The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel on working with Sam Fender: “I didn’t realise how much of a musical savant he was”

"It was a blast working together"

The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel has opened up about working with “musical savant” Sam Fender on his forthcoming album.

Fender will release his third album ‘People Watching’ on February 21 via Polydor (pre-order/pre-save here). The record was produced by Fender alongside his bandmates Dean Thompson and Joe Atkinson, producer Markus Dravs and Granduciel.

The ‘Seventeen Going Under’ singer first hinted he had been working with the musician back in March, sharing footage of them in the studio together in the US, alongside producers, engineers and other musicians.

In a further update from October, he teased that the new album was finished and “mastered” with input from Granduciel, who has since spoken to Guitar.com about the process.

“I fell in love with him. He’s a savant,” he told the publication. “Sam and the boys came out in March for about five weeks. We worked on some stuff they’d already started, then we worked on some more stuff from the ground up. It was awesome. I’d never met Sam, but we’d communicated once or twice.”

“I fell in love with him,” Granduciel said. “He’s a savant. Which I wasn’t really prepared for. I didn’t realise how much of a musical savant he was.”

He continued: “I have this picture I’m looking at now, above the sink in my kitchen, that I took of the boys. Sam, Joe [Atkinson], Dean [Thompson] and Drew, just hanging out in my studio. They inspire each other. It’s like my band: everyone can just sit there for fifteen hours and just hang. You don’t have a wildcard, everyone’s easy and loose, and musical, and good-hearted. It was a blast working together.”

As well a previewing the album with its title track ‘People Watching‘, last month Fender announced details of three huge UK stadium shows for next summer.

Kicking off with his biggest ever headline show at London Stadium on June 6, Fender will also play Newcastle’s St. James’ Park on June 12, 14 and 15. He previously played homecoming gigs at the 52,000-capacity venue in 2023 and these new dates will see Fender break the record for most headline shows at St James’ Park, an honour previously held by The Rolling Stones.

CMAT will support Fender at all three dates and The War On Drugs will perform June 6, 14 and 15. Tickets are on sale for the shows here.

Before that, he’s embarking bark on a UK and Ireland tour that kicks off this evening (December 2), which includes two nights at The O2 in London. £1 from every ticket sold for these dates will be donated to Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues. Find any remaining tickets here.

The UK dates will be followed by nine in Europe in March 2025 – find a full list below.

Sam Fender’s ‘People Watching’ tour dates are:

DECEMBER 2024:
16 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
17 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
20 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle

MARCH 2025:
4 – Olympia, Paris
5 – 013 Poppodium, Tilburg
8 – Halle 622, Zurich
10 – Palladium, Cologne
12 – Zenith, Munich
13 – ChorusLife Arena, Bergamo
16 – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin
18 – Afas Live, Amsterdam
19 – Forest National, Brussels

JUNE 2025:
6 – London Stadium, London
12 – St. James’ Park, Newcastle
14 – St. James’ Park, Newcastle
15 – St. James’ Park, Newcastle

In a four-star review of Fender’s concert in Leeds on December 4, NME wrote: “There’s no radical shake-up of the setlist, but rather a sense of self-confidence to double down on a reliable approach that’s served him well.

“While tonight affirms that ‘People Watching’ material will have to fight for its place, a successful balance of old and new could hoist Sam Fender’s career to unprecedented heights. Glastonbury, anyone?”