Sam Fender says getting Limmy’s approval was “probably one of the best fucking moments of my life”

nme.com:

Sam Fender has discussed how getting the approval of Scottish comedian Limmy was “probably one of the best fucking moments of his life”, as well as discussing working with the likes of Sigrid and Sting, and sharing advice for young songwriters.The North Shields singer-songwriter was in London yesterday (Thursday May 19), where he was awarded at the Ivor Novellos for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for his acclaimed second album ‘Seventeen Going Under’.As well as being named as NME’s Best Album of 2021 and winning both Best Album By A UK Artist and Best Album In The World at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, Fender has also recently won BRIT Awards among other accolades.Speaking to NME in the winners’ room about where he was putting all of these awards, he replied: “They’re in the pub!

I got them turned into beer pumps! I think this one might come home. I might give this to my dad; I think he’d be really chuffed.”And what has he done with his NME Award?“I might turn that into a beer pump, or leave it in the pub for loads of dafties to do drugs off it,” he said.During his acceptance speech at the Ivors yesterday, Fender used the opportunity to pay tribute to his former manager at said pub, North Shields’ Low Lights Tavern.“A very good friend of mine passed away last week,” Fender told the audience. “He was my very first boss and employer.

He gave me a job when both me and my mum were unemployed. He used to always hit me over the head with a newspaper for being a shit barman.“I was always playing guitar in front of people instead of serving the customers, until one day he said, ‘Go get your guitar out and sit in that corner’.