Sam Fender reflects on “intimacy” of shows on US tour: “I’m loving it”

Sam Fender has reflected on the “intimacy” of his recent run of shows in the US, saying he “loved” the experience.

• READ MORE: Sam Fender – ‘People Watching’ review: reflective and perceptive indie rock from North Shields’ shining star

Sam Fender has reflected on the “intimacy” of his recent run of shows in the US, saying he “loved” the experience.

Speaking on this week’s episode of Elton John’s Rocket Hour on Apple Music 1, the musician opened up about his recent run of US dates to John, who appears on piano on Fender’s forthcoming single, ‘Talk To You’. The track appears on the deluxe edition of Fender’s acclaimed album, ‘People Watching’, which arrives on December 5.

Opening up about touring smaller venues in the US, Fender said: “I’m loving it, man. It’s like the intimacy is something that I’ve missed from the early days…Last night’s show was in the Aragon Theatre, and it was 5,000 people, so it was playing Brixton again. And it was like that time.

“I remember when we were doing Brixton, I had the fire in my belly. I feel like we’re out here on a mission again, which is great, so I’m loving it.”

Fender has had a run of huge shows in the UK in recent years, including a run of stadium and arena shows, headlining Finsbury Park and festivals including Reading and Leeds.

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Elsewhere in the interview, which can be heard full from Saturday (October 18) at 5pm BST, Fender opened up about why he asked John to play on the track, ‘Talk To You.’

He said: “So it was like this album, obviously, it was a baptism of fire. It took three years to make the whole thing, and I had so many songs and I basically had a whole other albums worth of stuff by the time we’d finished ‘People Watching’. And to be honest with you, ‘Talk to You’ and a couple of the songs off this Deluxe, this happens every time. I wish this song and there’s ‘Main Street’ and there’s a couple of different tunes from the Deluxe that I would’ve preferred to have probably had on the standard, and this is one of them, but this happens every time.

So when we started this one, I don’t know what it was, it was like I had this one piano, I had that piano part, which is the main riff. And, obviously, we were at Chiswick at the time. And I was like, ‘Oh, I would love to get somebody better at piano than me.’ I was like, ‘I wonder who I know. Who can I call?’

John replied: “It was so much fun to come and play on one of your songs, because we’ve been friends for a long, long time.”

The pair have previously performed together and spoken highly of each other, and Fender’s announcement comes after he teased a collaboration with his “good friend playing piano” on Instagram earlier this week (October 12).

NME gave ‘People Watching’ a four-star review upon its release in February, writing, “Feeling existential, uprooted and disconnected from his old working-class life thanks to his rapid rise to fame, the British guitar hero channels it all into his gorgeous third album.”

The review finished: “Reflective, analytical and vulnerable, ‘People Watching’ does exactly what the title may suggest: takes stock of the characters, friends and loved ones who have made Fender the person he is today. He approaches each track with sensitivity as he looks back on his life so far – perhaps even with an inkling of guilt – and contemplates who he may be next.”

‘People Watching’, which earned the biggest opening week in the UK for a British actsince Harry Styles with ‘Harry House’ in 2021, is up for this year’s Mercury Prize. Fender will find out if the album wins this evening (October 16).

He’ll be performing at the ceremony, which is taking place in his hometown of Newcastle. He’s up against artists including CMAT, Fontaines D.C., Pa Salieu, PinkPantheress, Pulp and Wolf Alice.

Next month, Fender is heading to Australia to continue his ‘People Watching’ tour.

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