Sam Fender has credited the bullies who targeted him at school for giving him the strength to become a rock star.
The 23-year-old was named the Brits Critics’ Choice winner in February and his biggest London show to date, at O2 Academy Brixton in December, sold out in two hours this week.
Fender was raised in North Shields, near Newcastle, where he revealed he was ostracised for his appearance.
He told A List: “I was probably the only kid in school that had long hair. I used to get called a ‘f****** hippy’ all the time.
“But you know what? It’s that kind of bullying raises a rock star. That kind of bullshit you take for years gives you that teenage angst that makes you write rock songs. So in a way I’m thankful to them.”
Fender said his teachers gave him the confidence to pursue writing, and he dabbled in acting as a teenager but confessed he was disappointed by his performances — including one as a murder victim in ITV’s Vera.
He said: “I was the first person to be murdered in Vera. I was 15. I also had a speaking part in CBBC series Wolfblood. If anyone unearths it they’ll see why I didn’t pursue acting. I was terrible.
“I would like to give it another stab now though. I was just a teenager and found being on TV overwhelming.”
Fender’s debut album Hypersonic Missiles is out in August and features no co-writers — something of a rarity for new artists.
He said: “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.”
Sam Fender will perform at All Points East festival on Saturday, June 1, allpointseast festival.com
