My dad was a club musician. He was always playing guitar and playing loads of soul records and '60s rock n' roll. Whenever he used to cook, he used to play Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, The Kinks, and the Spencer Davis Group - a lot of really earthy things.
Sam Fender
I write from the perspective of an early 20s kid who is trying to grasp an idea of what the hell is going on.
The music industry as a whole needs to genuinely make a conscious effort to look after people's physical and mental health.
A lot of my songs are just posing questions, because I'm on a journey to find the answers myself.
My brother was a drummer, and he was always, like, smashing the kit around when I was a kid, and my dad was, like, one of them old musicians, and he played in, like, loads of different bands in the '70s and '80s. Him and my brother were kind of like my main inspirations.
I'm a horrendous cook; my mum does my meals. I can only cook beans on toast with cheese.
I'm hopelessly addicted to Instagram.
I would cry if I met Bruce Springsteen, man. I don't think I'd be able to handle it.
I'll always just be stupid boy, and I'm happy with that.
The Cure wrote 'Boys Don't Cry,' and it's the same today: as a boy, you're not meant to show your emotions, but if you don't have a job or any prospects, you're going to be depressed, and it will be much worse if you can't express that. I hate the term because it's become a buzzword, but it's toxic masculinity.
I try my best not to be preachy.
I was told not to cry as a kid.
I recorded 'Play God' in a shed. I don't know how we got it to sound as good as it did.
Even when a Geordie is trying to be nasty, it doesn't sound that threatening.
I think I got stopped on the train once by a kid, and that was the first time I realised I had fans. He was shaking. I just reassured him that I'm an idiot and nothing special, so he didn't have to be nervous. It was very sweet.
I'm the worst. I get on my Instagram, put up a picture of my face looking all cheekbones and blue steel, and get massive dopamine hits when I see the likes come in.
My mam and dad were blasting Steely Dan when I was born; the music hasn't stopped since then.
My favourite writers are always great storytellers, like Bruce Springsteen; I adore Bruce Springsteen. I feel like he doesn't beat around the bush, and he doesn't overcomplicate things. He puts things into layman's terms and tells stories that anyone can understand.
I put enough pressure on myself already - I can sit here and work myself into an anxiety-filled breakdown without worrying what everyone else is going to think.
The negative effects of greedy politicians have haunted the north-east for years; it's very apparent.
I was probably the only kid in school that had long hair.
I've got a band that I tour with, and they're not session musicians; they're my friends.
When I was about 18, I started playing restaurants for £150 a night. I felt like a millionaire.
Pretty much every prime minister since I can remember has made me mad.
I've chronicled a time when I was 17, 18, utterly terrified that you're not gonna get anywhere with whatever you want to do. It's that fear and claustrophobia that I think comes to most people living in small towns. But I am lucky, because I just knew that music was my thing.
I'm so grateful to everyone back home for believing, and to my band and team for all their hard work.
I'm not an expert on politics, but there's a bunch of bad people at the top who care about lining their own pockets before creating a society that looks after the vulnerable.
I don't live in London. I live in the place that I sing about.
When you have these moments where a song connects with people and creates a conversation, it's quite a humbling experience because it's like, 'Maybe there is a little bit more weight to this job than I thought there ever was before.' Which was wonderful that that happened with 'Dead Boys.'
Back in the day, you could have a crap gig, and nobody would film you. Now, everybody's got an iPhone - you have a bad day, and it's going on the Internet.
I remember specifically, for me, as a kid growing up or as a young teenager, if I ever cried or got upset in front of anybody, I would be so humiliated.
I never want to co-write. People never just write a quarter of a book, do they? I don't think you can get your story across.
Musicians - we're not doctors. We're not saving people's lives. We're not going out and changing the world. We're not coming up with cancer cures. We're not any of that. They're the real heroes of the world.
The thing about Springsteen, his music, although he's writing about, you know, New Jersey and Asbury Park, all of them places, it's blue-collar towns that, like - it's similar to Newcastle, where I'm from.
'Poundshop Kardashians' is Newcastle on a Saturday night. Nobody wears coats - it's all muscles and V-necks and fake tan.
I like to write about stories and life experiences of me, the people around us, and just the things I see on the telly without overcomplicating things.
I'm not like a university-educated scholar. I just sing what I see.
I don't trust songs that can be played at a kid's party and a club at the same time. I just don't think it's right. There's something reptilian about that.
I think honesty is an important thing when writing a song. If you can't sing it with conviction, then no-one else is going to believe it.
I love my hometown, but 'Leave Fast' is the way I felt when I was 17, 18 - it's that fear that I'd never be able to do something else.
It's so surreal for us to be playing at Tynemouth Castle. It couldn't be much closer to home. I've got so many mad stories of us all running around here as kids, and it's mental that we're going to be playing at an actual castle!
Music was always ever present when I was growing up, and it's continued to be the most important and intrinsic part of me. It kept me from going off the rails as a kid, and it gave me rare purpose and self-confidence that I couldn't find from anything else.
There are a lot of challenges we are facing, like how you are supposed to react to emotional stress.
Men just need to be open and not emasculate one another.
Me and my mates are very, very close. We all talk about our problems - especially as we've got older. But I don't think a lot of people have that.
I love my job - I'm going to keep doing it until I die - but there's nothing more soul-destroying than having to cancel a show.
It's so vacuous, this job. You're constantly looking at pictures of yourself, talking about yourself. Then I come back home, and all my mates want to talk about is me because I've been hanging out with Elton John and stuff.
I've been lucky enough to support some absolute legends and incredible songwriters over the years, including Hozier, Daughter, Willy Mason, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Nick Mulvey, and Benjamin Francis Leftwich.
I wanted to change my name when I first started because I thought, 'No-one is going to believe that it is my name.'
I'm asking questions that most people are asking, but just putting a melody or a song to it.
