Lindsey Buckingham gushes over Sam Fender: “My favourite song”
Fleetwood Mac guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Buckingham has found a new favourite artist in Sam Fender, after praising the Mercury Prize-winner on his YouTube channel.
Lindsey’s son, Will Buckingham, played his father a live version of Fender’s 2024 single, ‘People Watching’, from the London Stadium. Together, they noted the similarities in sound to early Fleetwood Mac records.
When Will asked his father if he could also hear the influence, Lindsey replied, “It’s hard to be objective about that, you know? I mean it did occur to me that maybe the guitar part was very much something I would do.”
Lindsey also noted another similarity to Fleetwood Mac’s sound: “The general kind of limits that the song puts on itself is very much like what we would do,” he mused.
The 76-year-old continued, “It kind of holds a certain emotive space and never varies from there, you know, and he knows what that is and wants to hold on to it.”
In 2021, Fender released his acclaimed second studio album, Seventeen Going Under. Lindsey appears to have been a fan of that work too, sharing of the lead single, “He did ‘Seventeen Going Under’ and that was great, too, but this is more of a complete song to me.”
When asked specifically what he likes about Fender, Lindsey clarified, “I love the emotional tone he finds and holds. I love his voice. This is my favourite song.”
Looking towards Fender’s bright future, the former Fleetwood Mac star added, “I’m just looking forward to what he’s going to do because he seems to be evolving.”
The esteemed musician isn’t the only one praising Fender for his work: the ‘Getting Started’ singer has received five Brit Awards, a Mercury Prize, and two Ivor Novello Awards. He has also received praise for his focus on charity work, having recently raised £50,000 for Youth Music.
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