Sam Fender is among the artists in the running for this year’s Mercury Prize as the ceremony heads to his home city – with Pulp also shortlisted for their big comeback, and Wolf Alice breaking a record.
Other acts announced by judges today include the genre-bending FKA Twigs, indie-pop star CMAT and post-punk band Fontaines DC, who are all up for the award for the second time.
Folk musician Martin Carthy is now believed to be the oldest ever nominee at 84 – and joins his daughter, Eliza Carthy, and late wife Norma Waterson, on the list of Mercury Prize shortlist alumni.
Other first-timers include Jacob Alon and Joe Webb, who are both nominated for debuts, as well as Emma-Jean Thackray, Pa Salieu and PinkPantheress.
This is a huge year for the event, which will take place outside London for the first time after more than 30 years – at Newcastle‘s Utilita Arena on 16 October.
Last year, it was noted by winners English Teacher that they were the first act from outside London to pick up the prize in 10 years. This year’s nominees include artists from Leeds, Sheffield, Gloucestershire, Coventry and Kent, as well as the capital, and more acts from, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
‘Sam Fender shows what is possible’
Ahead of the show, a week-long fringe festival will take place across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Durham and Northumberland to spotlight the North East’s music scene.
One of the biggest stars to emerge from that scene in recent years is of course Sam Fender, from North Shields. The indie-rock singer-songwriter was first nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2022, for his second album, Seventeen Going Under, and returns to the shortlist this year with his third chart-topper, People Watching.
“The success of artists like Sam Fender shows what is possible for young musicians in our region,” North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said earlier this year. “Hosting the Mercury Prize in the North East gives us the opportunity to showcase our home-grown talent.”
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Previous Mercury winners Pulp and Wolf Alice are both nominated for the fourth time.
For Wolf Alice, who first made the cut with their debut My Love Is Cool in 2015 and won with their second album Visions Of A Life in 2018 before a third nod for Blue Weekend in 2021, this latest recognition for The Clearing means that every single one of the four albums they have ever released has been in the running.
They previously held this accolade with Laura Mvula and Anna Calvi, who have been both nominated for all three of their studio albums.
Pulp were first nominated for their fourth album His’n’Hers in 1994 and won with Different Class, one of the most famous albums of the Britpop era, in 1996. A nomination for This Is Hardcore followed in 1998 – and now More, their first album in more than 20 years, has earned them a nod once again.
Former Ivor Novello nominee Pa Salieu receives his Mercury nod for Afrikan Alien, released in November 2024 – just a few months after he was released from prison.
The rapper and singer was convicted in 2022 for his part in an attack which happened in 2018. “I done sh*t I don’t even forgive myself for,” he told British Vogue in an interview when the album was released. He said he had been writing songs in prison. “It’s the lessons you learn. Everyone has a right to learn.”
And CMAT returns for the second year in a row, after being nominated for her second album, Crazymad, For Me, in 2024, and now Euro-Country.
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The Mercury Prize launched in 1992, when Simply Red’s Stars, U2’s Achtung Baby, and The Jesus And Mary Chain’s Honey’s Dead were among the nominees – and Primal Scream’s Screamadelica took the inaugural award.
It celebrates music by British and Irish acts and spans a huge range of different musical genres and artists throughout all stages of their careers, from newcomers to veterans.
As well as English Teacher, other recent winners include Michael Kiwanuka, Arlo Parks, Little Simz and Ezra Collective.
