Sam Fender kicks off Newcastle double header with cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’

10 June, 2023

Sam Fender

Sam Fender kicked off the first of his two homecoming shows at Newcastle’s St James’ Park stadium last night (June 9).

The show, which saw the North Shields singer-songwriter perform a host of tracks from his recent album ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and hits from his backcatalogue, also saw him perform a cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s ‘I’m On Fire’. Support acts for the show included Hector Gannet, Holly Humberstone and Inhaler.

Fender, who recently supported Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, brought his brother Liam Fender on to perform the 1985 single. You can view footage below.

The singer-songwriter recently shared his emotional reaction to meeting his musical hero The Boss in Italy for the first time last month.

He previously cited Springsteen as a major influence on his sound, and is often compared to the legendary singer-songwriter. Speaking to NME in 2021, Fender said: “I can’t exactly bat off those comparisons, can I?”

Fender continued: “At the same time, I don’t feel worthy of that [‘Geordie Springsteen’] tag. The first time I heard it, I was like, ‘That’s fucking sick’, but you don’t want to be riding off the coattails of The Boss for the rest of your life.

“I can write my own songs, they’re different and my voice doesn’t sound anything like Springsteen’s. I don’t have his growl; I’m a little fairy when I sing.”

Elsewhere in his set he performed a host of songs from his 2021 album including the title track, ‘Getting Started, ‘Spit Of You’ and ‘The Dying Light’ along with the likes of ‘Will We Talk?’, ‘Play God’ and ‘Hypersonic Missiles’. You can view footage below.

Ahead of the shows, Fender announced special celebratory Newcastle editions of his next album by sharing QR codes across the city.

The latter of the two shows will be held at the same venue today (June 10), and will feature support from Holly Humberstone, Wunderhorse and Ernie. Find any remaining tickets here.

Sam Fender played:

‘Will We Talk?’
‘Getting Started’
‘Dead Boys’
‘Mantra’
‘I’m On Fire’
‘The Borders’
‘Spice’
‘Howdon Aldi Death Queue’
‘Get You Down’
‘Spit Of You’
‘Alright’
‘Play God’
‘The Dying Light’

Encore:
‘Wild Grey Ocean’
‘Saturday’
‘Seventeen Going Under’
‘Hypersonic Missiles’

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