People Watching (album)
2025 studio album by Sam Fender
People Watching
Studio album by
Sam Fender
Released21 February 2025
RecordedJanuary 2022 – October 2024
Genre
Length48:32
LabelPolydor
Producer
Sam Fender chronology
Seventeen Going Under
(2021) 		People Watching
(2025)
Singles from People Watching
  1. "People Watching"
    Released: 15 November 2024
  2. "Wild Long Lie"
    Released: 2 December 2024[1]
  3. "Arm's Length"
    Released: 24 January 2025[2]
  4. "Remember My Name"
    Released: 14 February 2025[3]
  5. "Little Bit Closer"
    Released: 21 February 2025[4]
  6. "Rein Me In"
    Released: 20 June 2025[5]
Singles from Deluxe Edition
  1. "Me and the Dog"
    Released: 2 December 2024
  2. "Tyrants"
    Released: 25 April 2025
  3. "Talk to You"
    Released: 17 October 2025
  4. "I’m Always on Stage"
    Released: 21 November 2025[6]
  5. "The Treadmill"
    Released: 5 December 2025

People Watching is the third studio album by English musician Sam Fender, released on 21 February 2025 through Polydor Records.[7] It was co-produced by Adam Granduciel, Markus Dravs, and Fender himself, with additional production from his bandmates, Dean Thompson and Joe Atkinson.

According to Fender, it explores "colourful stories and observations of everyday characters living their everyday, but often extraordinary, lives."[8] It was supported by the release of six singles, and was met with widespread acclaim from critics. Commercially, it peaked at the top of the UK Albums Chart, and reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland. People Watching won the 2025 Mercury Prize.

The album's deluxe edition featuring eight additional tracks, including collaborations with Olivia Dean and Elton John, was released on 5 December, 2025.

Background and recording

On 9 April 2023, Fender was filmed making an impromptu live performance at Newcastle's Prohibition Bar of a song which he announced would be on his forthcoming album, later named as "Remember My Name".[9][10] On 3 August 2024, he premiered two more songs of the upcoming album during a show at Plymouth Pavilions: "People Watching" and "Nostalgia's Lie".[11] On 13 November 2024, Fender announced his third album "People Watching" ahead of the release of the title track on 15 November 2024.[12]

During the album's recording process, Fender worked with Adam Granduciel, the frontman, founder and producer of the indie rock band The War on Drugs. Regarding working with Fender, Granduciel noted: "I fell in love with him. He’s a savant. Sam and the boys came out in March [2024] for about five weeks. We worked on some stuff they’d already started, then we worked on some more stuff from the ground up. It was awesome. I’d never met Sam, but we’d communicated once or twice. I have this picture above the sink in my kitchen, that I took of the boys. Sam, Joe [Atkinson], Dean [Thompson] and Drew, just hanging out in my studio. They inspire each other. It’s like my band: everyone can just sit there for fifteen hours and just hang. You don’t have a wildcard, everyone’s easy and loose, and musical, and good-hearted. It was a blast working together."[13]

The album's penultimate track, "Something Heavy", features additional vocals from Craig Finn, the frontman of the indie rock band The Hold Steady, with Fender subsequently appearing on Finn's sixth solo album, Always Been, which was released the following month in April 2025. Fender provided backing vocals on the track "Postcards", with both albums being produced by Adam Granduciel concurrently in 2024. The final track and fourth single, "Remember My Name", features Easington Colliery Band, a traditional British brass band from County Durham.[14]

Artwork

The album's artwork features a photograph by the late Tish Murtha, a social documentary photographer who documented marginalised communities and working-class life in Newcastle upon Tyne.[15]

Commercial performance

People Watching debuted atop the UK Albums Chart on 28 February 2025, becoming Fender's third consecutive number one album. It earned Fender the biggest opening week of his career, moving 107,100 chart units in its first seven days of release, the biggest opening week for a British solo artist since Harry Styles's Harry's House (2022). With 43,000 first-week vinyl sales, the album also became the fastest-selling vinyl album by a British act in the 21st century.[16]

