Sam Fender enjoys the “intimacy” of touring in the US.
The Seventeen Going Under artist has taken his People Watching Tour Stateside and relishes playing in smaller venues that remind him of his early gigs.
Speaking on Elton John’s Rocket Hour on Apple Music 1, Sam said: “I’m loving it, man. It’s like the intimacy is something I’ve missed from the early days. Do you know what I mean?
“Last night’s show was in the Aragon Theatre, and it was 5,000 people, so it was playing Brixton again. And it was like that time. I remember when we were doing Brixton, I had the fire in my belly. I feel like we’re out here on a mission again, which is great, so I’m loving it.”
Sam and Sir Elton have joined forces for the new track Talk to You – which is set to be released on Friday (17.10.25) and will appear on a deluxe edition of his album People Watching – and the Geordie star explained that the collaboration with the music legend was a long time in the making.
The 31-year-old artist said: “It took three years to make the whole thing, and I had so many songs and I basically had a whole other albums worth of stuff by the time we’d finished People Watching.
“And to be honest with you, Talk to You and a couple of the songs off this deluxe, this happens every time. I wish this song and there’s Main Street and there’s a couple of different tunes from the deluxe that I would’ve preferred to have probably had on the standard, and this is one of them, but this happens every time.”
Fender added: “So when we started this one, I don’t know what it was, it was like I had this one piano, I had that piano part, which is the main riff.
“And, obviously, we were at Chiswick at the time. And I was like, ‘Oh, I would love to get somebody better at piano than me.’ I was like, ‘I wonder who I know. Who can I call?'”
Elton, 78, explained that he enjoyed working with Sam as the pair have “been friends for a long, long time”.
The I’m Still Standing hitmaker said: “It was so much fun to come and play on one of your songs, because we’ve been friends for a long, long time.”