Watch Sam Fender play ‘Seventeen Going Under’ tracks for first time on UK tour
The Geordie hero gave three tracks their live debut as he kicked off his tour in Nottingham
By Joe Goggins
Sam Fender handed live debuts to three songs as he kicked off his first full arena tour in Nottingham last night (March 20).
The Newcastle singer-songwriter played a hat-trick of previously unaired tracks, ’The Dying Light’, ‘Paradigms’ and ‘The Leveller’ – you can see fan-shot footage below. They came as part of an 18-song setlist at the Motorpoint Arena, dominated by material from ‘Seventeen Going Under’, which became Fender’s second UK number one album last October.
His debut record, ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, was also well represented, with Fender opening with the single ‘Will We Talk?’ and also including a slew of hits, ‘Play God’, ‘Dead Boys’ and ‘The Borders’ among them. At the start of an encore that comprised ‘Saturday’, ‘Paradigms’, ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, meanwhile, Fender improvised a solo take on ‘Leave Fast’ to fill time as techs dealt with an issue with guitarist Dean Thompson’s pedalboard.
This is Fender’s first full run of arenas in the UK, although he did play a clutch of bigger venues last year; he then went back to intimate venues, but to curtail his December tour due to a COVID-19 case in the touring party. In the months since, he’s picked up the Best Rock/Alternative Act award at the BRITs, which he confirmed will be displayed alongside his previous BRIT for Rising Star in 2019 – as a hand-pull cask pump at his favourite pub, the Low Lights Tavern in North Shields.
Now, the UK dates continue, beginning tonight (March 21) in Liverpool and going on to Glasgow, Birmingham, Brighton and London before two massive hometown shows in Newcastle. He’ll also play a long-delayed Sounds from the City gig at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl in July as well as his biggest headline show to date at London’s Finsbury Park, around the time he supports The Killers at stadiums in London and Dublin. He’s also set to make an appearance at Glastonbury, three years after pulling out because of illness in 2019. You can see his full itinerary below.
Sam Fender, March 2022:
21 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
26 – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
27 – Birmingham, Birmingham Arena
30 – Brighton, Brighton Centre
April 2022:
1 – London, SSE Arena
2 – London, SSE Arena
5 – Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
6 – Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
June 2022:
3 – London, Emirates Stadium (with The Killers)
4 – London, Emirates Stadium (with The Killers)
July 2022:
6 – Manchester, Castlefield Bowl
15 – London, Finsbury Park