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This year looks set to get even better for Sam Fender with his debut album well giving him a huge number 1 and an arena tour on the cards.

Sam has already had a memorable 2019, with the year starting with a Brit Award win for Critics Choice and also seeing the musician tour the world, get the record for the fastest selling gig ever at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival, support Bob Dylan in Hyde Park and appear on some of America's biggest TV shows.

And now the release of first album Hypersonic Missiles looks has put him at the top of the charts. Here's a guide to the guy who is set to get everyone talking on both sides of the Atlantic.

Who is Sam Fender?

Sam, born on April 24, 1994 comes from North Shields in North Tyneside, near Newcastle, and is a former pupil of John Spence Community High School. He went on to sixth form at Whitley Bay High School along with his keyboard player Joe Atkinson.

He was a former regular at open mic nights like the one at North Shields' 'Maggie Bank' (The Magnesia Bank pub), and his profile sky-rocketed when he was given a place on the much looked at BBC Sound of 2018 list. Then unsigned, he made the cut along mainstream artists like Sigrid, Khalid and Yxng Bane.

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Early racks like Start Again, Friday Fighting and the very poignant Dead Boys , about male suicide, have earned Sam acclaim amongst music critics and fans alike.

And then this year has seen his following grow and grow thanks to tracks like the insanely catchy Will We Talk and his debut album's title track Hypersonic Missiles.

Sam, who can count Sting, Elton John and Ant & Dec amongst his biggest fans, hit the road for a huge UK tour at the end of the year, which will include four sell-out shows in Newcastle.

And Hypersonic Missiles has now been certified gold.