Leo Sayer: 'I got to sing a duet with Miss Piggy, a wonderful thing'

As he gets ready to play in Cork and other centres, Leo Sayer recalls encounters with stars such as Brian Wilson and the Muppets, as well as his complicated feelings about the man who ripped him off 

Leo Sayer is at Cork Opera House on Sunday. Picture: Tony Mott

Leo Sayer has bittersweet memories of the night he opened for the Beach Boys and their tortured genius songwriter Brian Wilson, who passed away recently. “We did a massive concert with The Beach Boys in 1977 when my star was really rising America, with two number ones. I got booked to do a gig with the Beach Boys. It was fantastic to be asked. 

But when we got to the gig, it was a bit weird, because Hell’s Angels guys were doing the security. They wouldn’t give us a dressing room trailer. It was about 40–50,000 people there at a race track in Rhode Island.”