Leo Sayer, the Grammy Award-winning British singer-songwriter, is preparing for his final full tour of the United Kingdom next month, marking more than five decades in the music industry. At 78, Sayer, who was born in Shoreham, West Sussex, and now resides in New South Wales, Australia, expressed mixed feelings about scaling back his live performances, which he described as increasingly exhausting.

Reflecting on recent shows such as his two-and-a-half-hour concert at Sydney’s State Theatre, Sayer acknowledged the physical demands of performing lengthy sets. “They couldn’t get me off stage,” he said, noting that he and his band kept adding songs throughout the evening. However, he admitted he would likely shorten his sets during the upcoming UK tour to better manage his energy. His agent and manager have also urged him to reduce the number of performances on this return to the UK.

Sayer, who launched his career in the early 1970s, achieved widespread recognition with hits including "The Show Must Go On," "When I Need You," and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." The latter continues to generate substantial royalties, reportedly earning him between £100,000 and £200,000 annually. He topped the UK charts twice: first with "When I Need You" in 1977, and later with a 2006 remix of "Thunder In My Heart," originally released in 1977.

Over the course of his career, Sayer has produced six UK top 10 albums, including the number-one compilation "The Very Best of Leo Sayer" in 1979. Most recently, he released “Leothology,” an extensive 18-CD box set featuring 220 tracks spanning his entire career, including all 16 of his studio albums and two previously unreleased collections.

While expressing pride in his body of work, Sayer also recalled an album from 1983 titled "Have You Ever Been in Love?" which consisted mainly of cover versions. He attributed this direction to record company decisions influenced by marketing strategies at the time.

Sayer also commented on the changing landscape of the music industry, particularly the rise of artificial intelligence. He described discovering a Spanish singer online who, to his surprise, was entirely AI-generated, raising questions about the future role of human artists.

Despite the challenges of age and evolving technology, Sayer sees himself as part of a generation of veteran performers who continue to tour and maintain their presence on stage. He compared live performance to a magician’s enduring trick—once mastered, it is not easily abandoned. He cited contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bob Dylan as examples of artists who continue to defy expectations by staying active in the music scene well into their 80s.

Sayer’s farewell UK tour will begin at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-On-Sea on October 7, with subsequent dates planned in Birmingham, London, Swansea, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and concluding in Edinburgh on November 15.