LEO Sayer’s career has spanned four decades and featured such hit songs as ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’, ‘Thunder In My Heart’, ‘One Man Band’ and ‘When I Need You’. The Grammy Award winner plays the Gala Theatre in Durham on September 29. For more on Leo visit www.leosayer.com or follow him on Twitter @LeoSayer5
What was your first car?
BMW 316 4 door. It was a beauty. Can’t remember what it cost, but it was the first of my 5 Bee Ems.
How many times did it take to pass your test?
Can you believe I passed the first time? I learnt to drive late which meant I’d picked up some very bad habits from being a relaxed passenger. My car was a dark blue Fiat 850 and I had plenty of lessons from an extremely patient instructor.
Who would be your ideal fantasy passenger and where would you go?
I’ve been driven around by lots of racing drivers, friends from my years following Formula One. He’s no longer with us, but I did drive Ayrton Senna back to London from a Silverstone test once. He was fabulous company and when I dropped him off I wished the ride could’ve been longer. So maybe I could have an extension of that please. Maybe a drive through the old town of Sao Paolo, which is where he was born and is still quite beautiful.
What is your dream car?
There are so many dream cars for me, but I always wanted to own one of those Le Mans Fords, the GT40, above, as driven by Steve McQueen. So fast, so low, and so powerful – a real dream car!
How would you describe your driving style?
Relaxed these days. Perhaps I’m getting older, but I no longer want to race about anymore. Here in Australia there are speed traps or radar guns everywhere, so you can’t anyway.
Tell me one driving anecdote from your past?
Another racing one. I once shared a car travelling across Spain with Nigel Mansell. It was mad fun and he taught me how to drive the route in reverse for a bit, with him leaning over the passenger seat to guide me. Of course the roads were empty while we were doing this. That was definitely then, and you couldn’t do that nowadays.
What are you listening to?
I mostly listen to the radio in the car, but I like some jazz and world music to drive to these days – gentle beats that relax me. Rock music makes me drive too fast!
What do you drive now?
It’s a VW Touareg V8 four-wheel drive, below.
Sumptuous, grippy and with good visibility.
Perfect for my lifestyle as I now drive between the beautiful countryside where I live and the bustling city of Sydney.
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