George Walker
Live Reporter

Image source, Euan Cherry/Getty Images

It might be cynical to say it was written in the stars for Sam Fender this year, after he leaves the Utilitas Arena in Newcastle as the winner of the 2025 Mercury Prize for his ode to working-class life in the North East, People Watching.

With the Mercury Prize venturing for the first time out of London to Newcastle, Fender's performance was bound to be barnstorming with the Geordie crowd, and he massively delivered.

Radio 1 DJ and judge Sian Eleri, who announced Fender's victory to huge cheers, said the album stood out for "its cohesion, character and ambition" and that People Watching "will take pride of place in record collections for years to come."

His was a victory that defied the bookmakers' odds, namechecking favourites CMAT and Fontaines DC in his victory speech as the wait goes on for the Mercury Prize's first Irish winner.

Emotion poured out of him at the podium, paying tribute to his close friend and mentor Annie Orwin, whom the album and its eponymous single which he performed on the night was dedicated to, finishing his speech exclaiming of his beloved North East that "this region is the best region in the country."

And it fittingly summed up a night in which the Mercury Prize embraced the North and specifically the North East - a region which now has a musical champion.

We can now bring you these pictures from the moment Sam Fender was announced as this year's Mercury Prize winner.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

"I didn't think that was going to happen at all," Sam tells me as he came off the stage, cheered on by his band. "I've just spent the last 10 minutes crying."

He was particularly proud to have won on home turf, saying that Newcastle had "always been in an isolated bubble" from the music industry.

"So for it to be recognised is a really important, important thing," he says.

Asked how he’d celebrate his victory, Sam’s bandmates suggest a "pyjama party" back at his house. Sam was a little more traditional: "I’m gonna have a beer."

We can bring you more from Sam Fender's acceptance speech now.

"I just I really didn't - we did not expect this at all. I want to say thank you to - I cannot think," he says, to cheers and laughs from the audience.

He thanks the other nominees and pays tributes to the inspiration behind his title track, Annie Orwin - who he has described as being like a "surrogate mother".

"This region is the best region in the country," he ends his speech by saying.

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

I'm now backstage at the Mercury Prize ceremony watching on as Sam Fender takes to the stage.

During his speech, Sam namechecks his fellow nominees CMAT and Fontaines DC - before grabbing his guitar for a reprise of People Watching, the title track of his now Mercury Prize-winning album.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

A deafening roar from the audience as Radio 1's Sian Eleri, who was on the judging panel, reveals Sam Fender’s victory.

She says the judges loved People Watching’s "character and ambition", adding: "It felt like a classic."

Sam leads the audience in a chant of "Toon Toon" as he accepts the prize.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Sam Fender wasn’t the bookies' favourite to win, but he was definitely the audience’s favourite.

A local boy, he hails from North Shields, and has always eulogised his home town, for good and bad, in his music.

People Watching is his third album and instantly topped the charts in February - selling 107,000 copies in a week and becoming the biggest chart debut for a British artist since Harry Styles’ Harry’s House three years ago.

Image source, Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images

Sam Fender wins this year's Mercury Prize for his album People Watching.

It is a homecoming for the lad from North Shields who earlier wowed the crowd with his performance.

Stay with us as we bring you more.

We're about to see who's won this year's Mercury Prize for album of the year.

Stay with us as we bring you the announcement from Newcastle's Utilita Arena as it happens.

Image source, Getty Images

While we're awaiting the judges' decision, let's take a look at who the independent panel is made up of:

• Danielle Perry, broadcaster and writer
• Jamie Cullum, musician and BBC Radio 2 broadcaster
• Jamz Supernova, BBC Radio 6 Music presenter
• Jeff Smith, head of music for BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music
• Lea Stonhill, music programming consultant
• Mistajam, songwriter, DJ and broadcaster
• Phil Alexander, creative director at Kerrang! and contributing editor for Mojo
• Sian Eleri, BBC Radio 1 broadcaster and DJ
• Will Hodgkinson, chief rock and pop critic for The Times
• Sophie Williams, music writer and broadcaster

The panel meets on the day of the award show to decide the overall Album of the Year - details of discussions and individual votes are kept confidential to “protect the integrity of the judging process”.

