Sam Fender’s deluxe release

Sam Fender wins Mercury Prize 2025 and shares details of deluxe release of People Watching.

Sam Fender has announced a deluxe edition of his chart-topping and critically acclaimed third album, “People Watching,” originally released earlier this year.

Set for release on 5 December via Polydor Records, the expanded edition will include eight additional tracks and will be available on CD and vinyl.

Pre-order the deluxe album now

In addition to the four tracks that originally featured on Sam’s limited edition Record Store Day vinyl-only “Me and The Dog” EP, three brand new, previously unheard tracks also feature: “Talk To You,” “Fortuna’s Wheel,” and “The Treadmill.” The extra recordings also feature “Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)” for its first physical release.

“Talk To You” also features Elton John, who plays piano on the track. The song was recorded during the original “People Watching” sessions in London with producer Marcus Dravs, highlighting Elton’s ongoing friendship and long-time support of Sam’s work.

Sam had this to say about the track: “Talk to You was written during the People Watching sessions at British Grove – It’s a song about the end of a long relationship – about the regret, the mistakes and the lessons that come with it. It’s that feeling of losing your best friend and coming to terms with that.

I was playing around with the riff and thought what I need is a really good pianist, and then, hmmm, I wonder who I can call? And of course, who better than Elton John.”

Listen to “Talk To You” featuring Elton John

Elton John pitched in about the collaboration: “Sam was writing and recording in a studio in West London, and called to say he’d written a song with a piano riff that he thought would sound great with me playing it. I couldn’t resist, and it was so much fun playing it for him. I truly love Sam. He’s been a friend for many, many years, and it’s incredible to see him grow into being a truly world-class artist.”

After its February 2025 release, Fender rose amongst the most successful artists of recent years with the release of People Watching.

The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first week in the UK, outselling the rest of the Top 10 combined and becoming the fastest-selling record by a British solo artist since spring 2022. Its release was followed by a series of sold-out stadium shows throughout the summer, including a monumental night at the 80,000-capacity London Stadium.

Fresh from another U.S. tour and an appearance at the Mercury Prize (his second nomination), Sam now looks ahead to closing out the year with the deluxe release, before shifting his focus to writing and recording the follow-up to People Watching.

People Watching Deluxe Additional Tracklisting:

1. I’m Always On Stage

2. Talk To You (feat. Elton John)

3. Fortuna’s Wheel

4. Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)

5. Me and The Dog

6. Tyrants

7. The Treadmill

8. Empty Spaces