Critical reception

People Watching ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[17]
Metacritic85/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[19]
Clash8/10[20]
DIYStarStarStarStarStar[21]
The GuardianStarStarStarStarStar[22]
The IndependentStarStarStar[23]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[24]
MojoStarStarStarStar[25]
NMEStarStarStarStar[26]
The ObserverStarStarStarStarStar[27]
Pitchfork6.5/10[28]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[29]
The TimesStarStarStarStar[30]

Upon its release, People Watching received widespread acclaim from critics. On review aggregator Metacritic, the album holds a score of 85 out of 100 based on sixteen critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". In a five-star review in The Observer, Lisa Wright praised the album's honesty, calling it "a lonely document of fame, and of a man clinging on to the community his talents have propelled him away from. And where his previous album revealed Fender to be a songwriter of depth, People Watching explores life’s ugliness and finds excellence."[31] Roisin Kelly, writing for The Sunday Times' 2025 year-end list, also praised its frankness: "In a world where extravagant production, multiple costume changes and dramatic stage stunts often dominate conversation and win social media clout, Fender brings us back to a time where it’s relatability that shines through...this third album is richer in vulnerability and personal struggle."[32] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian, also awarding the album five stars, commended Fender's songwriting: "strong on melodies...handy with a roaring, emotive, arena-friendly chorus, and exceptionally gifted with words".[22]

Critics praised the album's social realist storytelling; Roy Wilkinson of Mojo deemed it "a poignant portrait of post-industrial Britain – one that's meditative rather than defeated",[33] while Sarah Jamieson of DIY, in a rave review, noted it as being "unafraid of delving into both the personal and political - and, at times, where the two very much intertwine... an album that burrows under the skin of current society and refuses to dress up its stark reality."[21] For his 2025 year-end list in The Telegraph, Neil McCormick praised Fender as "almost a lone voice of youthful political protest in the modern chart landscape."[34]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings for People Watching
Publication/critic List Rank Ref.
BBC Radio 6 Albums of the Year N/A [35]
Clash Albums of the Year 19 [36]
DIY 2025 Albums of the Year 7 [37]
Los Angeles Times The 25 Best Albums of 2025 13 [38]
NME The 25 Best Albums of 2025 20 [39]
OOR The 50 Best Albums of 2025 16 [40]
The Skinny The Skinny's Albums of 2025 14 [41]
The Sunday Times The 25 Best Albums of 2025 4 [42]
The Telegraph The 10 Best Albums of 2025 7 [43]

Accolades

On 10 September 2025, People Watching was announced as one of 12 nominees for the 2025 Mercury Prize.[44] It was later announced as the winner on 16 October 2025.[45] Fender later donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots music venues.[46]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sam Fender, except where noted.

People Watching track listing
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."People Watching"
5:04
2."Nostalgia's Lie"
4:11
3."Chin Up"
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
3:24
4."Wild Long Lie"
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Atkinson
  • Thompson
  • Granduciel[a]
6:04
5."Arm's Length"
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
3:59
6."Crumbling Empire"
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
5:08
7."Little Bit Closer"
  • Fender
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
3:55
8."Rein Me In"
  • Fender
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
  • Granduciel[a]
5:40
9."TV Dinner"
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
4:31
10."Something Heavy"
  • Fender
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
  • Granduciel[a]
3:36
11."Remember My Name"
  • Fender
  • Dravs
3:02
Total length:48:32

People Watching (Deluxe Edition) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."I'm Always on Stage"  4:03
13."Talk to You" (with Elton John) 
  • Fender
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
5:17
14."Fortuna's Wheel"  1:42
15."Rein Me In" (with Olivia Dean)
  • Fender
  • Olivia Dean
  • Fender
  • Dravs
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
  • Granduciel[a]
5:39
16."Me and the Dog"  4:14
17."Tyrants" 
  • Fender
  • Granduciel
  • Atkinson[a]
  • Thompson[a]
3:15
18."The Treadmill"  3:22
19."Empty Spaces"  4:54
Total length:80:55

