Sam Fender joins Elton John on Apple Music 1 to discuss his new album, 'Seventeen Going Under'. During the chat, Elton tells Sam that he and his husband David think of him 'like [their] eldest son', Sam shares the inspiration behind tracks including 'Get You Down' and 'Spit Of You', explains how he first got to know Fontaines D.C, and more.
Elton John Says He Thinks Of Sam Fender As A Son….
Well, for everyone who's listening at home or wherever you are, Sam and I have become great friends. And he's like a member of our family. Our boys, Elijah and Zachary, love him so much, and David. He's like somebody that ... he's like our eldest son in a way. And it's just great when we see each other. We play each other music and we cheer each other up when we're down in the dumps and it's a lovely thing. A friendship that's blossomed so beautifully.
Sam Fender Tells Elton John About His New Album…
Me and the boys are really, really proud of this record because I think it feels more concise as a piece of work. It feels like it's a more cohesive piece of art. And it's very personal, because of the lockdown and the nature of being stuck indoors and not having all the social situations to worry about, it became a very introspective record. And became a lot about my childhood because I was doing therapy at the time and it's become very personal. And we're all really, really proud of it. And I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's all about the trials and tribulations of growing up and self-esteem and all of that stuff, which I think a lot of people could, well, pretty much everybody can relate to that I think. So hopefully people like it.
Sam Fender Tells Elton John About New Song ‘Get You Down’…
This is a song about how insecurity can destroy a relationship. And it's about that moment of realising that these insecurities are getting the better of you. And you're well aware of it and you're well aware that you're being pathetic. But you're out of control of it. And it's that soul crushing moment where you know you're being a bit of an ass, but you can't stop yourself because jealousy's taken the reins.
Sam Fender And Elton John Discuss ‘Spit Of You’…
Elton John: I just saw a preview of the video of this track yesterday, and it's a song about fathers and sons and how sometimes we don't get to each other and can't talk to each other. That happened to me, and it's happened to Sam, and it's happened to so many people….Tell me about this, Sam, your dad liked it apparently?
Sam Fender: Yeah, he does, it's his favourite song. Yeah. But if anything, it's about boys and their dads and about how I think men are raised as well. And how we're raised to not really speak about anything remotely emotional. Me and him could talk about music and we could talk about DIY or World War II history until the cows come home. But the moment it gets serious, it's like the walls come up and we end up wanting to punch each other's heads in. But if anything, it's a declaration of love for him as well. And it's about how when I saw him with my grandmother, when I saw him say goodbye to my grandmother when she passed away last year, I saw him as a son. And how that made us realise that time is precious.
Elton John: That's a great song. One of my favourites from the album, ‘Spit Of You’ from Sam Fender. I couldn't even talk to my dad about music, let alone DIY. No one can talk to me about DIY because I have no idea.
Sam Fender Tells Elton John About The Inspiration Behind ‘The Borders’...
It's a song that's based around my growing up in Scotland, the time that I spent when my mother went to Scotland when I was eight. So when I used to go up and see her, I had another sort of childhood at the time. And there was a lot of things during that time that were quite character building moments for us as a young lad. And it was the first time that I'd ever wrote about that time of my life. And also I feel like it was the catalyst, this song in the first record, was the catalyst for all of the songs that came in ‘Seventeen Going Under’ as well. It kind of opened up the door, it opened up Pandora's Box of all of these memories and things that I could delve into and write about. And it's one of my favourite songs on the first album.
Sam Fender Tells Elton John About His Friendship With Fontaines D.C…
Yes, I've become good friends with the boys actually. They came and did a big show with us in Newcastle the other week. And I saw them live, the first time I saw them I was in ... you know South by Southwest in Austin? We did a festival in Austin when we were trying to get signed. And we played three gigs in one day. And every gig that we played, they were playing a gig across the road. So as soon as I finished my set, I'll just go over and I watched Fontaines three times in one day. And I absolutely fell in love with them. And then we went out and had a big night on the Guinness in London and became good friends. And I've loved them ever since, they're just brilliant.
