Sam Fender wrote "People Watching" in memory of his late friend and mentor, Annie Orwin, who passed away in November 2023. It's based on Fender's thoughts and experiences as he traveled to and from her palliative care home.
In an Instagram post, Fender described Annie as "like a surrogate mother" to him, sharing that he was by her side during her final days, sleeping on a chair next to her. "It's about what was going through my head, to and from that place and home," he said.
Annie had been a pillar of encouragement for Fender throughout his career. In a fitting irony, she often chided him for not mentioning her in acceptance speeches, and now, an entire song - and indeed, an entire album - stands as a tribute to her. Said Fender, "I hope wherever she is now, she's looking down saying, 'About time, kid.'"
I people-watch on the way back home
Envious of the glimmer of hope
Gives me a break from feeling alone
Fender, on his way home from Annie's palliative care home, finds himself lost in thought. He watches the passersby, each one a world unto themselves.
A bright, hopeful sound and message that embodies the experience of emerging from a difficult time contrasts the track's somber theme.
Fender co-produced the track alongside his bandmates Dean Thompson and Joe Atkinson, with significant input from The War On Drugs' Adam Granduciel. The arrangement has Fender on guitar, piano, glockenspiel, and string arranger. Rosie Danvers, a cellist and string arranger who previously worked on Fender's track "
Get You Down," conducted the strings.
There are also contributions from Fender's backing band:
Dean Thompson: guitar, background vocals
Tom Ungerer: bass
Drew Michael: percussion
Joe Atkinson: keyboards, synthesizer
Johnny "Blue Hat" Davis: saxophone
Mark Webb: trumpet
Jon Natchez, the War On Drugs saxophonist, plays the baritone saxophone.
"People Watching" is the title track of Fender's third album, which he began crafting with Markus Dravs in London and completed with Granduciel in Los Angeles.
The album cover features a photograph by Tish Murtha, a celebrated chronicler of working-class life in the North East of England.
Fender first unveiled the song live at Plymouth Pavilions on August 3, 2024, alongside another People Watching track, "Nostalgia's Lie."
Directed by Stuart McIntyre and shot in Long Beach, California, the video stars Irish actor Andrew Scott, known for his performances in All of Us Strangers and Ripley.
People Watching debuted at #1 on the UK Albums chart with 107,100 chart units in its first seven days. Fender became the first artist to sell over 100,000 units in a week in the UK since Harry Styles tallied 113,000 with Harry's House in its first week 33 months earlier in May 2022.
Sam Fender collaborated with Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs on People Watching. Fender told Apple Music's Zane Lowe that despite Granduciel's reputation for not producing outside his own band, he reached out, driven by the North East saying, "shy bairns get nowt," meaning "shy kids get nothing."
Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders, Fender said that while working on "People Watching," he found himself in what he calls a "Tom Petty trance." He was heavily inspired by Full Moon Fever and other classic Petty records, which helped shape the euphoric sound of the track.
Unlike Seventeen Going Under, which is largely autobiographical, Fender sees the People Watching album as more outward-looking. It's a collection of stories about different people in his hometown, making People Watching an especially fitting title.
Fender had already finished an album's worth of material before writing "People Watching," but after penning a batch of new songs, his original vision for the album changed. The song ended up defining the record's theme, despite being written at the very last moment.
People Watching won the prestigious 2025 Mercury Music Prize, awarded to the best album by a British artist. The judging panel said:
"After much discussion, we all decided on one album that stood out for its cohesion, character and ambition. It felt like a classic album, which will take pride of place in record collections for years to come. People Watching by Sam Fender is both melody-rich and expansive, marrying heartland rock with the realities of everyday life and the importance of community."
Sam Fender performed "People Watching" at the 2025 Brit Awards. Fender won the BRIT Award for Alternative/Rock Act at the ceremony.
