Darkness on the Edge of Toon
Sam Fender has gone to become one of Britain's biggest and most influential musical talents. He has really aided the revival of British guitar music, his records have resonated with the working class, and he is never one to shy away from subjects. Saying what needs to be said when it needs to be said.
I have been a fan of Sam since 2018, when I first saw his name on a tour poster, not for one of his tours instead for Blossoms, where he supported them for two dates in London and Glasgow.
Sam's musical career starts long before then however.
Play God- The Beginning
At 18 Sam was spotted by Owain Davies, who at the time was Ben Howard's manager whilst working in the Low Lights Tavern in North Shields.
Speaking about Owain, Sam said: "I was lucky. I was working in a pub and Ben Howard's manager had come home to celebrate winning a Brit Award. I was behind the bar pulling pints. My boss told me to get my guitar out and play something," revealing that Owain soon: "Put his money where his mouth was and invested in me."
Owain would give Sam some support gigs, playing alongside Howard and Willy Mason. However in 2015 aged 20 Fender was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness. This caused Sam to take a short break from music. Later on he revealed in interviews that he has "compromised immune system".
Despite the break, Sam continued to write new songs, before the scare he had attempted to write songs that would be popular, due to the desperation to get out of the situation he was living in, a situation he would come to write about later. His recovery refocused his songwriting efforts, and he began writing songs for himself. It was out of this period that Fender wrote a number of the songs he went on to release
In March 2017, Fender independently released his debut single, 'Play God;', which premiered on BBC Radio 1. Sam had now formed a band, , consisting of guitarist Thompson, guitarist and keyboardist Atkinson, bassist Tom Ungerer, and drummer Drew Micheal.
This band headed out on the road with Sam, and they played numerous support slots on tours with Declan McKenna and Michael Kiwanuka. Later on in 2017 Sam released two more singles 'Friday Fighting' and 'Start Again' which sparked more and more interest. In November of 2017, Sam was shortlisted for the BBC's Sound of 2018 shortlsit, an accolade he would lose to Sigrid.
In December of the year Sam would play a session for BBC Introducing at Maida Vale studios. Where he and his band would play three songs. 'Greasy Spoon', 'Play God' and 'Start Again'
Dead Boys- Signing and Breakthrough
By June 2018 Sam had now been signed, Polydor Records managed to grab his signature. In October Sam released the single 'Dead Boys' which was premiered on Annie Mac's Radio One show. . The song deals with the subject of male suicide, and Fender wrote it as a reaction to losing close friends to suicide.
The song would have a profound affect, which Sam would find out later. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sam was discussing 'Dead Boys' with the DJ Nihal Arthanayake. A man tuned in, who was going to attempt his own life, he didn't and contacted Sam months later.
“There was a bloke who was going to kill himself, but he listened to Five Live and turned the car around. He was listening to the interview with me and Nihal and he got in contact afterwards,” Fender told NME. “He’d heard me performing ‘Dead Boys’ and chatting about the song and mental health and not being able to open up about our feelings.”
After hearing the conversation, the man headed home and told his wife how he had contemplated taking his own life.
“He turned the car around and sat on the side of the road for three hours crying,” Fender said. “He went home and told his wife what he was going to do and got help.”
Sam later met the fan, and had a chat with him.
“I met him and we had a big chat together. I had no idea what I was going to say to him because I don’t have any answers or any resolve for him,” Fender added. “It felt very genuine and I was fucking humbled. This is beyond anything I’d ever prepared for, but it’s wonderful. Music is a powerful thing that affects people’s lives and I’m fucking humbled to be a part of it.”
In October 2018 Sam made his Jools Holland debut and performed 'Dead Boys' and 'Leave Fast'
This song was the breakthrough for Sam, he was now starting to garner attention, and it had proved that he was different to the other singer songwriters of the time. He had something to say.
'That Sound' was released in late October, his debut EP 'Dead Boys' followed shortly after in November 2018. Said EP featured 'Dead Boys', 'Leave Fast', 'That Sound' as well 'Spice' and 'Poundshop Kardashians'
Alongside the EP's release, he embarked on a headline tour, including three shows at the London's Omeara club and one at Newcastle University, and toured with Blossoms in December. He also went on a 13-date European and Australian tour.
By 2019, Sam's band was completed, saxophonist Johnny 'Blue Hat' Davis would join Sam and the boys having previously worked with Roger Daltery. 'Play God' was re-released in January 2019, in the run up to Sam's debut album.
