LEO Sayer gets a taste of home every time he looks out of his window.

The You Make Me Feel Like Dancing singer may have moved to Australia 10 years ago.

But he said his wintry countryside retreat in Berrima in New South Wales reminds him of his early years in Sussex.

"It’s cold because we’re about 600m above sea level," said the 67-year-old.

"We have winters which are like England so we do feel it and we even had some snow a little while ago.

"It was a weird snow because it lay on all the trees and a lot of trees came down because of it. They couldn’t take the weight.

"I kind of like it because it makes me nostalgic and remember England.

"But you have to pinch yourself because it looks just like England and then the bright coloured parrots and cockatoos come in."

Grammy and Ivor Novello award-winner Leo will be giving a fresh reminder of home in September and October when he jets off for a UK tour including a date in Warrington on October 11.

Leo added: "We’ve closed the tour twice at Parr Hall now. It was a fun gig last time. We had a fantastic party afterwards. I think because it was the last show of the tour a lot of people turned up for it."

There is more reason to celebrate this time as Leo is releasing his album Restless Years on August 28, his first new material in a decade.

As well as the new tracks there are songs that Leo has unearthed from years ago including Sometimes Things Go Wrong from 1975.

Leo, who appeared on the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother, said: "I’m a very prolific songwriter so I’m always finding things that I didn’t end up recording.

"And there’s a bunch of songs with Albert Hammond who wrote When I Need You, one of my biggest hits.

"The last time we sat down together was eight years ago so those songs are from that period. They’re good songs and I think they’ve stood the test of time really well.

"Luckily when I was writing the new songs I was touring with a fantastic band – musicians who can play anything – so I thought I’d give them the challenge of helping me with the album

"They really came up trumps. The bass player is a fantastic engineer and has a home studio so we cut it all there and the band put in all their ideas too. It’s a collective album really."

Incredibly Leo launched his career 43 years ago. He initially performed as Pierrot the clown, wearing costume and make-up to promote his 1974 breakthrough single, The Show Must Go On.

He was born Gerard Sayer to his parents Thomas and Teresa but was rechristened as Leo after his manager's wife likened his iconic head of curls to a lion’s mane.

So with a legacy that includes five worldwide number one hits was it daunting to step back into the studio?

"You can play beat the hits but I think that’s pretty impossible," added Leo, who now also produces his own work.

"Because the thing to remember is that you were a different person at that time when you wrote them or sang them.

"I don’t really find it daunting and I enjoy that now it’s me who chooses the arrangements and chooses which songs to sing.

"It feels likes a fresh challenge. It’s almost like career part two producing yourself.

"It’s also very difficult for a 67-year-old artist to get the exposure that I would have got in my 20s and 30s. I have to recognise I’m not going to be that young singer on The Voice."

But Leo also thinks that older artists should not be underestimated.

Leo, who has written songs for The Who frontman Roger Daltry and Cliff Richard, said: "There are some artists who still have this incredible burning ambition.

"Look at my friend Nile Rodgers with Chic who is touring all of Europe and it’s going down a storm. All the time he wants to reinvent himself.

"If you’re driven that’s what you do and there are a lot of musicians out there who feel they have unfinished business.

"We still have to prove ourselves. We can still make our Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band album.

"We can still make that great record and that’s what drives me on. I’m still thinking it’s possible to be even better

Look at the career of Van Morrison who surprises critics at every moment."

Leo has also taken inspiration from some of the newer bands on the block but feels music industry pressure is stifling creativity overall.

"I’m very impressed by Ed Sheeran and bands like Coldplay and Snow Patrol," he added.

"They just get better and better but these days there are so many pressures from the industry to dictate what they want to release.

"In that way I don’t think they’ll ever be another Bob Dylan or David Bowie.

"These days there’s a great pressure that everyone’s got to sound like, well let’s say Taylor Swift.

"Because that sells, you must do that. You put all these parameters in and you get Take That sadly. We didn’t have that level of categorisation in our day. We just got on and made records."

- Leo Sayer performs at Parr Hall on October 11. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345.