“I look at my role as being a friend of Canberra Hospital, I can bring some pleasure and happiness sometimes to people who are really in difficult times in their lives.”
With backing music from a Bluetooth speaker, Sayer croons his way around the cancer wards, making a human connection with everyone he comes across.
Canberra Region Cancer Centre Operations Manager Caroline McIntyre says Sayer’s visits are typically kept a surprise for patients and staff.
“He’s always come in so discreetly,” she says.
“Normally it’s just very quiet, he comes up in the back lift and says hello to literally everybody.
“Some of them are doing it tough, and to have a little bit of joy and light – it really gives them a lift.
“What makes me happy is to see people getting chemo on their feet dancing.”
Jamming with Jimi Hendrix, Countdown and the Troubadour
Originally a graphic designer by trade, English-born Leo Sayer rose to pop prominence in London in the late 1960s, as a singer-songwriter – and was soon adopted by Australia as an honorary son after his first tour here in 1974.
He went on to become an Australian citizen in 2009.
Sayer was a regular on ABC TV’s Countdown during the 70s and 80s, performing chart-toppers like “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”, “When I Need You”, “More Than I Could Say” and “Orchard Road”.
He blushingly admits they were wild days – when he didn’t always live up to his “good-guy” public persona.
“It was mad, I mean, Top of the Pops in England, Countdown over here,” he says.
“You were mobbed by the fans, I remember being dragged out of a limousine the first tour that I came here, and then speaking to crazy people like Molly Meldrum on TV and trying to sort of like take it all in.”
It seems hard to believe – the petite, well-spoken singer, with a mane of curly hair that inspired changing his name from Gerard to Leo – beating off mobs of screaming fangirls.
Sayer circulated in superstar company, becoming close friends with former Beatles George Harrison and Paul McCartney, collaborating with Roger Daltrey of The Who, and even sharing a sly cigarette or two with John Lennon and Yoko Ono who had a flat above his design studio.
“I met Jimi Hendrix right at the start of his career. I actually jammed with him, playing the harmonica, and him playing the guitar,” he says.
Recalling his 1975 opening night at the famous Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, he looked up to see an intimidating line-up of fans in the front row.
“It was David Bowie, Elton John, and ‘The Fonz’ [Henry Winkler].”
Alongside them: John Cleese, Mick Jagger, Bernie Taupin, and comedian Marty Feldman.
“We never thought it would last, we were adapting to things around us, writing songs about things that are around us,” he says.
“And we thought they were only for our generation — so the amazing thing is my music’s become like a fine wine, where you lay it down and years later, it becomes a collector’s item.
“We’re in an age where the music that I make, young kids are actually latching onto it now, and they’re finding that that generation and that style of music we made is as current now as anything.”
Sayer’s health battles, still spreading hope at 76
Leo Sayer says his hospital charity work caps off a career dedicated to providing joy through music.
“It’s a nice piece of synchronicity really, because I was born in the grounds of a hospital in Shoreham by Sea in Sussex, near Brighton in England,” Mr Sayer said.
“I suppose I’ve always felt comfortable in hospitals and being around hospitals.
“Growing up, my dad was a hospital engineer, Mum was a nurse, my sister was a matron.”
Sayer has health struggles of his own, including three stents in his heart, which help him have a genuine connection to the hospital patients he entertains.
“[My music] is providing something that isn’t taking away from any of the treatment that’s going on. It’s providing something that’s just putting a smile on peoples’ faces.
“Music is communication and that’s what this is all about, we’re communicating, we’re making people feel better.
“We’re not healing people with music, but we are making them feel better about their healing.
“To sell out Canberra Hospital will do me fine.”
Demi Lovato Explains Why She Changed Her Pronouns From They/Them To She/Her
Demi Lovato has explained why she switched from using they/them to she/her pronouns.
After starring in the critically acclaimed Disney films Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), Lovato, 32, shot to fame.
She has also enjoyed success in the music industry; approximately 24 million recordings are thought to have been sold in the United States.
Regarding her gender identity and suality, Lovato has been exceedingly transparent with her fans throughout the years. In 2021, the vocalist of “Heart Attack” disclosed on Instagram that she is non-binary. The music sensation said,
“I’m excited to share more of my life with you all today and am proud to announce that I identify as non-binary and will be officially changing my pronouns to they/them going forward.” This is the result of extensive self-reflection and healing effort. I don’t
The singer of “Sorry Not Sorry” said that her early years in the South were “very confusing” and “not very open.”
Thankfully, it seems like Lovato is much more at ease disclosing information about her gender identity and s**uality these days. At YouTube Pride, she said that she was “thankful” to her family for “using my pronouns.”
Additionally, Lovato informed her followers that the shift occurred as she started to learn more about herself
The “Cool for the Summer” singer clarified in an interview with the music podcast Audacy Check-In: “I’ve utilized this time to truly investigate what feels right to me since I’ve learnt about gender identity and being non-binary or gender non-conforming.
“And after a year and a half of investigation, I came to the realization that it was time to share with the world my discomfort with being referred to as a’she’ or ‘her.’”Since it’s something new, I recognize that some people may find it difficult to get used to, but I want to encourage them to keep trying and let them know that it takes time to become used to.
Lovato acknowledged that she occasionally might even “mess up” while using pronouns.
Lovato disclosed on the show that she had developed intimate friendships with members of the LGBTQIA+ community in other places.
“My queer family has become more of a family than friends. I used to identify family as blood related,” the woman stated.
And it seems like I have two families right now. In addition to my biological family, I also have a gay family that I consider to be my chosen family.
Lovato’s engagement to singer and actor Max Ehrich ended a year before she came out as transgender.
The singer of “La La Land” later stated to Glamour that she thought their split was a blessing in disguise.
“As I got older, I realized how queer I really am,” she stated to the outlet. I was engaged to a man last year, and when that didn’t work out, I thought, “This is a big sign.”I had the idea that I would live a lifetime in a relationship. I was relieved that I could live my truth now that I wasn’t going to.
“And when I said goodbye to that relationship, I also said goodbye to everything that was holding me back from being my most authentic self,” Lovato continued during a visit at the 19th Represents Summit.
The pop singer also disclosed to the site that she wasn’t sure how her path of gender exploration would develop at the time.
“I may identify as transgender at some point in the future. I’m not sure how this appears to me. I may identify as non-binary and gender nonconforming for the entirety of my life at some point in the future, she said.
For me, at this precise moment, this is how I identify. Perhaps as I get older, I will come to identify as a woman; I’m not sure what that looks like.
The singer of “Skyscraper” said, “I’ve actually adopted the pronouns of’she/her’ again,” during an appearance on the Sprout Podcast.
“My energy, particularly last year, was balanced between my male and feminine energies, allowing me to enter a washroom where the signs read “women” and “men.”
“Since I didn’t feel particularly feminine, I didn’t feel like there was a restroom for me. I didn’t feel manly at all. All I felt was human.”
In addition, Lovato said she has been “feeling more feminine.””
“However, I believe that what matters is that nobody is flawless,” she said in closing. Pronoun errors happen to everyone occasionally, especially to those who are just learning. It all comes down to respect.
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