Sam Fender announces live album, ‘Live from Finsbury Park’
The recording of July's huge outdoor show arrives in December
By Joe Goggins
Sam Fender has announced details of his first live album, recorded in London in July.
Live from Finsbury Park captures the Newcastle singer-songwriter’s triumphant show in the capital on July 15, which saw him joined by Fontaines D.C., Declan McKenna and Beabadoobee. It will be released as a coloured 2LP vinyl on December 9, via Polydor.
The record will also be made available on streaming services, as well as part of a deluxe reissue of last October’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’, which was Fender’s second UK number one album. He’s shared a video from Finsbury Park, ‘Getting Started’, as a preview of the live album – you can see it below.
“This show was a real highlight for me and the boys,” said Fender as he announced the release today (September 5), “so we’re buzzing to share it with you.” No track listing has yet been announced, but the 17-song set at Finsbury Park included a live debut for ‘Alright’ and a take on ‘Saturday’ that saw a huge crowd singalong.
News of the live album comes as the lifelong Newcastle United fan has just announced a massive hometown stadium show at his beloved St. James’ Park for next summer.
Fender will play the venue on June 9, with a support lineup still to be announced. Speaking to Rolling Stone UK about the gig, he claimed that he’ll be the first Geordie artist to headline there: such luminaries as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen have done so previously.
“To play St James’ Park has kinda always been a bit of a daft joke,” he explained, “ever since we started the band five years ago. I’ve always said ‘Imagine if we could play St James’! That would be something else’. We came to the point where my manager said it’s happening and I was just like ‘oh my god!’ It’s fucking mind-boggling.”
Fender also suggested that new material might be ready in time for the St. James’ appearance. “I’ve been writing loads and we’re all gonna focus and start working on something, he said. “There might be a new single out by that point. You never really know when that stuff is gonna coming around until you get into the bulk of it, and we haven’t got into the bulk of the third record just yet.”
“There usually tends to be a main idea that we run with and I’ve got that,” he went on. “But nothing much. I’ve got 20 songs written, so we can work from there.”