Sam Fender wins Mercury Prize 2025 for album People Watching
Judges say Fender's "classic" album will take "pride of place in record collections for years to come"
"We didn't think that was going to happen at all, I've just spent the last 10 minutes crying," Fender tells BBC after accepting prize
The awards show is in Fender's home city of Newcastle - the first time in its 34-year history that it is being held outside of London
CMAT, PinkPantheress and Pulp were among the 12 other nominees, while Wolf Alice made history by becoming the only act to have been nominated for all of their first four albums
You can watch a delayed stream of all the performances by hitting the button at the top of the page
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
Wolf Alice are battling jet lag as they play Bloom Baby Bloom - the lead single from their fourth album, The Clearing.
The group were playing a gig in LA just 48 hours ago. And this is one of their most complex songs - full of tempo changes, and little guitar fills. But they’re killing it, naturally.
Colin Paterson
Entertainment correspondent
To speed the changes between the bands, they are performing on a revolving stage.
It was quite something to see Pulp depart, all sitting on the stage and waving while looking like a mash up of the Mercury Prize and the Magic Roundabout.
Image source, PA MediaWolf Alice are nominated for Album of the Year for the 'The Clearing', and are set to perform at today's awards
We've just heard from Pulp - and also taking to the stage at Newcastle's Utilita Arena are:
Each artist is set to perform one track from their shortlisted album.
The work of other shortlisted artists will be showcased in a live performance film.
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
Image source, Rough Trade RecordsLet's take a closer look at Pulp's latest album.
When the band reunited in 2022, nobody, least of all them, was expecting new music. But during their North American dates, the Sheffield band unexpectedly debuted a new song called Spike Island.
"Nobody threw things at us, or left to go to the bar, so we just thought we'd carry on and see what we could conjure up," Jarvis Cocker told BBC 6 Music.
The result is More - Pulp's first album since 2001's We Love Life - which somehow managed to sound like an album they'd recorded and forgotten in their 1990s heyday.
The lyrics are the only giveaway that this is the work of a band in their late middle age - as Cocker, the poet laureate of suburban misfits, sings movingly about stagnation, divorce and mortality.
On the shimmering disco anthem Got To Have Love, he warns against squandering relationships: "When love disappears / Life disappears / and you sit on your backside / for 25 years." Later, on the pensive Slow Jam, he stares old age in the face and wonders how "you've gone from all you that could be to all that you once were".
If that sounds heavy, don't worry. Pulp haven't lost their ability to wrap scathing lyrics in beautiful melodies and shuffling indie-pop grooves. It's a More than welcome return.
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
Image source, PA MediaPulp have taken to the stage to kick off the Mercury Prize.
They’re quite a different band from the bedraggled Britpoppers who won the award back in 1996.
Now an 11-piece, including two sequin-spangled backing singers, they launch into Spike Island and Jarvis Cocker throws a handful of boiled sweets into the audience.
"What an incredible start to the show", host Laverne says.
BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, who is from Sunderland, is hosting tonight's Mercury Prize awards
The North East theme continues as tonight's ceremony is hosted by Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne.
Laverne, who is from Sunderland, has long championed music in the region, and continues her rise as one of the BBC's biggest radio presenters.
She'll be announcing the winner just after 22:00 BST.
The Mercury Prize awards show is now under way in the arena.
If you want to listen along, BBC Radio 6 Music will be covering it live from 21:00 BST.
You can also watch a delayed feed from 21:30 BST on BBC Four, where you'll be able to watch the performances.
We've got your covered here. As well as following our written updates, you can Listen and Watch Live at the top of this page from 21:00 BST.
Here, we'll be bringing you the live announcement of the winner, and all latest action from backstage.
Colin Paterson
Entertainment Correspondent, reporting from the Mercury Prize
Image source, PA MediaFontaines D.C. have had an incredible year: Grammy nominations, winning best international act at the Brits, and now, tonight, being nominated - for the second time - for the Mercury Prize.
I spoke to the group on the red carpet ahead of the awards ceremony and asked group member Deego why he thinks their nominated album - Romance - has pushed them to a whole new level.
"I think that there was something in the water that made people react to the album in that way," he says.
If the group were to release it seven years before, Deego thinks it wouldn't get the same reception.
He says it captures the struggle to maintain a sense of romance and idealism in a chaotic world. In fact, the group were brought together by a deep appreciation for poetry - even writing DIY poetry books dotted around shops in Dublin, he says.
"I hope they never see the light of day," jokes Deego.
What next for Fontaines, I ask? Deego says, for them, it's about doing "normal life stuff now" - like getting his credit score up.
"Shouldn't have skipped out on those bills," he jokingly laments.
If they win tonight, maybe that £25,000 cheque will help.
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
It’s basically impossible to predict the Mercury Prize - the winner is decided in a private, and often heated, debate between 10 judges on the night of the ceremony.
But that doesn’t stop bookmakers taking bets on the award.
Tonight, they’ve installed Irish singer CMAT as the favourite, for her sharp and witty third album Euro-Country.
Britpop icons Pulp and Irish guitar heroes Fontaines D.C. are not far behind.
They’re all pretty high-profile acts, though, and the Mercury panel has a habit of subverting expectations.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens!
The nominees for this year's Mercury Prize are diverse in both musical style and regions they hail from.
From Sam Fender's guitar rock eulogising about life in North East England, to CMAT's vulnerable ode to her very specific Irishness, it feels like there's something for everyone.
The 2025 Mercury Prize's 12 Albums of the Year are:
To be eligible for the prize, albums by British or Irish artists must have been released between 13 July 2024 and 29 August 2025.
Image source, Getty ImagesEzra Collective were the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize in 2023
The Mercury Prize rewards the best music from the UK and Ireland, highlighting 12 Albums of the Year across a wide spectrum of genres.
Each year, UK record labels submit around 230 albums for consideration, showcasing both well-established artists and fresh, emerging talent.
The Mercury Prize has no specific categories. All 12 shortlisted albums are awarded a trophy, with the overall winner receiving an additional trophy and £25,000 in prize money.
An independent panel of music experts selects the 12 nominees, basing their choices solely on the quality of the music. On the day of the show, the experts reconvene to choose the overall winning album.
The award aims to celebrate artistic excellence, provide a snapshot of the year's music and introduce new albums to a broader audience.
The prize can significantly boost public awareness of the winning album, while raising the profiles of all shortlisted artists.
George Walker
Live Reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesFor the very first time, the Mercury Prize is venturing out of London - making the near 300-mile journey to Newcastle.
From genre-bending PinkPantheress's mixtape Fancy That - thought to be the shortest ever nominated album at just 20 minutes - to folk godfather Martin Carthy's 'Transform Me Then Into A Fish', which relays 17th-century ballads word for word, there’s no lack of variety.
A panel of 10 judges have whittled down the finest album by a British or Irish artist of the past year to tonight's final 12.
Bookmakers say Irish singer CMAT is the front-runner with her third album, Euro-Country, which blends stories of loneliness and national identity with piercing humour.
After Leeds-based band English Teacher became the first to win from outside the capital in a decade last year, the Mercury Prize wants to banish criticism it’s too London-centric.
One of Newcastle's own, Sam Fender, hopes to win on home turf tonight with his album 'People Watching' - what he calls "11 songs about ordinary people" – but there’s no easy predictions here.
Our correspondents will bring you insight, analysis - and the winner - from Newcastle's Utilita Arena, and we'll bring you BBC Radio 6 Music's live coverage of the ceremony on this page from 21:00 BST.
You can also watch the evening's performances on a delayed feed from 21:30 on BBC Four.
