Singing like a state

3 May 2024 Sam Fender and Richard Dawson At the emotional peak of 17 Going Under , Sam Fender (think Springsteen, but Geordie) hollers ‘I see my mother, DWP see a number!’ . It’s an old trope, but I get a shiver when I hear it, and I think of Longbenton - the giant DWP/HMRC office on the edge of Newcastle, where the song is set. Another Geordie singer, Richard Dawson, presents the view from the…