Sam Fender was born in 1994 and raised in North Shields. He began writing songs aged 14, building on an affinity with Bruce Springsteen, and started acting a few years later, appearing in the ITV series Vera. After releasing his first single, Play God, independently in 2017, Fender featured in the BBC’s Sound of 2018 poll. He won the critics’ choice award at the 2019 Brits and his debut album, Hypersonic Missiles, entered the UK charts at No 1. His second album, Seventeen Going Under, is out this week on Polydor.
1. Book
Beyond Band of Brothers by Major Dick Winters
I’m fascinated with the second world war. My grandad used to jump out of planes behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia and Africa and he was just a little geordie lad from Shields. Which leads me to this book. Dick Winters was an NCO at the start of the war but then ended up becoming the company leader of Easy Company, a group of American paratroopers. The book is his memoir of the war. The one thing that runs through it and the TV series Band of Brothers is the idea that you end up fighting for the person next to you. It’s all about the strength of the unit.
2. Art
I love this painter’s work. I can’t describe his style - I’m not that cultured! It’s a bit abstract and just wacky, you know? I followed him on Instagram and just looked at his art and thought: fucking hell, this is brilliant. Ever since then I’ve followed his career. He did some pictures for the French House pub in Soho, with some of the characters who drank there – the one with Francis Bacon is cracking. I like his political stuff as well. He had a pop at Boris Johnson – he did a picture for the Guardian of Boris painting himself as a clown. That was good.
3. Music
We All Want the Same Things by Craig Finn
I’m loving this album at the moment. It’s very heartland rock, with that Springsteen style of storytelling that I so admire. He sings in a conversational way and his songs are about down-and-out characters, which I relate to a lot, from being a kid. They’re more interesting, aren’t they? You want to hear about the trials and tribulations of life, not people’s holidays. There’s a track called God in Chicago, which is spoken word the whole way through and it’s outstanding. There are some great lines: “We drank in the taverns, we ate somewhere Italian/ Then she’s on the sidewalk trying to ask for a cigarette from oncoming traffic.” It’s beautiful and sad.
4. Restaurant
This place is amazing. It’s on Long Sands beach in Tynemouth, within spitting distance of where I live. You go down in the morning and get kipper and a poached egg in the most amazing wood-fired bun, with loads of capers on and everything, and it sorts you out. You sit there watching the grey North Sea with the sea fret coming in. It’s normally freezing, so they’ve got log burners and fire pits. It’s quite trendy, a bit more pricey than Gregg’s, but it’s really good.
5. Podcast
This is a podcast about one of my favourite TV shows ever. I’m halfway through The Sopranos for the second time and I definitely think I’m going to do a third. It’s presented by Michael Imperioli, who plays Christopher, and Steve Schirripa, who plays Bobby Bacala. The two of them chat through every episode, dissecting the story and going into what they reckon the characters are thinking. It’s just brilliant and also lush to get an actor’s perspective. It reveals new things and makes you want to watch it again. I put it on when I’m getting in the bath – it really calms me down when I’m feeling a bit anxious.
6. Gadget
I’ve just bought an Oculus Quest 2 headset. It’s so good. I was a complete VR sceptic, but when you put the headset on, the perspective completely shifts. It’s so immersive, which is good for somebody who loves escapism. I’m a Star Wars nerd, so I’m playing a lot of Star Wars games as well as a game called Arizona Sunshine, where you just go around shooting zombies. I’ve only had it for four days, so it’s early in my VR experience, but I’m really excited about it. And I’ve not bumped into anything yet!
