Entertainment · Music · 9 hrs ago
Leo Sayer shares the songs that shaped his life
Leo Sayer has shared songs that shaped his life and career in a personal playlist.
He recalls discovering Bob Dylan as a teenager and says “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” remains one of the best songs ever written.
His first single was Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire,” which his father threw out of the window, calling it “pagan music.”
Sayer retrieved the record and played it at a friend’s house, while singing Buddy Holly’s “Oh, Boy!”
at school made him think he could become a musician.
He also remembers Bob Marley and the Wailers performing “No Woman, No Cry” in 1975, when he was at the side of the stage; he later toured with Marley.
Sayer says John Lennon’s “Imagine” is hard to listen to because he feels the world is not embracing its message of unity.
His 18-CD album collection is out now, and he is touring until 15 November.
Leo Sayer shared songs that shaped his life, from early musical inspirations to songs he still loves.
He said Buddy Holly’s “Oh, Boy!” made him think he could perform music.
Sayer recalled that his father threw his first single, Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Great Balls of Fire,” out of a window.
He named John Lennon’s “Imagine” as a song he can no longer listen to because the world is not heeding its message of unity.
Sayer’s 18-CD box set, “Leothology: The Studio Albums 1973 – Now,” is out now, and he is touring to 15 November.
- Who
- Singer Leo Sayer.
- What
- He shared songs that shaped his life and his choices for different occasions.
- When
- The article was published on 8 November 2026.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- He discussed the songs that influenced him and stayed important to him.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Sayer sang Buddy Holly’s “Oh, Boy!” at school in a band called the Buddies.
Sayer first heard Bob Dylan through his cousin David.
Sayer stood at the side of the stage at the Lyceum concert where Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded the live version of “No Woman, No Cry.
Sayer sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” with a group of supermodels after the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
- First single
- Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis
- Song that changed his life
- Oh, Boy!” by Buddy Holly
- Concert
- Bob Marley and the Wailers at the Lyceum in 1975
- Karaoke occasion
- After the 2006 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
- Box set
- 18-CD “Leothology: The Studio Albums 1973 – Now
What people are saying
I could actually do this.
I won’t have any of that pagan music in here,
Everything is about dividing people into races, classes, haves and have-nots, when Imagine is about joining people together.