His first Brit would soon follow, Fender won the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards.
The Borders- Hypersonic Missiles
On the 6th March 2019. Sam released the title track from his forthcoming debut album 'Hypersonic Missiles'. A song Sam has described as an unorthodox love song, inspired by "a newly developed Russian missile that travels at something like nine times the speed of sound."
Sam explained the song in a press release. "Its main focus is on the world around the narrator, who is a complete tin foil hatter. They are convinced the world is on its last legs; they know that it is rife with injustice but feel completely helpless and lacking the necessary intelligence to change it while remaining hopelessly addicted to the fruits of consumerism. Amongst all the chaos is love and celebration, there is this glimmer of hope that runs through the song, a little notion that no matter what happens, these two people are gonna have a fucking good time regardless of the tyrants that run their world, and regardless of the imminent doom from these 'Hypersonic Missiles'"
The song proved that Sam could write an anthem but was also a songwriter that had something to say
The song is not written by someone who has all the answers, who instead like the listener has a million and one questions and often feels quite detached. A song full of observations and also contradictions Fender touches on themes of media saturation, environmental destruction, political instability, and personal disillusionment. His sharp, observational style can be heard in lines like, “Kids in Gaza are bombed and I'm just out of it,” reflecting a detached, almost helpless attitude in the face of overwhelming tragedy.
In March 2019, he performed the song on his US television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! He embarked on his first North American tour in March, including shows in New York City and Los Angeles and at the South by Southwest festival in Texas.
After a performance a BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Middlesbrough. Sam announced his debut album, and a further single 'Will We Talk?'. A much less political song, but still keeping with the theme of love and romance albeit the lack of it. 'Will We Talk; talks about a one-night stand. It's a high octane melody packed indie rock banger. That has been the opening track to Sam's shows virtually since it's release.
After extensive touring, including two shows at Shepherd's Bush Empire. Fender had to cancel several gigs, including Glastonbury Festival, after experiencing severe bleeding in his vocal cords. Nevertheless, after a month of rest, he recovered sufficiently to support Bob Dylan and Neil Young in Hyde Park and set a record for the fastest-selling show at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival, where he was the headliner.
In September 2019, Sam released 'The Borders' the final single from his debut album. A song that he described as his favourite from the album. The song tells a story a story of two boys growing up together and then going their separate ways. It's a really personal and in places traumatic song, this marked a beginning for Sam, he would continue this theme of songwriting onto his second and third albums to great affect.
The album was released on the 13th September 2019, and hit the Number One spot, outselling the rest of the top 5 combined at the mid-week mark. 'Hypersonic Missiles' featured the three previous singles as well as 'Play God', 'Dead Boys' and 'Leave Fast' from the previous EP. The album had been recorded in Sam's own studio in North Shields and was produced by long time friend Bramwell Bronte, despite reservations from Polydor.
The album drew heavy comparassions to Bruce Springsteen due to Fender's "lyricism and his vignettes of working-class struggle." There was also comparisons to The War on Drugs, Tom Petty, The Killers, Neil Young as well as British acts such as Arctic Monkeys, The Jam and Oasis. It was a very different record to what many had expected, people saw a young white man with a guitar and through comparisons to Ed Sheeran, James Bay and Ben Howard.
Sam's songwriting, guitar playing and musical ability it's streets ahead of them all. The album received wide spread acclaim, it was the perfect document of small town frustration, and the perils and plights faced by the working class. Written by someone who had lived it. The NME said that "the Geordie Springsteen's debut excels at documenting small-town frustration, which is why he means so much to so many people. This album isn't perfect, but he's a welcome antidote to polite chaps with guitars".
On 21 September, Fender supported Liam Gallagher for a Radio X performance at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. On 22 November, he began a headlining tour of 20 dates in the UK and Ireland, including two nights at the O2 Brixton Academy and four nights at the O2 Academy Newcastle, Fender set the record for the fastest sell-out of four nights at Newcastle's O2 Academy.
People had started to take notice of Sam. Before the year was out Fender released 'All Is on My Side' a song that had been in Sam's setlist for a number of years, and one of the first songs he had written. The song was the first non album single of the 'Hypersonic' era.
Elton John personally invited Fender to perform at his annual AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Party after the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020. On 13 February 2020, the single 'Hold Out' was released, which Fender said was to be the last release from the 'Hypersonic Missiles' era. In the same month Fender was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2020 Brit Awards, won by Lewis Capaldi.
