"Sam Fender is the winner of the 2025 Mercury prize, for his chart-topping album People Watching. Announcing the award, Sian Eleri, BBC radio DJ and one of the judges on the judging panel, said the album was characterised by cohesion, character and ambition. It felt like a classic album, one that will take pride of place in record collections for years to come."
"Fender, 31, grew up in North Shields, close to where the award ceremony was held this year, in Newcastle. He broke through quickly with his debut album Hypersonic Missiles in 2019, which topped the UK album chart, then consolidated its epic yet poignant sound on second album Seventeen Going Under (2021), and again with People Watching, released in February. It has taken him to even greater commercial heights, producing two Top 10 singles and prompting a series of stadium concerts."
People Watching won the 2025 Mercury Prize, characterised by cohesion, character and ambition and described as a classic destined for record collections. Fender, 31, grew up in North Shields and previously topped the UK album chart with Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under. People Watching, released in February, produced two Top 10 singles and led to stadium concerts. The 2025 shortlist combined commercially successful albums and established names, with entries from Wolf Alice, Pulp, CMAT, FKA twigs, Fontaines DC and PinkPantheress achieving high chart positions. The prize included its oldest ever nominee, folk singer Martin Carthy, aged 84.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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