Geordie singer songwriter Sam Fender visited his favourite Newcastle record store to launch his own clothing line with Barbour International.
The 26-year-old was talking in partnership with the North East-based clothing brand and its retail partner Scotts Menswear, a north west firm which has 14 stores across the UK.
In an interview filmed at Vinyl Guru, Fender talks with broadcaster and journalist Gordon Smart about the new material he has been working on, how he has adapted to lockdown life, and his new clothing range.
The Brit award winner rose to stardom after he was named one of the BBC’s Sounds of 2018 before his debut album Hypersonic Missiles went to number one in 2019.
Fender was due to play Newcastle arena on April 3 last year but is yet to take to the stage at the venue after the pandemic spread across the UK.
Talking about the cancellation, he said: "We were so excited for this massive arena tour, the biggest shows we were ever going to play in our lives, and a day before it started was the start of lockdown."
Instead, he opened the Virgin Money Unity Arena at Newcastle Racecourse last August with two shows that received worldwide attention for its social distancing measures.
Spending months inside the house gave the singer songwriter the chance to write new material and he revealed he even sent demos to The Jam legend Paul Weller.
However, the coronavirus pandemic isn't something he has been putting into his new tunes over the last year.
He said: "The last thing people are going to want to hear when we get out of this, is a song about Covid.
"No one's going to be jumping around at a festival like 'I was stuck in for a year'."
The Sam Fender x Barbour International spring/summer 2021 range features an extensive selection of new designs, including t-shirts, overshirts, jumpers, trousers and accessories, and will retail exclusively via Scotts from April 25th.
