Watch Sam Fender cover Bruce Springsteen
In his recent appearance on Apple Music’s Home Session series, English indie rocker Sam Fender busted out a new version of his Seventeen Going Under track ‘Last to Make It Home’ and a cover version of Bruce Springsteen‘s ‘I’m On Fire’.
“I don’t do myself any favours with the Bruce comparisons, and I’m gonna make it worse by doing his songs but he’s my favourite artist of all time and a massive inspiration,” Fender explains. “Me and Dave from Gang of Youths spontaneously covered ‘I’m On Fire’ when they [Gangs of Youths] were supporting us on the arena tour last year.”
Adding: “I jumped in on their set, then he jumped in on mine. It took us a bit of practice to get the harmonies right, singing in the loos backstage, etc. Dave is a good mate and such a legend, so it was fun to record together.”
There’s a nice bit of surreptitious symmetry going on here: last week, Fender’s ‘Seventeen Going Under’ was sitting at number five on the UK Singles Chart. ‘I’m On Fire’ peaked at number five back in July of 1985 as a double A-side with ‘Born in the U.S.A’. Being the chart nerd that I am, it’s funny to see these kinds of reflections and ripple effects that connect different generations through the same medium.
This isn’t the first time that Fender has take on The Boss. A quick look across YouTube and you’ll find Fender taking on ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘Atlantic City’ at different points. The man is truly a devotee of Springsteen, and his dedication to both the pop side and moody songwriting side of the singer is proof of his insane fandom.
Check out a live version of Fender’s cover of ‘I’m On Fire’ down below.
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