Sayer began the '80s with the American number two hit "More Than I Can Say," but it was his last big single in the U.S. His last chart entry in America was the early 1981 hit "Living in a Fantasy"; the U.K. hits didn't stop until 1983, after "Til You Come Back to Me" scraped the charts. After lying low for the rest of the decade, he attempted a comeback in 1990 with Cool Touch but it fell on deaf ears.
Sayer spent much of the '90s entangled in lawsuits, but he re-emerged as a touring act toward the end of the decade. The 1999 album Live in London captures this effort. Sayer's real comeback arrived in 2006, when DJ Meck remixed "Thunder in My Heart" -- it became a smash, reaching number one on the U.K. charts. This sparked a Sayer revival that was accompanied by hits compilations and an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. Sayer emigrated to Australia in 2005, becoming a full citizen in 2009. His new home saw the release of Don't Wait Until Tomorrow in 2008 -- it was the only country where the record was released -- and he worked in Australian film ads and television, while also touring regularly. Restless Years, a collection of new material, appeared in 2015, followed by Selfie in 2019. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi