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Sam Fender at Co-op Live Manchester – one of the world’s greatest live acts

The 'canny lad' and worldwide phenomenon is the North East's answer to Bruce Springsteen - and he's back in Manchester

Harry Quick - 7th December 2024

Sam Fender, the down-to-earth lad from North Shields has both the crowd and his black and white striped Fender Stratocaster in the palm of his hand alike as he embarks on the first of two nights at Co-op Live.

Strutting out on stage with the nonchalance of a superstar, he’s done it all before. The Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, headlining festivals worldwide and playing in front of 50,000 at his beloved St James Park. Howay man!

Yet, however he does it, it almost feels like it’s just you and him in the room. His relaxed, baggy jeans and oversized t-shirt are emblematic of his laid back approach to just having fun with his mates, even on the biggest of stages.

The humble 30-year-old hit maker, who has now been touring stadiums for seven years, still treats his audience like they’re locals at the Low Lights Tavern – unblinded by the 23,500 flashbulbs in the UK’s largest indoor arena.

Fittingly supported by Wunderhorse, one of the UK’s best upcoming bands, they warm the crowd up with their own supply of rock anthems including Midas, Purple and Teal.

Sam Fender then opens up with Dead Boys, a tune he hadn’t played so far on his 2024 People Watching Tour, and it was to some reception in front of the Manchester crowd.

Alongside his gifted guitar talent, his lyricism is generational, with Dead Boys being a cult favourite and the perfect opener to what is to be an incredible showcase.

The first song chosen from the critically acclaimed Seventeen Going Under album, ‘Getting Started’ follows and in its namesake he’s right…

The floor to the back row are on their feet in unison as Fender and the band catapult into full swing.

In his repertoire of heartfelt classics, Sam gives the Manchester crowd the taste of many a playlist favourite with the production to match.

‘The Boarders’ hits a tone that only builds from start to finish, with the anguish of life as a young lad from the North East playing into poetry, a personal favourite. When the guitar solo hits in the final third of the track, the light show on display gets mesmerising. The saxophone solo takes the spectacle to new levels – as they always do.

Sandwiched between two tracks from his upcoming release is one of his oldest, ‘All Is On My Side’. If there was an indie rhythm to epitomise my adolescent years it would be this one. It is a tune that describes growing up and the challenges that come with it.

Across the tour so far, it has been welcomed back into the setlist with open arms paying homage to the music that took him to where he is that features a signature Stratocaster crescendo.

As an early Christmas gift, People Watching EP dropped into our streaming services with a taste of what is to come on the 2025 full album. Wild Long Lie, which we have already sampled on full release, is paired alongside Nostalgia’s Lie and Arms Length which somewhat dissipated momentum.

Nonetheless, it clearly shows signs of something to become Fender staples in the near future.

Amongst the chaos of the floor, it’s poignant to note the moral compass of the man on stage. Midway through one of his brand new releases, the down-to-earth Geordie pulls the plug to care for fans struggling in the heat of the pit, making a point of looking after each other during the show. Something I can only think he would have resonated with during his youthful yesteryears as a gig-goer on the other side of the barrier. Class act!

‘We Will Talk?’ kickstarts proceedings off again, showering the crowd with another archetypal hit to get the Co-op Live firmly on their feet.

When you know a song is about to blow the roof off the place, as a proud songwriter he only had to say one word. Spice. Dating back to November 2018, ‘Spice’ came along with ‘Dead Boys’ in his debut EP and it holds cult status six years down the line. If the sheer genius of the anthem isn’t enough to keep the audience engaged, then the massive pyrotechnic display firing out the back of the stage might have!

Now, as a man who has religiously listened to Sam Fender’s collection throughout the year, a song that placed number one for me was ‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’ – specifically the Finsbury Park live version. In its presence for the first time in the flesh, this more than lives up to expectations.

For a song that, on a surface level – describes separating a reasonable distance from the person in front of you during a global pandemic at a supermarket in Wallsend – it holds about two minutes of the greatest guitar solos you would hear this side of the Tyne Bridge.

Shades of Springsteen, Petty and Hendrix, and that is high praise, just listen. Breathtaking. Rock. Music.

Running into the final phase of the performance, we were somewhat brought back down to earth with ‘Get You Down’ and ‘Spit of You’. The latter is always a touching tribute to his old man, performed with a backdrop of Polaroid images of children and their parents. More specifically the conversational difficulties between a father and son, but something that could pull on the heartstrings of the entire audience.

Then they arrive… the big finish, the final three. Some may have felt disheartened to miss out on the likes of ‘That Sound’, ‘Saturday’ and ‘Play God’ (me being exactly that person) but listen, he can’t play them all.

To close us out, Sam takes to the keys as the faint intro to ‘The Dying Light’ creeps across the venue. The melancholy piano feels like it could awaken the entirety of East Manchester on a crisp winter morning before creeping up into the traditional electric guitar with an explosive, confetti-worthy finish!

As an encore, ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ provide the musical culmination of truly one of Britain’s (if not the world’s) greatest live acts.

As the Geordie star and the band prepare for their swan song, the canny lad teases the crowd with waves of acapella Ohhh, Ohhh, Ohh, Ohhhhhh’s, pre-empting the grand finale.

Fireworks, fog machines and confetti pair with an overwhelming chorus of applause to conclude what was undoubtedly one of 2024 best live acts – and he fancies doing it all over again tonight.