Sam Fender has easily topped 100,000 sales for third album People Watching.
Ahead of today’s stunning chart result, Polydor Label Group president Ben Mortimer hailed the UK singer-songwriter as “unstoppable”.
“He’s not just smashing records; he’s packing out stadiums and arenas too,” said Mortimer. “He’s an extraordinary artist and has the tunes, the talent, and the fans to go the distance, and Polydor is buzzing to be along for the ride.”
People Watching debuted at No.1 for Sam Fender with week one sales of 107,124, including 91,133 physical copies, 2,614 downloads and 13,377 sales-equivalent streams. The album – his third consecutive chart-topper – outsold the rest of the Top 10 combined.
Polydor came out on top for the All Albums (AES) market share for the past week with 15.6%. People Watching is the label’s fastest-selling domestic album in 11 years.
That result for People Watching makes it the biggest opening week for any album so far in 2025, and indeed since Coldplay’s Moon Music in October 2024.
It is also the biggest opening week for a British solo artist since the release of Harry Styles’ Harry’s House three years ago, which racked up 113,000 units in its first week in May 2022. Only nine artists have managed 100,000 UK albums sales in a week this decade – Taylor Swift, Adele, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Take That, ABBA, Arctic Monkeys and now Sam Fender.
Fender has broken a chart record as People Watching becomes the fastest-selling vinyl album by a British act this century, with sales of 43,000 on the format this week. The LP topped the vinyl albums chart and Official Record Store chart.
With the success of People Watching, there has been a marked improvement in Fender’s week one albums performance with a 145% increase in consumption compared to previous album Seventeen Going Under (week one result: 43,717).
As well as the UK success, People Watching is his best performing album to date in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Germany.
Sam is an extraordinary talent, and People Watching is a landmark album
Ben Mortimer
Ben Mortimer, president of Polydor, said: "Sam is an extraordinary talent, and People Watching is a landmark album. To see it connect with so many people at this scale is truly special. We’re excited for what the future holds."
Seventeen Going Under, which has sales to date of 411,004, saw a consumption increase of 10.8% week-on-week as it moved 99-77. Debut album Hypersonic Missiles climbed 96-79 with consumption up 7.6% week-on-week. Hypersonic Missiles has sales to date of 490,404.
In the singles chart, album title track People Watching climbed 26-13 with a week-on-week consumption increase of 43.7%. The track has consumption to date of 235,655.
The single Arm’s Length had an even bigger surge in consumption – 44.5% – as it climbed from No.35 to No.17. Little Bit Closer, a new entry at No.24, is Fender’s third and final appearance on the singles chart under OCC rules limiting primary artists to three.
In the past decade, only Oasis and Arctic Monkeys have made that kind of singles chart impact among alternative acts.
Sam Fender is part of the BRITs performers line-up. He heads out on European dates this coming week, followed by a US tour next month and UK stadium and outdoor shows in the summer.
He is also the ambassador for Record Store Day UK, which takes place in April.
PHOTO: Ali Tant
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