Quotes from Sam Fender

Me and my mates are very, very close. We all talk about our problems - especially as we've got older. But I don't think a lot of people have that.

I've got a band that I tour with, and they're not session musicians; they're my friends.

I'm so grateful to everyone back home for believing, and to my band and team for all their hard work.

I'm not an expert on politics, but there's a bunch of bad people at the top who care about lining their own pockets before creating a society that looks after the vulnerable.

As soon as I had the opportunity to wear a suit, I took it, like when I was at sixth form and had to dress smartly, I couldn't wait to get a suit on. I've always loved dressing up.

I write from the perspective of an early 20s kid who is trying to grasp an idea of what the hell is going on.

The music industry as a whole needs to genuinely make a conscious effort to look after people's physical and mental health.

I love my job - I'm going to keep doing it until I die - but there's nothing more soul-destroying than having to cancel a show.

It's so surreal for us to be playing at Tynemouth Castle. It couldn't be much closer to home. I've got so many mad stories of us all running around here as kids, and it's mental that we're going to be playing at an actual castle!

'Poundshop Kardashians' is Newcastle on a Saturday night. Nobody wears coats - it's all muscles and V-necks and fake tan.

A lot of my songs are just posing questions, because I'm on a journey to find the answers myself.

My dad was a club musician. He was always playing guitar and playing loads of soul records and '60s rock n' roll. Whenever he used to cook, he used to play Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, The Kinks, and the Spencer Davis Group - a lot of really earthy things.

Pretty much every prime minister since I can remember has made me mad.

I like to write about stories and life experiences of me, the people around us, and just the things I see on the telly without overcomplicating things.

Music was always ever present when I was growing up, and it's continued to be the most important and intrinsic part of me. It kept me from going off the rails as a kid, and it gave me rare purpose and self-confidence that I couldn't find from anything else.

I never want to co-write. People never just write a quarter of a book, do they? I don't think you can get your story across.

I got scouted to be the dude in the video for 'Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored.'

I think I got stopped on the train once by a kid, and that was the first time I realised I had fans. He was shaking. I just reassured him that I'm an idiot and nothing special, so he didn't have to be nervous. It was very sweet.

Even when a Geordie is trying to be nasty, it doesn't sound that threatening.

It's so vacuous, this job. You're constantly looking at pictures of yourself, talking about yourself. Then I come back home, and all my mates want to talk about is me because I've been hanging out with Elton John and stuff.

The negative effects of greedy politicians have haunted the north-east for years; it's very apparent.

Musicians - we're not doctors. We're not saving people's lives. We're not going out and changing the world. We're not coming up with cancer cures. We're not any of that. They're the real heroes of the world.

I'm a horrendous cook; my mum does my meals. I can only cook beans on toast with cheese.

I love my hometown, but 'Leave Fast' is the way I felt when I was 17, 18 - it's that fear that I'd never be able to do something else.