He was supposed to embark on a UK-headline tour in spring 2020, including performances at Leeds Arena, Utilita Arena Newcastle, and Cardiff International Arena, which would have marked his first-ever headlining arena shows. However, in March, Fender was forced to reschedule the tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2020, Fender was the first act to perform at the world's first socially distanced venue, at the Gosforth Park-based Virgin Money Unity Arena, in Newcastle
During the Gosforth Park show, Sam would debut two unreleased songs, which would later become the lead single from his second album.
In November 2020, Sam released a Christmas Song, 'Winter Song' a cover of a 1970s track by Lindisfarne. Speaking about the cover Fender said “I wanted to do a Christmas song, and wanted it to be close to my home and my heart. For me, the words are more relevant this year than ever. Christmas won’t be the same for a lot of people this year, and that’s why I picked Winter Song.
“Alan Hull truly was one of the most fantastic and underrated writers of his time. Geordie legend. I hope I’ve done it justice, I’m really proud of it.”
Sam was already proving himself to be one of the brightest sparks in British guitar music, but what would follow, would take Sam from guitar hero, to a bonafide superstar.
The Dying Light- Seventeen Going Under
After radio silence for the most part down to a global pandemic. Sam returned in July 2021, with a song that not only showed Sam as arguably the best songwriter of his generation but also propelled him up the charts.
'Seventeen Going Under' focuses on Sam's upbringing and struggles, alongside his mothers. Fender described the song as "a coming of age story", "growing up", "a celebration of life after hardship, and ... surviving."
The songs on 'Hypersonic Missiles' were the sound of a young man kicking out at the world. 'Seventeen Going Under' is Sam coming to the realisation that the world kicks back a lot harder, it recounts every blow and bruise Sam faced.
Lyrically the song chronicles Fender's life at 17 when his mother, Shirley was afflicted with fibromyalgia and depressed because she could no longer work after 40 years of service as a nurse. "She had become the owner of her apartment at 19 and had never missed a workday. Nevertheless, the Department for Work and Pensions began harassing her with letters and treating her unjustly." Fender was trying to help his mother financially but could not due to his young age. Fender recalled: "That's when my rose-tinted glasses fell off."
The song became a viral hit on TikTok, with users conveying their own personal tales of hardship, abuse and mistreatment. Fender stated to Radio X: "I'm honoured that Seventeen's kind of resonated with people in that way. It's a very special moment for me as a songwriter"
It's impact cannot be overlooked. In a post on this website I declared the song the best song of the last decade, where Sam painted a grim picture of working class life in Britain but also celebrated the resilience of the people.
'Seventeen Going Under' also has a soaring anthemic quality about it, the lyrics are dark and somber but the song was built for arenas and stadiums. It proved to be a hit, peaking at Number Three in the UK Singles Chart. In May 2022, the song won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.
Following on from 'Seventeen Going Under' Sam released the second single 'Aye' a more politically charged track with some menacing lyrics. Fender described the track as the polarity between left wing and right wing politicians, the two extremes leaving working class people displaced. In the scheme of the album this song is sort of an anomoly, most of the songs on the album 'Seventeen Going Under' see Sam look inwards rather than provide a state of the nation address.
In July 2021, Sam embarked on on a 13-date headline UK tour, which was initially scheduled for March and April 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic.
Sam also played a number of festivals around this period. Including TRNSMT, Reading & Leeds and Neighbourhood Weekender.
On September 8th 2021, the third single from the forthcoming album 'Get You Down' was released. Like the albums first single and title track, 'Get You Down' saw Sam look inwards, addressing his own insecurities and anxieties.
When talking about the song with the NME, Fender said. It’s about the insecurities you carry from being a kid, my feelings of abandonment and the self-loathing I’ve accumulated over the years, all while being a charismatic kid – a canny chanter, but sad.
“‘Get You Down’ is one of the first songs that looks at how that insecurity tore apart my relationships, and my last relationship in particular.”
A further single 'Spit of You' was released just before the album. In this song Sam addresses his relationship with his father, and in doing so managed to wrap up the thoughts and feelings of most men his age.
