Sam Fender has given a passionate pro-Palestine speech during his show at the London Stadium – watch below.
He played at the 75,000-capacity venue on Friday night (June 6) as he kicked off his huge UK summer stadium tour. As well as being his biggest show so far, it was also his first stadium headline date outside of his hometown of Newcastle.
He closed out the show with a performance of ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, the title track of his 2019 debut album and a song that directly references the bombing of civilians in Gaza.
Introducing the track, he said: “It breaks my heart, and it’s probably more relevant now than it was then. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but we’ve got Doctors Without Borders with us at the show tonight. They do incredible work out there, they’re legitimate, real heroes who are out there helping the people, and they’re gonna be with us on all of our summer shows.”
Referring to the people of Gaza, he added: “They’ve been subjected to a genocide. It has to stop, and we need to do everything that we can. Free Palestine.”
Watch here:
FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸 #PeopleWatchingTour pic.twitter.com/8R18x9bSdo
— Sam Fender Daily (@dailyfender) June 6, 2025
‘Hypersonic Missiles’ is a song that sees Fender reflecting on his own growing awareness of global politics and his sense of helplessness at the state of the world. “I am so blissfully unaware of everything / Kids in Gaza are bombed and I’m just out of it,” he sings on the track. “The tensions of the world are rising higher / We’re probably due another war with all this ire”.
Across London on the same night, Massive Attack played a powerful headline set at LIDO Festival, where they were joined by actor and pro-Palestinian activist Khalid Abdalla, who gave a lengthy and impassioned speech calling for peace in the Middle East and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
As for Fender, he was joined earlier in his set by Olivia Dean for a rendition of ‘Rein Me In’ from his latest album ‘People Watching‘, marking the first time the two singers have collaborated on stage.
Later in the show, Fender was also joined by the Easington Colliery Brass Band, who appeared on ‘People Watching’ track ‘Remember My Name’, to perform the track live for the first time. Upon the album’s release, the band revealed that they’d kept their contribution a secret for two years.
Fender is set to play three huge shows in Newcastle at St James’ park later this month, and in August he’ll play three big outdoor gigs in Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as top the bill at Ireland’s Electric Picnic. Find any remaining tickets for Fender’s UK and Ireland headline dates here.
In a four-star review of ‘People Watching’, Tilly Foulkes wrote for NME: “Reflective, analytical and vulnerable, ‘People Watching’ does exactly what the title may suggest: takes stock of the characters, friends and loved ones who have made Fender the person he is today. He approaches each track with sensitivity as he looks back on his life so far – perhaps even with an inkling of guilt – and contemplates who he may be next.”
Although Fender dropped ‘People Watching’ less than three months ago, he has hinted that he already has new music in the works and is “desperate” to lean into more of a punk-inspired sound.
There hasn’t been any official announcement of another album yet, but last month did see the release of fan favourite track ‘Tyrants’ for the first time. The song had previously only been available as part of the ‘Me And The Dog’ vinyl EP and on the seven-inch edition of 2024 single ‘People Watching’.
In other news, fans are speculating that Fender might make a surprise appearance at Glastonbury later this month.
