Mark Knopfler, the former frontman of Dire Straits, has said that singer-songwriter Sam Fender could “be as big as he wants to be”. Fender, who hails from North Shields, is one of over 50 artists who have performed on a new version of Knopfler’s ‘Going Home: Theme from The Local Hero’ to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Knopfler, who grew up in Blyth, Northumberland, spoke highly of 29-year-old Fender, who has worked in his London studio. Speaking to the PA news agency, Knopfler said: “He’s progressing fast and developing into a major artist now,” adding: “He’s going places, he could be as big as he wants to be.
The 74-year-old musician also expressed hope that Fender would be able to handle the pressures of fame, saying: “And I just hope that he can manage the ride alright,” before continuing: “It’s a helter skelter ride, you know, so you hope that he’ll be able to cope with it all.”
He continued: “I think he will. I think he’ll go all the way.”
Knopfler also praised Fender’s ability to handle the scale and momentum of his growing career, saying: “You can’t think of that many youngsters better equipped to handle that handle the size of it all and to handle the momentum of it all and the drama of it all.”
He concluded by predicting a bright future for Fender, saying: “I think Sam’s gonna be huge.”
Despite having written such iconic rock tracks as ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Tunnel of Love’ and the hugely successful ‘Brothers in Arms’ album, Knopfler dismissed the idea of ever being amazed by his own success. Instead, he focuses on creating new material and then releasing it into the world.
He said: “It’ll be out of the house, down the road, to have its own life. It just walks out of your life and starts getting smaller. And that’s because that (song) is having its own life.