It's one of the best things he has ever done, in my opinion. Very few songs hit the nail on the head as much as this one. Fender described the song as "a song about boys and their dads". He went on to explain how his experiences with his own father shaped the song, particularly their shared struggle of being unable to communicate their emotions with each other. Fender also noted how their relationship has changed as he has gotten older: "I see so much of myself in him" and "if anything, it’s a declaration of love for him"
The songs music video, saw Sam recruit Stephen Graham play Sam's father and document their fluctuating relationship.
It's such a heartfelt song, a beautiful and sometimes brutal representation of how men are with their loved ones. I remember discussing my relationship with my dad once to a female friend, and she asked what it was like. 'Spit of You' was my reference point.
'Seventeen Going Under' was released on the 8th October 2021. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, marking Fender's second time to debut at the top spot. Seventeen Going Under shifted 44,000 copies in its first week of release, 79% of which were physical sales, outselling the rest of the top 10 albums combined.
Fender said that "as a record, I think this one is leagues ahead of 'Hypersonic Missiles', I'm more proud of this than anything I've ever done. It's probably the best thing I've done in my life."It received "universal acclaim"
A collection of songs and stories, that addressed Sam's position in the world, how his upbringing and relationships have made Sam the man he is today. There's moments of defeat, definitely moments of hardship but also moments of love, and euphoria. The wounds are present, but Sam allows them to heal, and bares all on this record.
Take 'The Dying Light' the follow up to 'Dead Boys' which sees Sam drop his guard more than ever before. It's one of the records most heartbreaking moments, that soon becomes one the most euphoric.
He heartbreakingly sings, “But I’m alone here, Even though I’m physically not, And those dead boys are always there, There’s more every year,”
Later on in the song Sam repels these notions, and addresses his career and why he does what he does “I must repel thе dying light, For Mam and Dad and all my pals, For all the ones who didn’t make the night.”.
The songs mean something, the songs have the anthemic quality that makes fans want to punch the air, and yet the lyrics are often quite gut wrenching. In the same way Springsteen, Hall, Weller and dare I say it Gallagher did. It does not merely imitate though, this record was a record for Britain in the 2020's that takes elements from the past, and updates them for the modern world.
'Seventeen Going Under' was definitely a step up from his debut, painting a picture of working class life and how not much has changed. On this record he staked his claim for being the most pivitoal voice of his generation.
Following the release of the record. Fender presented a documentary on the life of Alan Hull, named Lindisfarne's Geordie Genius: The Alan Hull Story, which featured contributions from Sting, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler, Dave Stewart, and Peter Gabriel. It was broadcast by BBC Four on 26 November 2021.
In February 2022, Sam recieved the Brit Award for British Rock/Alternative Act the following month at the 2022 Brit Awards. He dedicated the win (in part) to the North East Homeless centre. The award was presented to Sam by Rolling Stones Icon Ronnie Wood, who labelled Sam as his favourite of all the nominees.
After the win, Sam revealed his plans for the award. It would be turned into a Beer Pump. He had already done the same with his Critics Choice award he'd won back in 2019. The beer pumps, found pride of place in Sam's former workplace and local pub the Low Lights Tavern in North Shields.
Fender embarked on a UK-headline arena tour to support Seventeen Going Under, which began on 20 March and included shows at Wembley Arena, OVO Hydro Arena, and also 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. As well as showws in Liverpool, Birmingham and two sold out shows in his home city of Newcastle.
Sam would also play at Sound of the City in Manchester, at a sold out show at Castlefield Bowl.
I saw Sam on this tour, and it was one of those magical nights. All of us walked out of the venue and felt as if we had witnessed something special.
He and his band were a well rehearsed confident unit, and Sam's song did all of the talking. The show was magical, dipping into both of his albums. In particular 'Spit of You' which saw a collage of fans family photographs, shown behind Sam and band which then became a collage of Sam and his dad.
I could sense that night, that Sam wouldn't be confined to arenas for much longer, the biggest stages called his name. He supported The Killers on 5 and 6 June at Emirates Stadium.
Sam performed on Friday 24th June 2022, at Glastonbury three years after cancelling his 2019 performances. His sunset show was definitely worth the wait.
He was no stranger to big shows, having already played a sold out arena tour, and selling out a 45,000 capacity Finsbury Park show months in advance. However, this Glastonbury performance was his biggest yet, and he also had a BBC One sunset slot to deal with.
