Double Brits success for North East's Sam Fender
REUTERS/Isabel InfantesIt was a winning night for North East musician Sam Fender at the 2026 Brit Awards on Saturday.
Fender, from North Shields, picked up best alternative or rock act for the second year in a row, and also shared the gong for song of the year for Rein Me In with Olivia Dean, who won four awards.
Dean, 26, saw off South Shields-born Jade to win artist of the year and best pop Act, and fended off Fender to also take album of the year.
As the pair accepted the award, Fender, 31, thanked Dean and their fans and said "Olivia made [the song] her own".
Dean said: "Thank you to Sam. I think this is a beautiful song, and it's just been a pleasure to be a part of it."
It was the first time the ceremony had swapped London for Manchester in its nearly 50-year history.
Jade, formerly of Little Mix, had set a high bar with her performance of Angel Of My Dreams at last year's ceremony when she picked up best pop act, but lost out this year to Dean who was crowned the UK's new queen of pop.
Ian West/PA WireRein Me In, which features on Fender's album People Watching, beat the likes of Raye, Lola Young and Calvin Harris.
Fender and Dean made UK chart history last month after their slow-burning collaboration finally made it to number one after 35 weeks to become Fender's first ever chart-topping single.
The song, which was released in June, finally reached the summit, breaking the record for the most consecutive weeks in the top 40 before reaching number one.
Asked about why he thought it took so long to reach the top, Fender told BBC Radio 1: "I guess it's the internet, it traveled online and people come to it later, which is wonderful really because it's the music that's doing the talking."
The pair previously gave the melancholic ballad its live debut, performing it together during Fender's gig at the London Stadium, home of Dean's team West Ham United.
She also joined him onstage again a week later, to sing the same song at St James' Park, home of Fender's beloved Newcastle United, like the home and the away leg of the same musical tie.
