Sam Fender: I gave my Brit Award to my local pub so it wasn't on my mantlepiece
The pub has been awarded somewhat of a cult status to music fans, and Sam Fender is still quick to show love for the site where he started his adult life.
The Low Lights Tavern is an unassuming pub sat on the bank which leads down to the North Shields Fish Quay. Seagulls fly overhead and on a quiet day you can hear waves lap up against the nearby Fish Quay Sands and the concrete which keeps North Tyneside safe during more stormy weather.
Heading in the bar is quaint, with the regular beers you’d expect from a North Tyneside pub on tap alongside some of the best smelling food you can imagine - the site is well known for its pies.
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If you didn’t know about what makes the site a haven for Sam Fender fans, the small signs may be easy to miss. This isn’t a pub which has turned into a tourist trap for the sake of a few quid, instead keeping to its roots as a pub, bar and eatery for locals.
Apart from the Brit Award on the bar, that is.
That’s right. If you head to the North Shields pub you can get a pint poured from a Brit Award which has been turned into a beer pump.
The award is Sam Fender’s, who won it as part of his meteoric rise to the superstar we know him as today. As the winner of the Brit Awards’ Critics Choice Award back in 2019, Fender was awarded the famous trophy, which he in turn gave to his local pub and former workplace.
Fender worked behind the bar at the pub when he was discovered by North East music manager Owain Davies and still celebrates his success with the team at the pub.
After his 2022 Brit Award win, Fender was welcomed back into the pub with his new award, which is yet to see a regular spot in the bar, and anther trophy is set to head to the corner of the North East following another Brits win from Fender this year.
Before the 2025 Brit Awards ceremony, Fender talked further about his relationship with the bar. Explaining on the red carpet, he said: “It was one of those things, where should I put it? I don’t want to put it on the mantlepiece because, well, I’ll feel like a bit of a kn*b.
“So that’s where we thought we’ll turn it into a beer pump. That’s where I was discovered too. It feels like a nice place to put it.”
We are yet to find out if Fender’s newest award will make it to the Low Lights Tavern.