Blown away by Leo Sayer whose voice still has every ounce of its phenomenal range and power

When we heard that former Frilsham villager and superstar Leo Sayer, now an Australian resident, was coming on a UK tour - Still Feel Like Dancing? - to celebrate his more than five decades as a recording artist ,we put in a call and secured one of a limited number of interviews newburytoday.co.uk/lifestyle/remember-when-leo-sayer-lived-around-these-parts-9379718/

He’s now touring 19 UK towns and cities including Basingstoke’s Anvil today (Saturday). BRIAN HARRINGTON caught the show in Guildford yesterday and was blown away.

Leo Sayer at G. Live Guildford, on Friday, September 27, review by Brian Harrington, pictures Lisa Harrington

Having interviewed Leo for the Newbury Weekly News I was lucky enough to see him perform on his current tour.

Spoiler alert - he was brilliant!

A 76-year-old energizer bunny who never stopped moving, yes, he definitely does still feel like dancing he delivered so much more than a shot of nostalgia.

His voice absolutely retains every ounce of it's phenomenal range and power and it was obvious that he was loving every second of performing to a responsive, near capacity audience. He interacted with fans right from the start, reaching out to shake hands with people in the front row and chatting about the inspiration behind some of his songs.

He opened with Giving It All Away, accompanying himself on harmonica. The song is about his break with his management who, Leo felt, were ripping him off and was, of course, made famous by Roger Daltrey of The Who.

He followed-up with a great rendition of Endless Flight and again his delivery was full of expression, which drew out every bit of the meaning of the song.

There were, of course, all the huge hits in the setlist such as When I Need You, a track originally written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer-Sager, which reached number 1 in the UK chart for Leo in 1977, after three of his earlier hits had stalled at number 2.

Have You Ever Been in Love, which reached number 10 and Thunder in My Heart, Leo's second number one were fantastic and full of pathos and emotion while his acapella rendition of I Will Not Stop Fighting, which was added at the request of audience members and had not been rehearsed, was wonderful.

Leo had the audience eating from his hand, some had even turned-up in Leo wigs and he treated them to a powerful rendition of Orchard Road before a party atmosphere took over and had people rocking in the aisles to You Make Me Feel Like Dancing and Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance).

The much demanded encore consisted of a magical ballad-style rendition of The Show Must Go On and, finally Never Had a Dream Come True.

A stunning performance from a consummate professional.

The tour continues.

Support your local news

The nights may be drawing in but that just leaves more time to read all the news and entertainment on Newburytoday. And we've got a great offer to bring you to celebrate the start of autumn You can get more than 50 per cent off an annual subscription by using the code AUTUMN.

We've been providing a valued news service for you all since 1867 and we intend to continue to do so for many years to come. But against huge competition for advertising revenue from the likes of Google and Facebook we need the support of our readers more than ever.

Just click here: https://www.iliffemediasubs.co.uk/products/newbury-today-digital-pay-yearly/ to find out more and, as always, thanks for supporting your local, trusted news organisation.

Hurry, this offer runs out on September 30!