Mercury Prize Award 2025 reveals beloved winner after ceremony makes historic change

The Mercury Prize Awards have confirmed the 2025 winner after one of the strongestrecent shortlists, including major acts Sam Fender and Pulp.

For the first time in the prize’s 30-year history, the ceremony was moved out of London in favour of Newcastle, with events being hosted by the city’s Utilita Arena.

Many felt beforehand that this would give Geordie music superstar Sam a hometown advantage, and the big prize on the night went to the North Shields-born singer-songwriter.

After being announced as the winner, Sam took to the stage and began his speech by joyously cheering: ‘Newcastle! How are we doing? Are you alright?!’

He also began leading chants of ‘Toon Toon, Black and White Army’ in tribute to his favourite football team, Newcastle United, who play in black and white stripes.

The People Watching singer continued: ”I just didn’t expect this at all. I want to say thank you to – I can’t even think. I want to say thank you to all the other nominees tonight.’

Sam continued: ‘There are some good friends among those nominees, like CMAT and Fontaines DC. We’re in great company.

‘I want to say thank you – because I never did – to the person I wrote People Watching about, who’s Annie Orwin, who’s sitting [in the audience] tonight.’

Before leaving the stage, he grabbed the microphone once more to pay tribute to his home city and the people in it: ‘This region is the best region in the country.’

Sam won after being nominated for the second time, after his 2022 album Seventeen Going Under was nominated the year that Little Simz’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert claimed the crown.

In a press conference after his victorious night, Sam said, ‘We didn’t expect to win anything,’ and joked that he was a ‘has-been’.

Metro reporters on the ground in Newcastle said that the Seventeen Going Under hitmaker finished his press conference with a shout of ‘Free Palestine’.

Odds from William Hill before the ceremony had CMAT as a firm favourite to win, with Pulp and FKA Twigs both hot on her heels with their latest releases.

CMAT’s viral song Take a Sexy Picture of Me has seen the Irish singer skyrocket in popularity over the last 12 months and pull in huge crowds at the Glastonbury Festival 2025.

Not as much as Pulp, though – who took to the Pyramid Stage under the moniker Patchwork – performing new songs from nominated album More as well as classic hits including Common People and Disco 2000.

The shortlist also included the oldest ever nominee in 84-year-old Martin Carthy, who told Metro: ‘Being an old git is a massive privilege. It’s very exciting and I’m very happy to be where I am right now.’

Martin is said to have inspired the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, while his daughter Eliza Carthy has been nominated for the Mercury Prize twice before.

His album, Transform Me Then Into a Fish, comes a full decade after his last original release, with many fans believing he had retired from music.

At the start of the night, Pulp keyboardist Candida Doyle and drummer Nick Banks spoke to Metro about the prospect of winning the prestigious award for the second time.

‘Winning the award for [1995 album Different Class] doesn’t give us better odds. But at least we know what to expect. We’ve practised our “We’ve won” face and our “They’ve won” face.’

The two gave advice to younger artists on the shortlist: ‘Winning this certainly highlights you as a group. A lot of stuff these days is about exposure – a win here means more interest and access.’

CMAT exclusively told to Metro about the stress of putting together an acclaimed album: ‘I’ve never worked harder on anything in my entire life than I did for Euro-Country. But my dream was one day to headline a show at the arena in Dublin, and we’ve done that.

‘I’ve gone so far over the line of everything I thought possible. I wanted to make the perfect record and with Euro-Country I think we’ve done that.’

Four-time nominees and 2018 winners Wolf Alice also spoke to Metro on the Mercury Prize red carpet about what it takes to be on the shortlist for every single album they’ve recorded.

‘Winning again would be crazy. I think the shortlist is so, so good this year. I’d find it very hard to choose our favourite on the list, but let’s say CMAT?’

2024’s prize went to English Teacher for their debut studio album, This Could Be Texas, sticking to the Mercury Prize’s reputation for going for underdog albums.

The Mercury Prize, which is solely for British and Irish artists, insists judging is based on musical merit, irrespective of the commercial success of the nominated album.

Last year, when accepting the £25,000 win, English Teacher’s frontwoman Lily Fontaine teared up as she shouted out her mum on stage.

‘Thank you so much, oh my god,’ the band said at the time. ‘We didn’t really plan this far, I won’t lie.’

Lily’s bandmates — Nicholas Eden, Lewis Whiting and Douglas Frost — spoke to Metro at Glastonbury about how it had changed their lives.

Lewis said: ‘It’s upended a lot, it kind of reorganises your life, which is what you always want, but at the same time, it changes the way you might move through friendships, relationships – romantic or not – it all changes. 

‘Your whole life becomes touring, writing, which is what you want but then when you get it, it’s like damn, this is kind of crazy.’ 

Previous winners include the first ever jazz winners, London band Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Arlo Parks, Skepta, Franz Ferdinand, and Arctic Monkeys.

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