Brit indie rocker shocks pub punters as he performs in cover band with dad and brother
A BRITISH indie rocker has left pub punters feeling shocked as he performed in a cover band – but would you have recognised him?
The global songwriter, 31, was spotted singing at a local pub in his home town Shields alongside his dad and brother.
Sam Fender has had three Brit Awards and his albums Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under also topped UK charts.
But the Geordie star took to covering other people’s songs as he got together with his family in a social club.
A fan took to TikTok and posted a video of the star performing and captioned it: “Rare .. Sam Fender playing and singing with his dad and brother on keyboard.
“All for a good cause #teamjanine raising awareness for MND . Real canny lads!”
The award-winning singer took part in the event to raise funds for MND in memory of the late Janine Turnbull, joining his dad and brother on stage as part of band The Pirates.
In another video shared of the same event, fans rushed to the comments section to praise the star: “The vocals are absolutely insane, fair play.”
A second said: “They’re a talented bunch those Fenders.”
While a third wrote: “I love how humble Sam is and doing this.”
A fourth stated: “Was great that he was able to do that and just be Sam local lad again.”
A fifth added: “Unreal scenes.”
Sam is allegedly a multi-millionaire after years and years of hard graft combined with his natural musical talent.
He’s built formidable music connections from a collaboration with rising US star Noah Kahan to supporting Bruce Springsteen and The Killers and hanging out with the late guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck. and Johnny Depp when the actor was in the North East with his Hollywood Vampires band.
The singer-songwriter, nabbed the Mercury trophy and £25,000 cash at the 2025 ceremony in his native Newcastle – the first time the awards had been held outside London.
He won with his third album ahead of a star-studded pack of 12 nominees, including Pulp, Wolf Alice, FKA Twigs, PinkPantheress and Pa Salieu.
Sam was not fancied by the bookies, so his victory was something of a shock, and the crowd went ballistic at his name.
The Geordie name-checked fellow nominees during his acceptance speech and thanked an ecstatic crowd.
He said: “We did not expect this at all. I want to say thank you,” before declaring: “This region is the best region in the country.”
Sam then grabbed his guitar and launched into a rendition of his album’s titular track, People Watching.
He also paid tribute to the late actress Annie Orwin, the inspiration behind the song, who he described as like a “surrogate mother”.
Sam added that his win on home turf was “really, really important” because the music scene in Newcastle had “always been in an isolated bubble”.
Last year, Sam hoped to toast his global success with his own range of booze.
The star had been granted permission by the UK’s Intellectual Property Office to use his name to sell a range of goods.
The documents revealed he could market “Beers, Alcoholic beverages, and Non-alcoholic beverages; Retail services connected to the sale of Beers, Alcoholic beverages, Non-alcoholic beverages, Mineral and aerated waters, Fruit beverages and fruit juices.”
The application stays in place for ten years now that it has been rubber-stamped.
