Sam Fender has shared the deluxe edition of ‘People Watching’, complete with new tracks including ‘The Treadmill’.
- Read More: Sam Fender – ‘People Watching’ review: reflective and perceptive indie rock from North Shields’ shining star
The deluxe version of his Mercury Prize-winning album ‘People Watching’ is out on vinyl and CD today (December 5) via Capitol Records. Buy it here.
In addition to the four tracks that originally featured on the North Shields singer-songwriter’s limited edition Record Store Day vinyl-only ‘Me and The Dog’ EP, including recent single ‘I’m Always On Stage’ and ‘Empty Spaces’, the deluxe also includes his collaboration with Elton John, ‘Talk To You’, and ‘Rein Me In’ with Olivia Dean.
There are also two fresh cuts in the form of The Treadmill’ and ‘Fortuna’s Wheel’.
Sharing a lyric video for ‘The Treadmill’ on Instagram today, Fender told fans it was “so good to finally have these tunes out”.
The track finds him cycling through self-doubt and plagued by comparisons to his peers: “Jesus Christ, I’m piling on the pounds/ Spent a year on the cans and blowouts/ Emasculated by my reflection/ Please God, give me a new complexion.”
Elsewhere, Fender recently donated his Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), while highlighting the importance of “struggling” small gig spaces in the UK. The funds will support the charity’s ongoing work to protect and secure the future of such live music spaces across the nation.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out,” he said. “These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
Last week, he also shared his Live At London Stadium concert film. It captures the Mercury Prize-winning artist playing his biggest gig to date at the 82,500-capacity venue as he kicked off his huge UK summer stadium tour back in June.
The gig was also his first stadium headline date outside of his hometown of Newcastle, and saw him bring out support act Olivia Dean for a rendition of ‘People Watching‘ track ‘Rein Me In’, marking the first time the two singers had joined forces on stage. The track was later officially released.
Live at London Stadium was directed by Toby L & Kit Monteith and is produced by Up The Game.
NME gave ‘People Watching’ a four-star review upon its release in February, writing: “Feeling existential, uprooted and disconnected from his old working-class life thanks to his rapid rise to fame, the British guitar hero channels it all into his gorgeous third album.”
The record also landed at Number 20 on NME’s Top 50 albums of 2025, with Alex Flood writing: “Though its title suggested an observer documenting life’s mundanities from a distance, the contents of ‘People Watching’ proved anything but detached.
“From hooky jam ‘Arm’s Length’ to heartbreaking ballad ‘Remember My Name’ – a love song dedicated to his late grandparents – this album allowed us closer than ever before to the friends and family that made Sam Fender who he is today.”
Similarly, the album’s title track landed at 37 on our round-up of the year’s top 50 songs, with Damian Jones writing: “Easily the best song on the Mercury Prize winner’s third album, ‘People Watching’ is steeped in grief and anger – yet it bursts with emotional euphoria as Sam Fender cries “I people-watch on the way back home” over jangly guitars and a spine-tingling saxophone. A stadium-slayer for the ages.”
