49 h. ago Sam Fender donates his £25,000 Mercury prize winnings to Music Venue Trust charity

Chart-topping singer-songwriter adds to his previous support of charity that works on behalf of small UK venuesSam Fender has donated his £25,000 winnings from this year’s Mercury prize to a charity supporting the UK’s small music venues.The North Shields singer-songwriter won the prestigious prize in October for his album People Watching, a UK chart-topper that continued his run of poignant, socially conscious songwriting. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Sam Fender releases new song with Elton John, one day after Mercury prize win

John plays twinkling piano part in new song Talk to You, and says he ‘truly loves’ the Geordie singer-songwriterSam Fender has released a new song with Elton John entitled Talk to You, the day after winning the 2025 Mercury prize for his album People Watching.It features a twinkling piano line laid out by John, amid Fender’s full-bodied guitar-led songwriting. Fender sings on the chorus “Just wanna talk to you / Wanna talk with my best friend / Wanna let go of everything that I carry”, and has said the song is about: “the end of a long relationship – about the regret, the mistakes and the lessons that come with it. It’s that feeling of losing your best friend, and coming to terms with that. I was playing around with the riff and thought, ‘What I need is a really good pianist’, and then, ‘Hmmm, I wonder who I can call?’ And of course, who better than Elton John?” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Who won the Mercury Prize 2025? Sam Fender wins top music prize for album People Watching

Sam Fender beat out the likes of Pulp, CMAT, Fontaines D.C., Jacob Alon and more to win the 2025 Mercury Prize.

Culture

3 w. ago Sam Fender reveals how he plans to celebrate Mercury Prize 2025 win

Sam Fender has won the Mercury Prize 2025 for his third album, People Watching on Thursday (16 October).

Politics

3 w. ago Sam Fender dedicates Mercury Prize 2025 to 'mentor' as singer

Local lad Fender beat competition from Britpop band Pulp, post-punks Fontaines DC and Irish singer CMAT

Politics

3 w. ago Sam Fender didn’t need his Mercury prize win – but he earned it with his incisive social realism

They could have given the award to an album that wasn’t already a huge hit – but Fender’s blend of kitchen-sink drama and stadium choruses is expertly done‘You can expect all the usual excitement,” offered host Lauren Laverne at the start of this year’s Mercury prize ceremony. It’s the kind of thing people hosting awards shows are duty-bound to say, but the use of the word “usual” suggested she was diplomatically overlooking last year’s event, which – through no fault of the album that won, English Teacher’s This Could Be Texas – had all the excitement of a wake.The Mercury had lost its corporate sponsorship, necessitating what host Annie Mac called “an intimate celebration of this year’s shortlist”, in the same way that an estate agent might call a flat with the shower next to the cooker “cosy”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Sam Fender wins the 2025 Mercury Prize for his album People Watching as shocked star admits he 'did not expect' it

The singer, 31, toom home the presitigous award at the ceremony in Newcastle on Thursday, the first time the ceremony has been held outside London.

Events

3 w. ago Sam Fender wins the 2025 Mercury Prize with third album People Watching

Rock singer-songwriter won the prestigious music award in a homecoming triumph just a stone’s throw from where he was raised, in North Shields

Politics

3 w. ago Sam Fender wins 2025 Mercury prize for his album People Watching

Geordie singer-songwriter’s album reached No 1 on the UK album chart and led to a series of stadium-sized concerts this summerSam 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”. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Mercury Prize 2025 LIVE: Start time, TV channel, live stream and full list of nominees

The Mercury Prize 2025 will be held in Newcastle for the first time ever, with Lauren Laverne hosting the ceremony and a number of live performances from the nominees

Politics

3 w. ago Mercury Prize Awards 2025: Who is CMAT? Irish singer tipped to beat Sam Fender

Irish singer-songwriter CMAT emerges as the frontrunner for Best Album at the Mercury Prize Awards in Newcastle tonight with her third record, Euro-Country

Events

3 w. ago Irish TikTok sensation favourite to win Mercury Prize 2025 for album of the year

CMAT has had social media in a frenzy with her witty country style songs, but now her talent has brought her to be nominated to win a mercury prize and critics believe she's the leading contender

Politics

3 w. ago Mercury Prize 2025: How to watch the ceremony on television, what time will the winner be announced, prize money?

It’s one of the biggest nights of the year for the British and Irish music.

Politics

3 w. ago Mercury Prize 2025: Irish acts favourites to win at this evening’s ceremony

The event is set to take place for the first time outside of London as the Mercury Prize heads to Newcastle this evening.

Politics

4 w. ago Mercury Prize 2025 Latest Odds: Here's how the bookies rate all 12 artists' chances

We’ll soon know this year’s winner of one of the biggest prized in UK music.

Culture