People Watching (2025)

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

People Watching is a heartland rock and pop album. According to Fender, it explores "colourful stories and observations of everyday characters living their everyday, but often extraordinary, lives." It was supported by the release of six singles, and was met with widespread acclaim from critics. Commercially, it debuted 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". 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". On 13 November 2024, Fender announced his third album "People Watching" ahead of the release of the title track on 15 November 2024.

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."

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.

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.

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.

Critical reception

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." 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." 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".