Sam Fender talks Finsbury Park gig and shares hopes for hometown football ground show

20 April 2022, 12:26 | Updated: 20 April 2022, 12:34

Sam Fender wins Radio X Best Of British with Greggs

By Jenny Mensah

The Geordie singer-songwriter spoke to George Godfrey about his upcoming Finsbury Park gig after his Seventeen Going Under single was crowned Radio X's Best Of British with Greggs 2022.

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Sam Fender has discussed being "nervous" but excited for his Finsbury Park gig and shared his hopes at selling out a football ground.

The North Shields singer-songwriter is set for a landmark set at the London park on Friday 15th July and tickets are almost sold out for the 45,000 capacity outdoor show.

Speaking to George Godfrey after his Seventeen Going Under single was named Radio X's Best of British with Greggs 2022, he revealed: "I think there's a couple of thousand tickets left for Finsbury Park.

"Like we're very, very nearly sold out, so if you wanna come along and see [the song] in front of the biggest audience we've ever accumulated, then come over to Finsbury Park, 'cause we've got over 40,000 people coming so far and I would like to get to the 45 mark to fully sell it out."

Sam Fender performs at the OVO Arena Wembley. Picture: Joseph Okpako/WireImage/Getty

Asked if he's feeling nervous about the gig, which will be his biggest to date, he admitted: "I'm terrified, but I'm just trying to embrace every single one of these moments. Do you know what I mean? They're just like magic.

"The nerves kind of drive it, which is good and it makes you get up there and you can kind of use that energy to do the gig, but at the same time you're so focused on it that you don't take it in.

"So I just want to go out there and enjoy it and kind of feel the atmosphere and try and take in what's actually happening, because it's nuts man."

The Hypersonic Missiles singer added: "What's going on is nuts for us at the moment and you don't know how long these things last, so I just want to really enjoy these next few years and try our best to keep putting out the good stuff."

Clearly, it's working for him so far as he keeps winning accolades. This year so far, he's picked up a BRIT Award for Best British Alternative/Rock Act, NME Awards for Best British Album and Best Album in The World, a Global Award for Best Indie and now Radio X's Best of British with Greggs 2022 for his Seventeen Going Under single.

Reacting to the latter, he told Radio X: "I mean, it's it's lovely that people are voting for it. But there's definitely a bit of imposter syndrome that comes with it! Thank you very much to all the fans out there who voted for us."

After being told that he'd beaten iconic songs from the likes of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie and Queen to top this year's chart, he added: "That's mad. I can actually hear people right now, in their cars, going WHAT!? WHAT!? 'He's an industry plant!' What was what we have is an industry plant! I can hear that right now.

"I'm sure I'll reciprocate in the comments sections at some point. But you know what, the more haters there are, that's normally a sign that things are going alright."