Sam Fender has announced the details of his forthcoming third album ‘People Watching’
While there has been a gap of two years between his debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ and ‘Seventeen Going Under’, there has been a gap of nearly four years between ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and his third LP.
But Fender admitted earlier this year that he “rushed” to complete his last album. In an interview on Sky Arts’ Johnson And Knopfler’s Music Legends, Fender shared: “The third one we started rushing and I thought, ‘No, we have got to take the time’.
“I want to do the best I possibly can. I’d rather it be late and great than early and shite. What we have got so far I am absolutely over the moon with but I want to give it that bit more time and more thought.”
‘People Watching’ was produced by Fender alongside his bandmates Dean Thompson, Joe Atkinson, producer Markus Dravs, and The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel – it’s set for release on February 21, 2025 via Polydor. You can pre-order the LP here.
The official press release describes Fender’s album as “his next steps forward”, stating it will deliver “colourful stories and observations of everyday characters living their everyday, but often extraordinary, lives.”
The album cover photograph was shot by the late Tish Murtha – a renowned social documentary photographer – who grew up in South Shields and documented marginalised communities and working-class life in Newcastle upon Tyne.
‘People Watching’ tracklist is:
1. ‘People Watching’
2. ‘Nostalgia’s Lie’
3. ‘Chin Up’
4. ‘Wild Long Lie’
5. ‘Arm’s Length’
6. ‘Crumbling Empire’
7. ‘Little Bit Closer’
8. ‘Rein Me In’
9. ‘TV Dinner’
10. ‘Something Heavy’
11. ‘Remember My Name’
The first taster of the album will arrive in the form of the lead single ‘People Watching’ which is set for release this Friday (November 15) with the North Shields singer-songwriter having shared a snippet of the song last week on his social media. Fender took to social media and thanked fans for “being patient” via his Instagram post and shared the single artwork image “from down the road in South Shields” shot by Tish Murtha. He said, “It’s an honour to be able to use her art to help tell the story of the album”.
You can pre-order the single CD, which features B-side ‘Me And The Dog’ online now.
Fender revealed the emotional and heartfelt story behind the upcoming single on his Instagram account and shared that the track is about somebody who was “like a surrogate mother to me and passed away last November. I was by her side at the end, slept on a chair next to her. It’s about what was going through my head, to and from that place and home.”
Fender continued: “It’s kind of ironic because she was the one that gave me the confidence to go on stage, and always used to be like ‘why haven’t you mentioned my name in your acceptance speech’. But now an entire song (and album) connects to her. I hope that wherever she is now she’s looking down saying ‘about time kid’.”
His forthcoming UK and Ireland tour includes two nights at The O2 in London. £1 from every ticket sold for these dates will be donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues. Find any remaining tickets here.
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