A New Album, a New Home - 70’S Singing Sensation Leo Sayer Is Still Going Strong and Gave Q! an Exclusive
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MAY 2006 MAY New BIG Issue: Q Culture, Q Wine, Q Music, Q Beauty, Q Extra, Q Cosmetic, Q Travel, Q Win, In Bed with Ben, Generation Q, Q Business Profile, Five pages of pics, and much more. A New Album, A New Home - 70’s singing sensation Leo Sayer is still going strong and gave Q! an exclusive. Q Magazine - Made Locally! Enjoyed Nationally! MAY 2006 Offi cial Web Partner q comment: WHAT A LIFE Issue 24 The subject has come up several times in the past Publisher month or so - the fact that people like myself [who Netkey Pty Ltd live, breath, eat, sleep and more as a Gay man in Managing Partner a Gay world] are extremely fortunate. Not having to Brett Hayhoe hide or apologise for our sexuality - and although 0422 632 690 [email protected] being Gay is not the ONLY thing that makes up our personalities - it is much easier to be who we are. Editorial [email protected] As some of you may be aware, I was married for ten Sales and Marketing years and have a 15 year old son. Throughout this [email protected] time, exploring my sexuality was not an easy thing Design - although quite text book when analysed [I am not UB Design venturing any further into that subject]. Since moving [email protected] to Melbourne however [as a Gay man] my life has Contributing Writers never been happier - to spite having to deal with Luke Huggard, Addam Stobbs, Morag, Ben Angel, a couple of major health issues [including Cancer]. Dr Paul Spano, Craig Michaels, George Alexander, Lisa Parker, Pete Dillon, Dr Tiffany, Candi Stratton, Throughout this time, I was consoled by the fact that I Shek Graham. had my Gay “family” around me for support - and still do when I fall ill or need moral reassurance. Cover picture Compliments of Sony BMG. I now serve voluntarily on eight boards in Victoria Photographic Contributions [plus Nationally as a State representative on NAPWA] Q Photos, D. Gill, J. Hogan. and work with two separate Gay businesses - Q Printing Magazine and JOY Melbourne [as a contract sales conlay press pty ltd person] - all of which I do as an openly Gay man Distribution - and because of a strong belief that one should do [email protected] what one can for the community they identify as be- ing a member of. ISSN 1449-499X QMAGAZINE The icing on the cake though is the wonderful invita- PO Box 7479, St. Kilda Road, tions I receive to functions such as theatre nights, Melbourne Victoria 8004 [email protected] openings, and social occasions like the one pictured www.qmagazine.com.au below with the boys and girls from Sony BMG and the boys from Westlife. I do this also as a Gay man. LEGAL DISCLAIMER Q Magazine is a free publication and can only be distributed through selected outlets. Views ex- Thank you Melbourne for being the greatest city in pressed in Q Magazine do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editor or publisher. No responsi- the world for all people - regardless of sexuality. bility is accepted by Q Magazine for the accuracy of advertisements and information within the publica- tion. All material forwarded to the magazine will be assumed intended for publication unless clearly la- belled “Not for publication”. Reproduction in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of the publisher or editor is strictly prohibited. Netkey Pty Ltd ACN 078 939 054 ABN 43 356 502 122 T/A Q Magazine © 2006 Mate, I love it here – the freedoms, the lifestyle. Look at the Gay sector. It’s able to celebrate its q celebrity: LEO SAYER existence and actually say that it exists and not have to hide away like it does have to in some Meeting Leo Sayer was one of the highlights of my year thus far. We parts of Europe – which shows the human chatted for [what seemed] hours at the Sony BMG offi ces in South freedoms that can be celebrated in this Country. Melbourne…and ended the interview with a hug! Just one of the most delightful men I have ever met. Voice in My Head, I loved the album. It was never designed to be an instant album, it What’s it like to have someone do a remix of one of your songs? was like a series of songs that came to me [like Meck was trawling around L.A. [we all go to this huge record store there, little visions really] and it was a lovely project. I I think it is called the Aardvark or something like that and DJ’s go there wrote and produced it. It was the fi rst chance I hoping to fi nd some kind of obscure record that has slipped through the net, have had to do that. What happened was I was magically take the vocal off and then, if it works, get the permission to remix in the UK and went over to an ex-girlfriend in the track…I’ve actually replenished some of my back catalogue on vinyl Denmark who was making an album and I went from there] found my song, rang me to get permission [which of course I over basically to play harmonica and sing some said yes] then I pointed him toward the record label and somehow it slipped songs with her – about six years ago now – and passed the people at Warner here in Australia – which is why, although my I wasn’t really doing much, so I thought why not. catalogue is with Warner, Sony BMG have the rights for this one – which is I walked into this incredible recording studio – all great cause they are a very aggressive label. He originally wanted to call it privately owned – and the guy who owns it came “Steal My Thunder” and I said no…how about “Thunder in My Heart Again!” down in one of the recording sessions and said – so they agreed. I think all the dance mixes from now on will be “Again” “I’m the biggest Leo Sayer fan in the world” and – like “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing Again” etc etc. [laughs] I think he he invited me to work there on my own album. I did a great job. I was knocked out cause he and the guys who worked on it shelved what I was doing at the time in L.A. and showed total respect for the original which was great. It is such a powerful started work on this album. I brought a bunch of vocal you couldn’t butcher it too much. It actually was fi rst released as a white great musicians over with whom I worked before, label [without me being in the video clip], then someone snuck it into Pete a few visiting American musicians, a couple of Tong’s place and he took it into Radio 1 – and a few people there started singers in Denmark – and we had an opportunity to play it – and a young husky voiced announcer during the day called it “A in the middle of the album to go off to record Guilty Pleasure”, but they all spotted it was me and it leaked to the press strings in Prague – a ten hour drive and we that the record was getting great airplay and one of the broadsheet tabloids thought why not! …. It was all an adventure but thought there was a story in it – you know, Leo has run off to Australia, does it was wonderful because Henning [the guy who he know it is a hit – didn’t ask me, they just did an article saying Leo has a owned the studio] just gave me carte blanch – I huge hit in the UK and he is missing somewhere in Australia. The reason that started off planning to spend 60 days and ended came about was they asked Meck [and his team and the record label] why up spending 160 days making it. It has a lot of they didn’t include me and they said “well we don’t know where he is”, “he attention to detail – the sound is what I heard never answers our calls” – they made up a story basically – but of course I – I hate unplugged – I have always dreamed up did know. The story ended up a bit twisted as time went on, but it was a good big records. story and we had all these people trying to hunt me down. Your popularity transcends sexualities. Do Well that brings me to asking “Why the move to Australia”? you have any thoughts on that? I have always loved it here. For me it was a no-brainer. The International I have a great Gay following in the UK, America, Tours got fewer and farther between and I would always be down here – I here, whatever you know and I am very proud of have so many mates here – and my business partner Donatella and I were at that – I think it is also the fact that I am acutely Melbourne International Airport and we looked at each other and said “where aware that in me as a person, I have so many are we going”? – and we realised that home was really Australia. So we female genes – I hang around with girls and even looked at the Visa situation, and at the time she had a chance of working with go to the loo with them when we’re out clubbing some other artists because she had done such a great job with my career or partying – cause they just don’t think of me as but in the end it wasn’t enough for her to get the right kind of Visa, so we a threat.