Note

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

  • Sam Fender – vocals (all tracks), piano (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8–10); glockenspiel, guitar, keyboards, string arrangement (1); electric guitar (2–10), acoustic guitar (2–8, 10), organ (2, 9), harmonica (5)
  • Drew Michael – drums, percussion (tracks 1–10)
  • Adam Granduciel – synthesizer (tracks 1, 4), acoustic guitar (2, 6), Wurlitzer electric piano (4), keyboards (5, 6), sequencer (9)
  • Joe Atkinson – synthesizer (track 1), keyboards (4–6, 8, 9)
  • Mark Webb – trumpet (tracks 1, 9, 11)
  • Brooke Bentham – background vocals (track 1), vocals (10)
  • Dean Thompson – background vocals, guitar (track 1); mandolin (10)
  • Rosie Danvers – conductor, piano, string arrangement (track 1)
  • Jon Natchez – baritone saxophone (track 1)
  • Tom Ungerer – bass (tracks 1–10)
  • Johnny Davis – saxophone (track 1)
  • Wired Strings – strings (track 1)
  • Johnny "Bluehat" Davis – saxophone (tracks 4, 8)
  • Craig Finn – vocals (track 10)
  • Easington Colliery Brass Band – brass accompaniment (track 11)

Technical

  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Steve Fallone – mastering
  • Craig Silvey – mixing
  • Dani Bennett Spragg – mixing
  • Dean Thompson – engineering (tracks 1–10)
  • Joe Atkinson – engineering (tracks 1–10)
  • Austin Asvanonda – engineering (tracks 1–6, 8–10)
  • Iain Berryman – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
  • Oli Jacobs – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10)
  • Brett Cox – engineering (track 11)
  • David Kohn – recording, engineering assistance (tracks 1–6, 8–10)
  • Claude Vause – recording, engineering assistance (tracks 2, 4–8, 10)
  • Tom Coath – recording, engineering assistance (tracks 2, 4–8, 10)
  • Adam Forster – recording, engineering assistance (track 11)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for People Watching
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats of People Watching
Region Release Date Format Edition Label
Various February 21, 2025
Standard Polydor
December 5, 2025
  • Digital download
  • streaming
  • CD
  • vinyl LP
 Deluxe Edition

References

  1. ^ "Sam Fender's Wild Long Lie: A Haunting Reflection on Hometowns and Escapism". That Fan Girl Life. 7 December 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Listen to Sam Fender's new single 'Arm's Length'". Rolling Stone. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Remember My Name by Sam Fender single review: bittersweet memories". The Courier Online. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Brit Award-winning artist Sam Fender is back with his latest single, "Little Bit Closer"". Artist Rack. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Sam Fender Unveils "Rein Me In" Collab With Olivia Dean: Listen Here". Billboard. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  6. ^ Jones, Damian (21 November 2025). "Listen to Sam Fender's mellow new single 'I'm Always On Stage'". NME. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  7. ^ Starkey, Arun (15 November 2024). "Sam Fender releases title track from new album, 'People Watching'". Far Out. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  8. ^ Singh, Surej (15 November 2024). "Listen to Sam Fender's euphoric and hopeful new single, 'People Watching'". NME. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  9. ^ Duke, Simon (29 April 2025). "The piano Sam Fender played on to be auctioned off as Newcastle bar shuts down". Newcastle Chronicle.
  10. ^ "North Shields Brit winner Sam Fender surprises punters with new song at Newcastle's Prohibition Bar". ITV News. 12 April 2023.
  11. ^ Rigotti, Alex (4 August 2024). "Watch Sam Fender debut two songs 'People Watching' and 'Nostalgia's Lie' live". NME. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
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  14. ^ Nichol, Joshua (22 February 2025). "Sam Fender's 'Remember My Name' features Easington band". Northern Echo.
  15. ^ Kelly, Caroline (14 November 2024). "Sam Fender announces new album People Watching, sells out UK & IE arena tour". Hot Press. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
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