People Watching (album)

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".^[9][10] 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".^[11] On 13 November 2024, Fender announced his third album "People Watching" ahead of the release of the title track on 15 November 2024.^[12]

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."^[13]

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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

People Watching ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.1/10[17]
Metacritic	85/100[18]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[19]
Clash	8/10[20]
DIY	[21]
The Guardian	[22]
The Independent	[23]
The Line of Best Fit	7/10[24]
Mojo	[25]
NME	[26]
The Observer	[27]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[28]
Rolling Stone	[29]
The Times	[30]

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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."^[31] 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."^[32] 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".^[22]

Critics praised the album's social realist storytelling; Roy Wilkinson of Mojo deemed it "a poignant portrait of post-industrial Britain – one that's meditative rather than defeated",^[33] while Sarah Jamieson of DIY, in a rave review, noted it as being "unafraid of delving into both the personal and political - and, at times, where the two very much intertwine... an album that burrows under the skin of current society and refuses to dress up its stark reality."^[21] For his 2025 year-end list in The Telegraph, Neil McCormick praised Fender as "almost a lone voice of youthful political protest in the modern chart landscape."^[34]

On 10 September 2025, People Watching was announced as one of 12 nominees for the 2025 Mercury Prize.^[44] It was later announced as the winner on 16 October 2025.^[45] Fender later donated the entirety of his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust, which works to preserve the UK's grassroots music venues.^[46] It was nominated for the Brit Award for British Album of the Year at the 2026 Brit Awards.^[47]

All tracks are written by Sam Fender, except where noted.