Sam Fender smashed his Silverstone set (Image: Ben Gregory-Ring)
Never mind the world’s most famous Grand Prix three days later, judging by size of the crowd at Silverstone Circuit on Thursday night, you’d be forgiven for thinking Sam Fender was the weekend’s main event. Make no mistake, this was a show worthy of headlining any music festival in the UK calendar but we weren’t at London’s Hyde Park or Finsbury Park respectively, but watching pre-race weekend entertainment on a huge stage literally a stone’s throw from the legendary Formula 1 track.
And given the regrettable news after the show, it turns out we were even luckier than we thought to catch him at Silverstone. The Seventeen Going Under singer had a little help too. Support acts don’t get much bigger than quintet indie rock band Blossoms, who armed with percussion, keys and strings, filled the stage with more than just noise. Even still, the Stockport band – who almost certainly surprised swathes of Sam Fender fans just how many Blossoms tracks they knew – made space for Gary the giant gorilla.
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Sam Fender wasted no time with chit chat in between songs (Image: Ben Gregory-Ring)
Frontman Tom Ogden who oozed as much confidence speaking as he did singing to the thousands before him, explained to the uninitiated why on earth a ginormous fibre glass ape had made an appearance.
Addressing the erm brash elephant in the room which juxtaposed with Tom’s sleek all black super wide legged suit, he recalled Gary’s history of being stolen from a garden centre. A news story I remember fondly covering at the time. It was a tale which clearly struck a chord with the band as Tom proceeded to pen last year’s release aptly titled Gary.
Tom told the BBC in November: “I found the story entertaining when I heard it on the radio, so just as a laugh I went away [and said] I’m going to write a song about it. I mean, if the song wasn’t very good, it would have never seen the light of day. But I rated the song.”
Blossoms wheeled out Gary the gorilla (Image: Charles Wade-Palmer)
Our view from a balcony on the side of the stage meant we could see scores of smiles shaded by the brim of F1 team baseball caps, erupt into a mass sing along to the 2016 hit, Charlemagne. Forgetting how frightening it is that we’re nearing a decade since it first took over our radios, Charlemagne ringing out in the early evening sun had us very nicely warmed up for Sam Fender.
The proud Geordie superstar of the moment was the first of Raye, Fatboy Slim and Becky Hill to headline across the weekend, each with big name support from Jade to Mike Skinner. The phrase something for everyone springs to mind.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Silverstone’s Chief Commercial Officer Nick Read rightly boasted of bringing together “best of British talent” for an “unforgettable festival experience”. After spotting Lewis Hamilton in the flesh during a stroll through the F1 paddock, I for one can certainly agree.
Sam Fender had the crowd woah-ing together in a touching moment of unity (Image: Ben Gregory-Ring)
Stepping out for a front-on view of the stage in the crowd, I only had to glance left or right for festival-goers clad in garish, sponsor adorned F1 merch to remind me exactly where I was. Add to that Sam Fender fans dressed in Newcastle United shirts to rival the uniform of the occasion, I couldn’t help but feel like I missed the memo. Throw in several black and white flags waving high above the crowd and the show felt like a melting pot of music and the two sports. I wonder if when Fender burst onto the scene in 2019, he anticipated being welcomed in Northamptonshire to a flag reading “Have you ever seen a Mackem in Milan?”
Very much adding fuel this football-led fire was of course the artist himself, wielding his own black and white striped guitar. “We’ve got both sides of the derby here, we‘re all friends here don’t worry,” the star joked after clocking Sunderland colours towards the front row.
Given how impassioned the 31-year-old sounded thrashing and sweetly belting out emotion-laced hits accordingly, I was surprised by his regrettable announcement following the set. Having to cancel upcoming shows, however, did help explain why Sam kept talking to a minimum. He cut a figure of a very normal person with an extraordinary talent. Instead, it was a bandmate amping up the crowd from behind.
It really was a great set (Image: Ben Gregory-Ring)
Taking to social media, Sam wrote: “Hey everyone, at the beginning of the week I got my voice checked by my ENT doctor and the cords were slightly swollen,” Fender wrote in a statement shared on Instagram.
“After a few days rest I was advised by my team that I was okay to perform. On stage at Silverstone I could feel that things were a lot harder than usual, I felt I needed to push a lot harder to sing – this is never a good sign.
“I’ve just been checked by my ENT again today, as I was concerned about it, and it’s transpired that I’ve had a haemorrhage on one of my vocal cords.”
For all the sadness and hardship addressed in Fender’s lyrics, the show felt euphoric – triumphant almost as though the thousands singing along had shared such strife and had reached a collective light at the end of the tunnel.
Only this time, it was the sun setting on night one of a huge weekend in the world racing calendar.