, boxing legends, swindling managers, scurrilous socialites – and learning a great deal in the process. “Don’t underestimate the idiots!” is the hard-won advice. He’s touring in October and joins us here from Australia to look back at …   … how he and Linda Ronstadt escaped from Trump’s gruesome penthouse   … walking through Memphis dressed as a clown   … seeing Lonnie Donegan invent skiffle, Dylan at the Albert Hall and Bob Marley at the Lyceum from the side of the stage   … when Paul Kossoff asked him to audition for Free   … designing record sleeves for Marley, Roger Daltrey, Humble Pie and Quintessence   … “I’m the Forrest Gump of the music industry – nearly there!”   … “working with Adam Faith was like having Marlon Brando as your acting coach”   … the advice Paul McCartney gave him in 1973   … “Do you mind if I vomit in your shoe?”   … and a week in a training camp with Muhammad Ali.   Order Leo Sayer tickets here: https://tix.to/LeoLive26   Order the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, Alex Gold

Guest: Leo Sayer

Topics covered

• music history
• celebrity encounters
• touring experiences
• personal anecdotes
• rock legends

Keywords

• Leo Sayer
• rock legends
• music industry
• touring
• celebrity stories
• Paul McCartney
• Muhammad Ali
• interviews

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Free, Rough Trade

Books & works: Leothology

Places: Australia, Memphis, Albert Hall, Lyceum

More episodes of Word In Your Ear

• Dave Balfe remembers the Teardrops, Blur and a very big house in the country · June 12, 2026 · 52 min
• Star Ratings - do we love/hate/need them? Five-star debate here! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ · June 11, 2026 · 38 min
• Brian Epstein & the Beatles - what he did and what he hid · June 9, 2026 · 30 min
• Are we nearing Beatles Overload? plus the rock star with the most children (41!) · June 8, 2026 · 49 min
• The glorious story of Funk from James Brown to Off The Wall · June 3, 2026 · 43 min
• Songs about sweltering heat, Willie Nelson’s braids and is vinyl now ‘luxury goods’? · June 1, 2026 · 48 min