San Francisco Frontiers - Indie singer Sam Fender wins UK Mercury Prize

The crowd in the northeastern city of Newcastle erupted in joy as Fender, from nearby North Shields, accepted the award in the Utilita Arena.

The judges said Fender's third album "felt like a classic album, one that will take pride of place in record collections for years to come".

It had stood out for its "cohesion, character and ambition".

Fender, 31, who was nominated in 2022 for a Mercury Prize, dedicated the award to his late friend and mentor UK actress Annie Orwin, for whom he wrote the song "People Watching" after her death.

Twelve acts were nominated for the 2025 award, which rewards the best British or Irish album of the past 12 months.

Hot favourite had been breakout Irish singer CMAT, who was nominated alongside relative newcomer PinkPantheress and Britpop veterans Pulp.

CMAT, 29, whose real name is Ciara Mary‑Alice Thompson, attended Thursday's ceremony but did not perform after being treated for an infected wisdom tooth which forced her to cancel tour dates earlier this month.

She was nominated for her third album, "Euro-Country", featuring the Irish language and tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

Nominated alongside fellow Irish band Fontaines DC, CMAT said earlier Thursday that Ireland's recent music success came from a "generation of traumatised people".

"There's a lot of artists from a very small, not very densely populated country, making a lot of music that feels quite important, as opposed to trivial," she said.

British indie-pop icons Pulp, led by enigmatic frontman Jarvis Cocker, this year released their first new album in 24 years, entitled "More".

Former Mercury winners Pulp were at the forefront of the "Britpop" movement of the 1990s, with hits including "Common People" and "Disco 2000".

The new album, the band's first since "We Love Life" in 2001, was recorded in just three weeks and was dedicated to the group's former bass guitarist Steve Mackey, who died in March 2023 aged 56.

Founded in 1992 to rival the Brit Awards, which take place in March, Thursday's Mercury contenders also featured the oldest ever artist to be nominated, 84-year-old folk singer and guitarist Martin Carthy.

Other nominees included British-Gambian singer and rapper, Pa Salieu, who brings together afrobeats and RnB, past nominee Wolf Alice and haunting Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon, who started their performance singing "Free Palestine".

Last year English post-punk band English Teacher won with their debut album "This Could Be Texas", pipping favourite Charli XCX.

Previous Mercury winners include PJ Harvey, the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream.

M.Powell--SFF