Fresh off the back of a year of touring, the beginning of 2019 saw Sam Fender win the BRITs Critics' Choice Award. Hailing from a working-class town in the North East of England, Fender is a singer-songwriter that fans label a "down to earth, switched on lad". Writing about his experiences growing up in the coastal town of North Shields, he is politically charged, describing his home as 'forgotten' by the government.
Born into a musical family, Fender picked up a guitar for the first time as a young teen; he knew almost instantly that he had found his passion. His father, Alan Fender, spent much of Sam's early life performing in clubs across the North East, introducing him to the likes of Steely Dan, 10cc and Bruce Springsteen. His older brother later familiarised him with 90s Britpop and grunge music; from there Fender's love for music blossomed.
With help from his high school English teacher, Fender began to turn his musings into lyrics. After leaving sixth form, Fender pulled pints in his local pub while making music in his mother's flat. It was here that Fender met Ben Howard's manager, Owain Davies, the meeting a complete "accident". Davies was back home in the North celebrating Howard's BRITs success that year when Fender's bar manager recognised Davies and encouraged Fender to play for him. This chance meeting led to Fender being signed under Davies' management team, thrusting Fender into the music industry, he began to tour the country, supporting fellow singer-songwriters such as George Ezra, Nick Mulvey and Hozier.
Over the next few years, Fender and his team began writing a string of songs, revealing their grievances with the inequalities they saw in the world around them. His debut single, Play God, tells the story of an Orwellian leader in an alternative reality. The track was featured in FIFA 19 last year, provoking his rise to success and filling a too-long empty hole in guitar music that serves as social commentary, most often found in hip-hop or grime rather than the alt-rock sound Fender brings. He doesn't claim to be an expert on politics and doesn't expect to lead a revolution any time soon, but his writing tells us that he's socially aware enough that we should take note of what he has to say. He writes about the heartbreaks caused by greedy politicians and the turmoil that the mistreatment of the working class brings. Fender's lyrics are gritty and real, portraying tales of sadness different to the kind we’re used to in usual indie love songs.
Possibly Fender's most personal song to date, Dead Boys, is a devastating reminder of the suicide epidemic, particularly for men, across the country. After a number of young guys from his hometown had taken their lives in such a short space of time, Fender began writing the track. Dead Boys is a reaction to his own experience, an expression of his frustration with the toxic masculinity he grew up around. Fender wanted to start a conversation around male mental health and pierce the bubble of stigma surrounding guys talking about their feelings. Fender has spoken about how the record was "self-therapeutic", though, he was initially apprehensive about letting it see the light of day, concerned he was capitalising on a tragedy. However, the decision to have Dead Boys released was met with praise. Fender's most poignant track resulted in precisely what he had intended - it's encouraged men to talk.
Sam Fender's debut album Hypersonic Missiles is out on 13 September.