Sam Fender

Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his high tenor voice and thick Geordie accent, layered over music characterised by a roots-orientated rock approach. Fender's sound relies primarily on his traditional American musical upbringing combined with a classic British rock sensibility. He has been acclaimed by critics and musicians for his songwriting proficiency.

Fender was born and grew up in North Shields. He found his vocation as a singer-songwriter around the age of 14 and subsequently released several singles independently, being named one of the BBC's Sound of 2018. Fender signed to Polydor Records and released his debut EP, ''Dead Boys'', in November 2018. He won the Critics' Choice Award at the 39th Brit Awards and released his debut album, '' Hypersonic Missiles'', in September 2019, which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. His second album ''Seventeen Going Under'' was released in October 2021 and also topped the UK Albums Chart and spawned the UK hit single "Seventeen Going Under". In 2022, Fender received the Brit Award for Best British Alternative/Rock Act and the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

Early life

Samuel Thomas Fender was born on 25 April 1994 in North Shields, England, to Shirley and Alan Fender. He has a brother, Liam, nine years his senior. Shirley was a nurse, and Alan was an electrician; the lower-middle class family lived in a terraced house in the suburb of North Shields. Alan is also a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist, whilst Liam plays the drums. Both were musicians performing locally. Fender described the first 10 years of his life as "comfortable" within a musical family. His great-great-grandmother was Irish. His father later became a music teacher.

He had a tumultuous late childhood and adolescence. His mother abandoned him when he was eight years old, but he later returned to her after being forced out of his father's house by his stepmother. His mother was then living in the Scottish Borders, and Fender would grow up there when he visited her. At the age of eight, Fender received his first guitar from his father. He became "proficient" on the guitar at age 10 whilst being fascinated by Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Slash. Fender attended John Spence Community High School. He was bullied for being overweight and unathletic as a child. When he was a young teen, he and his mother discovered the body of a woman they knew who died by suicide, which affected his formative years. Fender said: "Suddenly mortality became real. Life and death became concrete."

When Fender was 12, he met his friend Dean Thompson and continued to play the guitar alongside him. Over the following year, he performed for the first time in front of an audience at his brother's street performer nights, playing Hendrix covers, and accompanied by Thompson at the latter's uncle's birthday, covering songs from Kings of Leon. His ambition at this point was to become a professional musician; Fender recalled, "when I hit 13 it was the only thing I wanted from life." At the age of 14, Fender began writing his own songs. The same year, he learned to sing by listening to Jeff Buckley's ''Grace'', an album his brother gave him. At the age of 15, his brother introduced him to Bruce Springsteen's ''Born to Run'' and ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' albums. Fender began playing at his brother's open mic nights and formed his first band at age 15. At the time, he and his mother were living in a small, crumbling flat within a council estate on the outskirts of North Shields and struggled to pay rent as both were poor.

Fender attended sixth form at Whitley Bay High School. He found musically-minded friends at high school. He met Joe Atkinson, and they developed a friendship through their musical interests. Fender studied theatre and A Level in English language and literature at Whitley Bay High School; however, he began to spend most of his time in the music department, although he had not studied the subject academically. He was regarded as highly popular with students and staff and engaged in school activities. Fender performed with his band for the Year 13 students finishing their time. Fighting punctuated his difficult youth, and despite his broad shoulders, he often got punched. Alan would teach him boxing to improve this situation, but the expected result was usually not obtained. At the age of sixteen, Fender entered a Teenage Cancer Trust competition where Matty Healy was a judge and won.

He grew up in an environment where North Shields was "ravaged" by the omnipresence of drugs, especially spice, also known as "zombie drug". Fender's friends were dealing marijuana, and later some switched to hard drugs such as cocaine. Social pressure had prompted him to smoke spice a couple of times, but he stopped because the experience was unsettling. However, his friends became addicted for years; Fender said, "it destroyed their lives". When he was 17, his mother had to end her 40-year career as a nurse due to fibromyalgia; he considered selling drugs to support her, but she talked him out of it. Fender idolised his father for his talent as a musician and viewed him as a tough man who struggled to provide for his children in a region facing an endemic lack of opportunities. Fender recalled that his stepfather had become homeless for more than a year after serving in the armed forces and faced difficulty escaping street life whilst struggling to find stable housing and employment.

Fender said he needed to become independent quickly. Whilst studying, Fender simultaneously held two jobs, working in a local restaurant and pub (where his manager later discovered him), and consumed alcoholic beverages daily from 17 and a half to 18, relieving him from work fatigue. He abandoned his A Levels to earn money to help his mother, who developed a mental illness in addition to her fibromyalgia. At the time, both had slipped below the poverty line. Fender's passion for music caused him to abandon his qualifications. His uncle would help them through their adversities and inconveniences, and eventually, Fender would find his outlet in music. His father was then a guitarist playing in clubs around Newcastle, and their relationship improved as they shared a common passion for music. When he was about 18, Fender began performing paid gigs at restaurants. After high school, he held several jobs, teaching guitars and working in a call centre and a bar.

Career

2013–2015: Early beginnings

At 18, Fender was spotted performing in Low Lights Tavern, the pub where he worked, by Ben Howard's manager Owain Davies, who took him on as a client. Throughout 2013, he played a series of gigs across the country supporting a number of artists including Howard and Willy Mason. At the age of 20, Fender was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness, shortly after which his father moved to France. He took two years out for health reasons. He revealed years later that he has a "compromised immune system". Fender has said that prior to this time he tried to write songs that he thought would be popular as he was "desperate to do well" to get himself and his mother out of their financial and living situation. However, Fender said that having a major health scare and facing the possibility of death changed his outlook on life. 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.

2017–2018: Singles and ''Dead Boys EP''

In late March 2017, Fender independently released his debut single, " Play God", which premiered on BBC Radio 1. In the summer of 2017, Fender played the first shows with his band, consisting of guitarist Thompson, guitarist and keyboardist Atkinson, bassist Tom Ungerer, and drummer Drew Micheal. Throughout this period Fender toured with support slots for acts such as Bear's Den, Declan McKenna, and Michael Kiwanuka. In 2017, he put out singles "Friday Fighting" and "Start Again", which sparked a first breakthrough. In November 2017, Fender was placed on BBC
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