Fender and band did not stray from the formula, and the setlist of the tour but they did not need to. The Glastonbury faithful knew every word, and the band were playing a blinder. “Me and the boys have never been here before, never been here as punters, never played before and now we’re doing it all in one day,” Fender tells the crowd on one of the few chatty occasions, well aware we’re short on time and desperately trying to take it all in before it’s too late.
He appeared as a special guest for The Rolling Stones at British Summer Time Hyde Park on 3 July 2022. Sam stuck around in London, to play his biggest headline show to date.
A show at London's Finsbury Park to 45,000 people backed up by a few friends including Fontaines DC, Declan McKenna and his arena tour supports Goat Girl. Sam currated the line up of acts himself bringing along his friends and peers to join him at his biggest show, the crowing jewel of his biggest year to date and a chance to look at just how far he'd come.
Five years previously Sam was a relative unknown. Without a record deal, or any significant major backing. In those years, he won two Brit Awards, topped the UK Albums Charts twice, had a Top Ten Single, and with his anthemic and authentic storytelling reignited an interest in guitar music.
Finsbury Park at the time felt like the end of the 'Seventeen Going Under' cycle a moment where everything went right, and wrapped up a brilliant year. However, we now know there was something bigger to come.
In September 2022 Sam announced his first stadium show. A show at St James Park, the home of his beloved Newcastle United, penciled in for June 9th 2023.
Sam became the first Geordie to headline the venue. “It’s been a running joke since we started the band,” Fender told NME this week of his long-running desire to play a gig at the venue. “We used to be like, ‘Ah, imagine if we headlined St James’ one day!’ Now that it’s happening, it’s a little bit bizarre.
“I think we manifested it by accident,” the singer added, saying that he and his bandmates “used to take the piss” and discuss the idea of playing a headline show at the famous football ground.
Fender continued: “No actual Geordie band has ever done it. Brian Johnson did it with AC/DC, but they were already an Australian band that were doing well [before he joined]. For the whole band to be from the area and to play there, it’s a really, really big thing for us.”
Demand for the shows was so high, that Sam had to announce a further date, for June 10th 2023.
On 18 October 2022, Fender secured his first Mercury Prize nomination with 'Seventeen Going Under'. He unveiled 'Wild Grey Ocean', a song previously unreleased from Seventeen Going Under, which would later be included in the album's reissue. In November 2022, the single "Seventeen Going Under" was certified double platinum by the BPI (1.2 million UK sales).
In 2023 Sam really made the jump, not only into Stadiums but to the top of festival bills. Playing two sold out shows at St James Park, headlining Reading & Leeds and TRNSMT. Before that though Sam was given the oportunity to open for his hero Bruce Springsteen in Italy in May 2023.
In June Sam took to the stage in Newcastle for two of the biggest nights of his career. His show at Finsbury Park was a celebration of the album, the two shows at St James Park were a celebration of Newcastle.
“We’re tribal,” Sam Fender once said of his Geordie roots. “Anything from Newcastle that does good belongs to Newcastle.”
These shows proved that Sam is more than good, he is the cities hero, he brought the whole city together with these shows. For two days in June 2023, Newcastle belonged to Sam Fender, the whole city celebrated he and his success. Thousands of fans flocked to the stadium, his hit single 'Seventeen Going Under' was sung and played across pubs and bars all over Newcastle and the surrounding towns, an anthem about growing up in the North East and the trials and tribulations faced by working class people turned into a hymn, a song of celebration.
Both shows were a celebration of not only Sam but his peers, and the city. On the first night he invited his brother Liam to sing the Bruce Springsteen song 'I'm on Fire' with him. The second night is where the guests were amped up.
At first Sam brought onto stage his childhood guitar teacher, and when the crowd believes it's a moment for the sentimental, AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson walks onto stage, and half of Newcastle ruptures their vocal chords in disbelief. Fender and Johnson then rip through ‘Back In Black’ before flying into You Shook Me All Night Long’.
Moments before this Fender uttered these words “it's a fucking good time to be a Geordie”. After witnessing that the 55,000 strong in attendance can do nothing but agree.
A city ralied around their hometown hero, for a moment that he and the city will never forget. Not to comiserate over the issues Sam writes about whether it be poverty, drug use or mental health struggles as individuals but to raly together as one and sing in spite of them all. Sam Fender is truly a one of a kind songwriter and front man.
Following the shows at St James Park. Fender headed across the Irish sea to play two sold out shows in Dublin and Belfast.
Three festival headline slots followed. First Reading & Leeds. Sam was the headliner that the festival had been waiting for, for a very long time.