Ian Youngs
Culture reporter

Image source, PA Media

We've heard from the 12 shortlisted artists, and now it's in the hands of the judges. But just who will they pick?

CMAT is the deserved frontrunner, the clear favourite with the bookies for her brilliant album Euro-Country, and a win would be the crowning moment for her as a big star.

But the Mercury judges often give the favourites a swerve... so if not her, who else?

PinkPantheress is an outsider (according to the bookies), but should be in the mix for the heady, infectious Fancy That. The judges like to anoint a distinctive major new(ish) talent and, like CMAT, PinkPantheress would fit the bill.

FKA Twigs deserves credit for Eusexua – an intoxicating and boundary-pushing record that at times feels like an update to the sensual 90s-era pop of Kylie or Madonna.

Fontaines DC are the bookies’ second favourites, and Romance is a step up and in many ways a great album... it came out 14 months ago so the wind may have left its sails. Sam Fender would be a logical and popular hometown hero (at the ceremony in Newcastle), and People Watching is excellent but perhaps a bit less urgent and vital than previous albums.

Jacob Alon’s In Limerance is a beautiful and tender album - will his tremulous singer-songwriter style be original enough for the judges? Emma Jean-Thackray is a distinctive and compelling voice but perhaps an acquired taste.

Pulp made a triumphant comeback, but may feel too much like retreading old ground, while fellow past winners Wolf Alice have had a more muted reception this time around.

Folk veteran Martin Carthy would be a poignant and popular winner but I don’t think the album quite has enough appeal to win. Similarly, Pa Salieu and Joe Webb are worthy nominees but would be shock winners.

But the panel like to defy predictions, so your guess is as good as mine, or the bookies.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, Warner Records

Pa Salieu was tipped as the UK's next rap star thanks to crossover hits like Frontline and his Send Them Back To Coventry mixtape. But in 2022, his rise came to an abrupt halt by a 33-month prison sentence for his participation in a 2018 nightclub brawl.

Afrikan Alien is his first mixtape since being released, and it showcased a newly philosophical angle to his lyrics - reflecting on his incarceration, his Gambian family, and what it means to be of African heritage in the UK.

On the title track, he gets angry at a "hostile" environment where "melanin [is] kryptonite". But he also shares his hard-won wisdom: "Eradicate any kind of energy that pins you down... Accumulate all that you need and help the people eat."

"I come from folk music," he told BBC News. "In these times, with what's going on, we capture the truth and store it. We're journalists."

Reflecting his heritage, the music is full of Afrobeat rhythms, log drums, spiritual mantras and lilting guitar lines.

Best of all is Allergy - whose flitting percussion adds a casual swagger to Salieu's story of becoming "allergic to the bad vibes" after turning to scripture.

Whizzing past in just 27 minutes, it's nonetheless a signpost that Pa Salieu is back on track.

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Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, John Shearer/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival

Sam Fender is no stranger to the Mercury Prize – having previously received a nomination in 2022 for his second record, Seventeen Going Under.

He’s nominated again this year for People Watching, a mix of soaring, open-hearted, Springsteen-esque anthems about the realities of life for working class Northerners.

It’s made the North Shields native a hero in Newcastle, where he played three sold-out stadium shows at St James' Park this summer, attracting some 150,000 fans.

A win on home soil would be as poetic as it would be well-deserved. As Elton John said, external a couple of years ago: “He’s a British rock ’n’ roll artist who’s the best rock ’n’ roll artist there is.”

But Fender downplays his status as the voice of his generation, or even his hometown.

“People bandy about those terms all the time, and it’s ridiculous,” he told the LA Times, external in May.

“Saying that somebody’s the voice of a generation - I’m not, honestly. I’m an idiot. I’m just writing about my experiences and the experiences of people I know, and people attach such weight to it.”

Eleanor Doyle, BBC Newsbeat

Image source, Getty Images

Last year’s Mercury winners English teacher say it’s “about time” music awards were based up north.

