On Saturday, Sam Fender crowned himself king of the North with a career-defining headline set at Leeds Festival.

Earlier in the day, the Geordie rocker performed at the Reading leg of the festival.

It was made even more special for the humbled singer by the sheer volume of North East fans on hand.

The 29-year-old, who played songs from his two number one albums, beams: “This is the biggest milestone for us”.

As he takes the stage, the “Geordie Springsteen” roars out The Kitchen, backed by the big guitars, keys, and booming brass section of his trusted band.

He cries, “Leeds, come on!”.

His ode to pre-coital pillow talk, Will We Talk? elicits a big chorus from the crowd, encouraged by Fender, and phones are held high.

“It’s good to be back up North,” he declares, while dressed in a white Angel of the North T-shirt. “This is party night tonight. I see there’s a few Geordies in tonight, always nice to see.”

Then, he plugged in his black-and-white striped Fender electric guitar and continued: “I came to Leeds when I was 18 and watched Kasabian black-out drunk.”

“And I got lost and I couldn’t find my mates and started doing the [sings] black and white army chant, and that’s how I found my mates! So if you get lost tonight do that.”

His next song, Dead Boys, which deals with suicide, is dedicated to “the lads” from his hometown in North Shields who are no longer with us.

The band then throws in a slowie, or cruiser as Fender describes it, called Mantra, encouraging fans to get close to their partners. Jokingly, he adds, ‘those whose relationships survived the weekend’.

The revved up audience’s attention drifts somewhat despite the star’s impressive fretwork. He reassures them, “That’s all the chill for the rest of the set.”.

A similar move was made by Friday’s headliner Billie Eilish the night before.