When he made his main stage debut at the festival back in 2021, he was a few months shy of dropping his world-beating second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’. It felt like something was brewing. This headline slot, is where Sam showed the world what he could do and tasted the results, he was born to headline festivals like this.
Sam used his platform to sing about stuff that mattered, despite being a festival, songs like 'Dead Boys'. Which Sam introduced as "a song about my hometown, a drinking town, with a fishing problem." it has a profound impact for the thousands of young people in attendance, they have found their voice, a songwriter who translates the everyday into the profound, and the profound into the everyday.
He was the perfect mirror to the audience, singing from the heart and dealing with the harsh reality of life. What he did at Reading & Leeds makes it all the more possible for the next generation of musicians coming through. It's another reason why he deserves and needs to be on these stages.
TRNSMT followed soon after which saw Sam play another festival slot for the ages. Including a cover of ‘The Modern Leper’, the opening track of Frightened Rabbit’s second album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’.
Sam had made the jump in just six years from an unsigned artist to a stadium act and festival headliner. In just two albums.
Remember My Name- People Watching
After a succesful 2023, Sam released new music of sorts in January 2024. He featured on the the song 'Homesick' from Noah Kahan's album Stick Season (Forever). In February 2024, Sam was announced as the headliner of Boardmasters Festival in Newquay Cornwall.
Then it was radio silence for a few months. Fans knew a third album was upcoming but Sam was keeping things under wraps for a while. Two unreleased songs 'People Watching' and 'Nostalgias Lie' were debuted at Plymouth Pavilions. This performance served a warm up for the Boardmasters headline show.
Both songs were played again at the festival.
In November 2024, Sam began to tease the release of new music, sharing details about a new song 'People Watching' on social media. On the 15th November 2024, Sam released his first new music since 2021. The title track from his third album 'People Watching'.
The song is classic Sam Fender, that weaves together deeply personal experiences with bigger picture political concerns. It was a bold return from Britain's best song writer. Produced alongside The War on Drugs Adamn Granduceil in Los Angeles. It's firmly written about his hometown, capturing Sam's journeys to and from a palliative care home where he would visit his late friend and mentor, Annie Orwin – who he’s described as being like “a surrogate mother to” him – and the mix of sentiments and observations that made up those trips.
Alongside the release of the first single, Sam announced the 'People Watching' tour. UK Dates took place in December 2024, and he and the band headed into Europe in March 2025.
Taking to the stage in arenas across the UK and Europe. The tour instantly sold out, and saw Sam supported by Wunderhorse and CMAT.
Later on in November, Sam announced his biggest shows to date. Three UK Stadium shows for the summer of 2025. One night at the London Stadium and two nights at St James Park in Newcastle. Making it the third and fourth time that Sam has performed at the stadium.
Support for these shows will come from The War on Drugs and the European Tour support slot, CMAT.
On November 22nd 2024, 'People Watching' debuted at Number Four in the UK Singles Chart. The highest debut from a British Alternative act in sixteen years. It also became Sam’s third top ten single, following 'Seventeen Going Under' and 'Homesick' which he released earlier in the year with Noah Kahan.
The albums second single 'Wild Long Lie' followed in December 2024. This song tackles drug use, and how we can sometimes slip into former versions of ourselves when heading back to somewhere we once called home. He tackles the drug, in a more human way, this is not about tales of pop stars indulgence with the white powder, or even celebrities tales of rehab. It's much more brutal, he talks about it being a part of every day life in Shields, a sobering thought because the towns and cities we grew up in. It's prevalent there to.
'Arm's Length' the albums third single was released in January 2025 a rousing single. Sam described the song as "one of those magic moments where you’re just messing around, and a song literally falls out of the sky. It’s about being avoidant and flighty. But also, just a simple pop song, which I love.”
The song initially did not make the album, and Fender had to be persuaded to put it on the record by new band member Brooke Bentham. “For a while, it wasn’t even going to be on the album… but thankfully Brooke joined and was like, are you mad?? It originally came from one of those magic moments where you’re just messing around, and a song literally falls out the sky. It’s about being avoidant and flighty. But also just a simple pop song, which I love.” Thanks to the recent addition to the band, Brooke Bentham, fans have been blessed with this addictive song.
It's one of the albums most simple songs, but definitley one of the highlights. This one will be on the setlist for a while.
