Sam Fender has his former bar manager to thank for launching his career

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Sam Fender has his former bar manager to thank for launching his music career.

The 'Play God' hitmaker had spent years auditioning for acting roles and he worked in a bar to save up money to go up to London each time he got a call to tryout for a role.

But after having no luck and running out of money, he decided to give music a go.

One day his manager at the pub told him to go and sit in the corner of the room and play guitar and he ended up playing to Ben Howard's manager, who picked up on his talent instantly.

Sam told the BBC: "I'd been slogging away for years, I started playing guitar when I was a kid but I've been in bands and stuff since I was 14.

"My manager discovered us when I was 18 in a pub where I was working.

"I'd completely failed my A-Levels so I was in a pub pulling pints, and my manager manages Ben Howard, who at the time had won a BRIT Award, and he walked in to celebrate because he's from my hometown.

"My bar manager at the time - who looked like Winston Churchill and used to call me 'stupid boy' - went to me, 'Stupid boy, get your guitar out and go sit in the corner and go and play.'

"And I was like, 'Why man?' But it's because he knew that this guy was a music manager and it all happened there for me."

Sam won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award in February, has supported his idol Bob Dylan at Hyde Park and scored a number one album with debut 'Hypersonic Missiles'.

He added: "Since then it's been non-stop gigging and touring and in the last six months it's just really exploded.

"It's a bit of a baptism of fire, there's lots of amazing things and there's lots of crazy people on Twitter and you get all sorts but I'm kind of dealing with it well I think."