“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.”
Mick Jagger and Bianca’s Divorce in 1978: A look back after 46 years
Co-founding the band alongside Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, and Keith Richards, Jagger has seen many changes over the years. With Watts passing away in 2021 and Jones no longer with the band, the current lineup includes Jagger, Richards, and bassist Ronnie Wood, 76. They continue to tour and recently released “Hackney Diamonds”, their first album of new material in 18 years, featuring collaborations with stars like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Lady Gaga.
Over the past six decades, Jagger’s fame has kept his personal life in the limelight, especially with his eight children. His eldest daughter, Karis, was born in 1969, and his youngest, Deveraux, was born in December 2016.
Mick married Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías in 1971 in a star-studded ceremony in Saint-Tropez. They welcomed their daughter, Jade, who is now 52 and known for her work in interior and jewelry design. Bianca became a socialite and was often in the news, notably for a legendary story about arriving at her birthday party on a white horse at Studio 54. She later clarified that it was a surprise orchestrated by Steve Rubell, co-founder of the club, inspired by a photo of her on a horse in Nicaragua.
While both Jagger and Bianca had affairs during their marriage, it ultimately led to their separation. Bianca filed for divorce after Mick briefly dated model Jerry Hall. Their divorce was finalized in 1978, with Bianca receiving a settlement of $1.2 million, as reported by New York Magazine. Reflecting on the split, she expressed to The Guardian that it felt like a failure, stating: “I was brought up Catholic, to believe that marriage is for life. And we failed”.
After her marriage ended, Bianca shifted her focus from partying to activism, championing the rights of vulnerable individuals through Amnesty International. Her efforts earned her the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the “alternative Nobel Prize”, in 2004 for using her fame to advocate for those in need.
Today, Mick Jagger is in a committed relationship with American choreographer Melanie Hamrick, 36. They have been together for a decade and share a son. Are you aware of Bianca Jagger’s remarkable humanitarian efforts? Share your thoughts in the comments! Feel free to pass this article along to anyone interested in where these rock legends are now!
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