Sam announced further UK shows on February 13th 2025. After already being confirmed as a headliner at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Liverpool on January 28th. He announced three further UK shows in Manchester, Belfast and Edingbrugh.
One further single was released before the album, 'Remember My Name', released on Valentines Day 2025, one week before the album was released. The song is a beautiful tribute to Sam's grandparents. A piano ballad that see's Sam joined by Easington Colliery Band. The song initally emerged with Sam playing it on an out of tune in a Newcastle pub. It has transformed into a tribute for his Grandmother, written from the perspective on his Grandfather, who cared for his wife whilst she had dementia. Both of these have now sadly passed away. The song is deeply personal revealing the addres of the council house they lived in and where Sam spent time as a child " 11 Wark Avenue."
The tribute to them both is spectacular, Sam's family had worked in the mines, and Sam asked for an old mining hymn 'Gresford' to weaved in to the arrangement. When talking about the song Sam said. "I knew I wanted to have a miners' brass band on the track."I went through all these bands and I chose Easington Colliery Band because they were the best and they'd won all these competitions."We recorded them and f***ing serendipity - Easington Colliery is very likely where some of my maternal family worked, as they were in mines all across County Durham."I didn't know until my mam told me. That's the universe at work right there."
'People Watching' was released on the 21st February 2025 and it became Sam's third album to hit the Top Spot on the UK Albums Chart. Selling 107,100 units sold in the opening week, the biggest for a British artist since Harry Styles's 2022 album Harry's House.
The album received critical acclaim, similarly to his previous record 'Seventeen Going Under' it provided a bleak but astonishingly accurate view of our current times. It undoubtedly firms up his position as his generations greatest ever songwriter. Despite now being a headliner and a stadium act. Sam did not fall into the Stadium rock trap. The album is much more satisfying because of that. It delves deeply into both the political and personal, but unlike on previous records. Sam does not tie himself in knots with the political, instead he provides a harrowing view of peoples situations at home and across the globe.
On 'Chin Up' he addresses the cost of living crisis (“The cold permeates the neonatal baby / Can’t heat the place for fucking love nor money”).
'Crumbling Empire' harks back to the days of Thatcher's privitasation and how it is still being felt in his hometown of Shields (“My old man worked on the rail yard / Getting his trade on the electrical board / It got privatised, the work degraded / In this crumbling empire”).
There's moments of beauty, in particular on 'Remember My Name' which Sam talks about the love of his grandparents, and on 'Wild Long Lie' where Sam discusses old friends in the pub. 'TV Dinner' provides a brutal examination of the music industry and how they deal with working class artists and address his own struggles with fame. One of the most poignant lines in this track talks about the death of Amy Winehouse 'Like Winehouse, she was just a bairn/ They love her now but bled her then. Sam commented how the press treated a working class singer when she was struggling and then after her death, the press and public's perspective totally changed.
As with his previous records, Sam is self critical but this time more than ever. He is no longer that working class lad from Shields. Sam is one of the most important artists of his generation. Undoubtedly, his rapid rise to fame as a young adult has left him feeling somewhat existential, uprooted and disconnected. This theme is felt throughout the record “I’m not preaching, I’m just talking / I don’t wear the shoes I used to walk in,” he admits on ‘Crumbling Empire’, on 'Chin Up' he admits he’s “entitled, idle and dumb, twenty-eight, still sucking my thumb.
This record stops to take stock, of where he's come from and those he has met along the way. These songs demand your attention.
In March 2025. Fender won his third Brit Award, his second time winning the Best British Rock/Alternative Act.
Sam has the biggest summer of his life up next, and surely he has to be in with a shout of headling Glastonbury. I'm quite surprised he hasn't been booked already to be honest. 2027 is surely nailed on.
He has the small matter of stadium and outdoor gigs to contend with first though.
It has taken me a couple of days to write this post, and it's mad to think just how much Sam has done in 6/7 years. I found him just before the 'Dead Boys' EP and since then the journey has been mad. I'd actually forgotten some of this had happened, because of how much he has done and just how quickly it all came to fruition.
After hearing 'Poundshop Kardashians' I remember writing a list of songs for one of my friends Katie. We were living in university halls together, and alongside another friend Archie we wrote down some song recommendations. I recommended a couple of Sam Fender songs, and next to his name I wrote in brackets 'he will be massive'
I guess I was right.
Thank you ever so much for reading
For Katie and Archie x