In their acceptance speech, the Leeds indie quartet thanked venues and programmes that had helped them when they started gigging in their home city.

Vocalist, Lily Fontaine, says hosting this year's show in Newcastle will bring “a lot of the music industry" to the North East.

She tells BBC Newsbeat it will help with "putting a spotlight on the music scene up there".

Lily's says that winning the accolade last year was “one of the best nights of my life”.

And her advice to tonight's winner?

“Savour the moment and try and be present in the chaotic aftermath.”

Sharuna Sagar
BBC Look North

Image source, Sam Fender/PA

History is being made as the Mercury Prize uproots itself from London for the first time in its 33-year history and lands in Newcastle.

The decision by the British Phonographic Industry to move one of the UK’s most prestigious music awards 300 miles north sends a clear signal: the industry is finally taking the North East seriously.

Running alongside the main event is the inaugural Mercury Fringe Festival - a celebratory week of artist showcases, masterclasses and workshops shining a spotlight on the region’s rich seam of talent across every genre.

Sam Fender’s meteoric rise - and second appearance on the coveted Album of the Year shortlist - has already helped turn the spotlight on this long-overlooked corner of the country.

With local alumni including Maxïmo Park, Field Music, The Unthanks and Nadine Shah, the hope is that the Mercurys’ northern debut will kick open the door for more homegrown artists to thrive.

Watch back all of tonight's performances from the Mercury Prize 2025 ceremony on our stream by clicking the button at the top of the page.

The stream is delayed, but we'll still be bringing you news of the winner as soon as it happens in our text posts.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

We’ve seen all 12 shortlisted artists now - but there’ll be a break here in Newcastle as the judges make the final, nail biting decision about who wins.

We expect to know the result at about 22:15 - stay with us.

Image source, Polydor Records

Sam Fender's an unusual proposition. He's a festival headliner with punch-the-sky choruses whose lyrics are overtly political.

On this, his third album, he picks at the scabs of northern working-class life, and rails against a system that leaves families mired in bureaucratic neglect.

Death and loss loom large. The title track was inspired by visiting his mentor and "surrogate mother" Annie Orwin in a palliative care home - and he paints a bleak picture of a "faciilty fallin' to bits / understaffed and overruled by callous hands".

The wistful Crumbling Empire draws parallels between the post-industrial decline of Detroit and Fender's hometown of North Shields, while Rein Me In finds him struggling to shake the ghosts of a failed relationship.

Fender said his ambition for People Watching was to write "11 songs about ordinary people", but this vexed, anxious album ends up being something more substantial - a tribute to human spirit in a time of deprivation and indifference.

• Listen to People Watching, external

Mark Savage
Music correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

With a canny sense of occasion, the Mercury Prize organisers have saved hometown hero Sam Fender for last.

To build the sense of anticipation even more, we pause to watch a video of last year’s winners English Teacher playing their song Nearly Daffodils at Glastonbury - more on them shortly.

When Sam Fender finally rotates onto the stage, the roar is deafening.

"I think, judging by that reaction he might just be playing to a home crowd," says host Lauren Laverne.

Now, excuse me for three minutes while I join everyone in screaming the chorus to People Watching.

Image source, Edition Records

A jazz album inspired by Britpop? Why the heck not.

Hamstrings and Hurricanes marks the full-length debut of Welsh pianist Joe Webb, whose playful, improvisational style has already won the praise of Jamie Cullum and Jools Holland.

He delivers a swinging, bluesy take on traditional jazz, playing off his long-serving sidemen (double bassist Will Sach and drummer Sam Jesson) in a series of semi-improvised song sketches, recorded live last year.

The final track, Hiraeth, is a riff on Oasis's Shakermaker - although you'd be hard-pressed to spot the similarities without a degree in musicology.

The album's title, meanwhile, is a tribute to Lionel Messi. Webb is a huge fan and used to fly to Barcelona to watch "La Pulga" in action every week.

Now that Messi's getting older, and has moved to Miami, Webb reckons the two biggest risks the footballer faces are pulling his hamstrings and surviving hurricane season.

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