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The North Shields singer he was nervous ahead of its release but Sam Fender had absolutely no reason to be nervous as his debut album has soared straight to number 1.

The 25 year old released Hypersonic Missiles at midnight and within a few hours it was sitting pretty at the top of the iTunes chart.

The album, which also went on sale in physical format from Newcastle store Beyond Vinyl when the clock struck 12, includes tracks like Will We Talk, Play God and Dead Boys and has received rave reviews from hard to please music critics.

The release of Hypersonic Missiles comes nine months into an amazing year for Geordie musician Sam , which started off with him winning the Brit Awards Critics Choice accolade and has also seen him perform on huge TV shows in America, tour the world, headline a huge homecoming gig at Mouth of the Tyne festival and sell out for shows at O2 Academy Newcastle, which he'll play at the end of the year.

Speaking to Chronicle Live on the eve of its release, Sam said he really didn't know how well the album would do, saying "To get a top 5 with my debut would be amazing and then to get anywhere in the top 3 would be a dream.

"It's just brilliant to finally get it out there as there are songs on the album that I wrote years ago, alongside ones than I've recorded just this year.

"I've already written enough songs for the second one. I'm writing all the time so I'll probably end writing loads more and some won't make it on but if I had to go into the studio now and record it I could!"

* Hypersonic Missiles will be available from iTunes, Amazon Music and Spotify from midnight. Record stores will also be stocking the CD, vinyl and limited edition cassette.