Gig review: Sam Fender at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Thus there was little doubt he would go down a storm within the intimate confines of the Brudenell Social Club in the heart of Leeds’s student heartland.

The increasingly popular singer-songwriter is currently playing a string of smaller shows this month, in associations with Scotts menswear, to celebrate the release of his second studio album Seventeen Going Under.

The stars turned out for Fender’s latest date in Leeds, including Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle in Emmerdale, and This Is England actors Thomas Turgoose and Andrew Shim.

The North Shields native turned out the style with another stylish performance which left his adoring fans longing for more.

After excellent support from Scottish singer-songwriter John Dylan Thomas, Fender took centre stage, a role he seems born for.

The 27-year-old, who began writing songs at the age of 14, being influenced by Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Buckley, played a fine set which included many of his best-known and most-loved tracks.

The melancholic Seventeen Going Under, the lead track from Fender’s second album which has stormed the charts and reached viral success due to an emotive TikTok trend, was rapturously received.

The song’s lyrics are rooted in Fender’s upbringing in the north-east and The Borders is another track dripping with raw emotion, telling the a story of two boys growing up together and then going their separate ways.

Fender constantly interacts with the crowd in between songs and clearly enjoys what he does.

Other particular highlights were Get You Down and Hypersonic Missiles, which predictably raises the roof and leaves you wondering how big Fender could go on to become in the coming years.