Sam Fender has set the scene for his upcoming UK and European tour by teasing a section of a widely anticipated new single titled ‘People Watching’, signalling the imminent full release of the track that fans of the North Shields artists have only heard in a handful of live performances. Fender set the anticipation building with a mysterious countdown on his website counting down to a release at midnight on Wednesday 13th November.

Fender originally made the song available as a limited edition 7-inch vinyl for Record Store Day 2022. “Alright” served as the B-side of the single “Long Way Off” and was recorded during the sessions for Tyneside’s favourite son’s U.K chart-topping second studio album, “Seventeen Going Under.”  The album received four stars from Rolling Stone, saying, “The stories on ‘Seventeen Going Under’ are deeply personal, but the gusto and care with which they’re tackled and presented make them universal – a skill shared by all the best songwriters.”

The Springsteen-esque title track struck a nerve, and Fender’s vulnerability examining the angst and anger of his teenage years growing up in North Shields became a TikTok sensation. “Alright” continues in a similar vein; Fender told NME, “Alright’ is one of the first tracks from the ‘Seventeen Going Under’ era, It was always a favourite of mine but somehow failed to appear on the album. It deals with themes of cheating death and maturing.”

Fender shared the song’s official artwork on social media last night, July 14. He wrote, “Something special coming tonight.” Later, he posted a link to “Alright’s” digital release, which is now available for streaming and downloading.

Listen to ‘Alright’https://t.co/PJWZOJStqN — Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) July 14, 2022

Fresh off his searing performance on last month’s Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage, Fender will headline his biggest show to date in London’s Finsbury Park tonight (July 15). Fender told NME back in December 2021 that, “It’s the biggest gig we’ve put on so far – 45,000 tickets,” and referring to the acts who have headlined previously, Fender said, “I’m absolutely psyched to be playing Finsbury Park. What a mad night this is going to be. Some huge artists have played there over the years, and it seems crazy that we will headline it next Summer. I’m bringing some friends along too, it’s gonna be wild. Cannot wait.”

The friends he’s talking about are his special guests who are his supporting acts –  Fontaines DC, Declan McKenna, Beabadoobee, Goat Girl, Nilüfer Yanya, Rachel Chinouriri, Stone, Heidi Curtis and Kay Greyson.

If you are unable to catch him at tonight’s Finsbury Park show, Fender is playing the following dates in the U.K this summer:

22/7/2022 – Tramlines – Sheffield
23/7 – Truck – Oxfordshire
28/8 – Victorious Festival – Portsmouth

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A post shared by Sam Fender (@sam_fender)

During the TV special, the British singer-songwriter took to the stage with a five-piece band to give a rousing performance of his hit single. Viewers also saw performances by Mahalia and AJ Tracey who performed their duet “Roadside”. Arrdee also took the stage to perform his 2021 single “Flowers (Say My Name)“, the British rapper’s third solo single placed within the top 5 within the UK’s Official singles chart. The track gained positive reviews through the incorporation of two hit singles, Sweet Female Attitude track “Flowers” and Destiny’s Child hit “Say My Name”. Also included within the show’s lineup were Becky Hill, Lola Young, Mabel and Dermot Kennedy.

Within the performance, Fender and his backing group played the title track from his recent album Seventeen Going Under. The album was released on 8th October 2021 via Polydor Records and was recently awarded NME’s album of the year accolade. The English musician’s second studio album became a commercial success and brought Fender to the forefront of popular music. The album also sired great critical acclaim and garnered many accolades including topping the list of PopMatters’ list of 15 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2021.

The album’s title track, “Seventeen Going Under”, was the first of five singles to be released from the record. The track was also marketed as the album’s lead single and was released on 7th July 2021. Much like the single’s album, “Seventeen Going Under” also received acclaim within the industry and was named as BBC’S 2021 Hottest Record of The Year. In December 2021 Fender released a re-worked version of the track, the reimagined version saw Fender take the song to an acoustic level. Within the paired back recording Fender collaborate with Holly Humberstone, the track was released alongside the announcement that Humberstone had won the 2022 Brits Rising star award. The news of Humberstone’s win was shared via video which saw the duo in the studio working on their release. The touching video showed Fender, who won the award in 2019, handing the trophy to Humberstone.

!!!! @samfendermusic pic.twitter.com/JyWkpMjT3i

— Holly Humberstone (@HolHumberstone) December 9, 2021

Fender will soon be hitting the road to start his UK and European tour which kicks off in March this year. The singer will kick start a series of UK dates with a performance in Nottingham on 20th March 2022, after ten UK dates the singer will perform at six different European cities. In June 2022, Fender will continue his live shows with a run as the supporting artist within The Killer’s headlining tour. Fender’s scheduled list of live dates concludes with an appearance at London’s Finsbury Park on 15th July 2022.

Sam Fender UK tour dates

20/03/2022 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
21/03 – Echo Arena – Liverpool
24/03 – 3Arena – Dublin
26/03 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
27/03 – Arena – Birmingham
30/03 – The Brighton Centre – Brighton
01/04 – The SSE Arena – London
02/04 – The SSE Arena – London
05/04 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
06/04 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
03/06 – The Killers – London
04/06 – The Killers – London
14/06 – The Killers – Dublin
15/06 – The Killers – Dublin
06/07 – Castlefield Bowl – Manchester
15/07 – Finsbury Park – London

Click here to buy tickets.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the @samfendermusic gig at @fatsams on Thursday has been postponed. We are working with Sam’s team to confirm a new date as soon as possible. Please note that NO tickets have been issued yet and any tickets being offered for resale are fraudulent. pic.twitter.com/g7lcfQcfnE

— Assai UK (@Assai_UK) December 15, 2021

Despite the unfortunate cancellation of these dates, Fender was able to complete the majority of his UK tour, with dates at Alexandra Palace in London, Newcastle’s Utilita Arena and Cardiff’s Motor Point Arena. The final two gigs were originally meant to take place at Sheffield’s Foundry venue this evening (December 15^th) and Fat Sams in Dundee, Scotland on the 16^th of December. The singer stated via his Instagram story: “End of year shocker…There’s been a case of COVID in our touring party so the in-store shows in Sheffield and Dundee tomorrow will be moved to next year. Big love and see you soon.”

You can read the official announcement here, or via a screenshot posted by NME.

COVID complications aside, the North Shields singer-songwriter has recently announced that he will be headlining Finsbury Park on July 15^th, 2022. Supporting Fender will be Irish post-punk outfit Fontaines D.C, indie pop songwriter Declan McKenna, singer-songwriter beabadoobee, and South London post-punk band Goat Girl. Fender posted a video to Instagram two days ago to express his excitement about the show, saying: “It’s gonna be the biggest gig we’ve ever done.” Pre-sale for the tickets went live earlier today, and general sale tickets will go live at 9AM on December 17th. Tickets can be purchased at this link.

In addition to this, Fender will be setting out on a UK tour in March of next year, beginning with a show at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena. He will also be playing a myriad of other outdoor shows prior to Finsbury Park, such as the Emirates Stadium in London, the Hurricane and Southside Festivals in Germany and Rock Werchter in Belgium. Tickets can be found here.

2021 has been a huge year for Fender, having released his second full-length album Seventeen Going Under in October to widespread praise and acclaim by both fans and critics. Fender began releasing singles for the album back in July, the first being the record’s title track. In a glowing five-star review of the album, The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis described the record as “rousing but arrestingly bleak, personal material that puts his indie-rock peers in the shade”. The album can be found on all streaming services, and physical media, including CDs, two different cassette tape variants, and various merchandise bundles can be found here.