Leo Sayer is setting off for Australia but he's leaving his heart behind in Sussex.

And he may even buy a new home in Brighton.

The Seventies pop star said: "I'll see you down in The Lanes," as he ended his exclusive interview with The Argus.

Raised in Shoreham and educated in Worthing, Leo stirred a hornet's nest this week saying he was fed up with the money-oriented, hero-less UK music industry and was leaving for more musically fertile pastures in Australia.

He told The Argus the whole thing had been overblown by the media but confessed the headlines had coincided nicely with the release of his latest "best of" album Endless Journey.

True, he said, he had been honoured with a "talent visa" and would be setting up house Down Under but severing ties and abandoning Britain was definitely not on the agenda.

He's selling his £750,000 home in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, but might buy in Brighton.

He said: "Shoreham is my original home and my heart will always be there. I still love working with Splash FM in Worthing and seeing my best mate David Courtney (Brighton Walk of Fame) in Brighton.

"And, hey, this might not be a bad option. I might even get myself a place in Brighton. Everyone else seems to be doing it.

"I was thrilled when Brighton and Hove got its city status and it has proved one of the greatest successes.

"A lot of places granted the distinction still look run-down and depressed but Brighton is fantastic."

Whether he's serious about moving to the city or not, one thing he didn't joke about was the state of the British music industry.

He said it was being dominated by five-minute wonders and cheap TV programmes which failed to nurture real talent.

He said there was a distinct lack of heroes who write songs which speak for those with no voice.

He said: "There are too many stars like Robbie Williams indulging himself and singing I'm having a laugh and I've got loads of money' and not enough of the John Lennons and Bob Dylans who people looked up to.

"All of us enjoy a laugh but we all need leadership. We need artists who will stand up and be a voice for the disenfranchised.

"We need more people like Bono who speaks up for freedom and injustice in Africa and songs like Imagine that are so important to all of us.

"I'm looking for people to take up those cudgels but the industry doesn't seem to let them grow for longer than six months.

"I may sound like an old fogey but I do feel we have a responsibility to make music mean something and not just provide a bit of TV fodder or bland entertainment.

"We need singers to come up with alternatives, folk music or maybe even protest music, to act as a social conscience."

He criticised plans to cut a new Band Aid song: "Why couldn't they have come up with something new instead of remaking the original?"

Leo said he had a job to do and his latest music was some of the best he had ever done.

He said: "Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay are singing words people can't say but there aren't many artists like them around. We need artists singing for people on the bus or Tube, people who don't have a voice."