Sam Fender and His Guitarist Nearly Got Kicked Out of ‘God Camp’: ‘We Raised Hell’

Sam Fender is an English singer/songwriter who is making waves in the music scene due to his distinct tenor voice. Although he first burst onto the scene in 2018, Fender has actually been making music since he was a teenager.

With rock and roll sensibilities and a difficult childhood, Fender is no stranger to trauma and trouble in his life, and since becoming famous, he’s opened up a few times about some of the formative events in his life.

Sam Fender | Simone Joyner/Getty Images

In a 2021 interview with Radio X, Fender offered up answers to some of his most Googled questions, in the process discussing what happened when he went to “god camp” as a young boy.

What is Sam Fender best known for?

Fender didn’t have an easy childhood and was reportedly the subject of bullying while in school. Still, Fender found solace in music and started writing songs. Inspired by artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Fender began playing his songs at local bars and venues.

Fans appreciated Fender’s honest way of crafting emotionally-complex tunes, and by 2017, the young artist had started to receive critical attention. Fender’s debut EP, Dead Boys, was released in November 2018, and just under one year later, the artist’s debut album, Hypersonic Missiles, was released.

Three years later, Fender released another album – and all while he was writing songs, the talented young star was playing concerts all around the world. With several awards to his credit, including the 2022 Brit Award for Best British Alternative/Rock Act, Fender is poised for superstardom.

What did Sam Fender say about getting kicked out of ‘god camp’?

Although Fender has charted a course to be music’s next big star, he’s very transparent with his fans. In a November 2021 interview with Radio X, Fender answered some of his most Googled questions, displaying his sense of humor and honesty in the process.

In response to the question, “is Sam Fender religious?” Fender said, “no, I’m not religious … half of my family are very religious. I went to god camp when I was 16. That was f****** fun.” Fender noted:

” … me and Dean (Thompson), my guitarist, went there to god camp and uh, we raised hell for a whole week, nearly got kicked out. We drew a Satanic pentagram on the head of the camp’s cabin in Durex lube and left the lube behind.”

Fender laughed as he recalled the prank, adding, “yeah, they didn’t like me very much.”

What’s next for Sam Fender?

At the age of only 28, Fender has already led a very interesting life and has a lot of experience in the music industry. He’s already started his breakthrough into the American mainstream with a recent gig at Lollapalooza in Chicago that had everyone sitting up and taking notice of the young singer/songwriter. For Fender, while celebrity is a nice perk, it all comes back to the music for him.

In a recent interview with F Word Magazine, Fender admitted that he tries to quite simply write songs that people are entertained by and can hopefully relate to in some way. “If it provokes any sort of positive emotion in people, that’s my job done,” Fender said.

He also revealed that he still writes songs “all the time,” in spite of his brisk touring schedule and that he draws inspiration from everything that he sees around him, from people or stories that he imagines in his mind. For Fender, who is poised to become the next big thing, the next few years should prove to be exciting indeed.

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