Mercury Rises for Sam Fender
UK record labels association the BPI, which organises the Mercury Prize, today reports an increase in demand for Sam Fender’s album People Watching after last week’s acclaimed triumph in his hometown.
The Awards Show on 16th October saw nine of the shortlisted artists perform to a high energy crowd in Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, before guest presenter and Mercury Prize judge Sian Eleri announced Sam Fender as the overall winner.
According to BPI analysis of Official Charts Company data, People Watching has enjoyed a 159% increase in chart sales since last week’s announcement. The album is at number 17 in Tuesday’s midweek Official Albums Chart, up from 75 the previous chart week. The title track from the album is also currently back in Tuesday’s midweek Official Singles Chart top 75, at number 58, and Sam’s debut and sophomore albums, Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under, have also risen up the midweek Official Albums Chart: Hypersonic Missiles with a 29% increase and Seventeen Going Under 26%.
The Prize also saw content from the day of the Awards Show reach its highest ever audience across official digital platforms, with over 6 million views across Instagram, Tiktok, X/Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
The move to Newcastle, in partnership with Newcastle City Council and The North East Combined Authority, signalled a new dawn for the prestigious Prize in partnership with one of the UK’s most vibrant music cities.
Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the BPI, home to the Mercury Prize, said: “The City of Newcastle and its people really took the Mercury Prize and all the featured artists to their hearts to help make this year’s event as truly special as we all hoped it would be, and more. Our profound thanks to them and our congratulations also to Sam Fender and to all the artists for their brilliant Albums of the Year and their memorable performances – it’s wonderful that they are already benefitting from the ‘Mercury Effect’ through all the media coverage and far-reaching engagement across social channels. We hope they can continue to build on the unique platform the Prize provides as they build their fanbases and connect with a wider audience.”
YolanDa Brown OBE DL, BPI Chair, added: “All of us at the BPI want to also sincerely thank our valued partners Newcastle City Council and The North East Combined Authority for being such perfect hosts to this year’s Mercury Prize, along with Generator for organising such impressive Fringe events – I will personally never forget the Mini Mercury Choir charming us with their performance of ‘People Watching’ as visitors arrived at Newcastle Central Station on a dedicated LNER Service. We hope that along with the feel-good boost of the past few weeks, the City can also benefit from a lasting cultural impact their commitment deserves.”
The Prize’s broadcast partner BBC Music provided coverage of the event on 16th October. On BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds, Deb Grant and Nathan Shepherd broadcast live from Newcastle, revealing the winner live on air, and hearing from Matt Everitt, who brought listeners all the action from backstage. BBC Four and BBC iPlayer brought viewers all the amazing performances and key moments with their exclusive Awards Show broadcast, which is available to watch again here.
The Mercury Prize recognises the best new British & Irish music, celebrating artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres. As an independent arts prize, it champions the album format, acts as a snapshot of the year in music and often provides a major platform for up and coming artists and their musical work. The Prize has been an important milestone in many artists’ journeys, providing a stepping stone to wider success in the UK and Ireland as well as internationally.
Each year, the shortlist is curated by an independent judging panel of music industry professionals who are eternally passionate about spotlighting artistic achievement across a range of genres. The 2025 Mercury Prize judges are: Danielle Perry – Broadcaster (Absolute Radio/Jazz FM) & musician Jamie Cullum - Musician & Radio 2 Broadcaster; Jamz Supernova – 6 Music Broadcaster and DJ; Jeff Smith - Head of Music, Radio 2 & Radio 6 Music; Lea Stonhill – Music Programming Consultant; Mistajam – Songwriter, DJ & Broadcaster; Phil Alexander – Creative Director, Kerrang!/Contributing Editor, Mojo; Sian Eleri – Radio 1 Broadcaster & DJ; Will Hodgkinson - Chief Rock & Pop Critic, The Times; Sophie Williams – Music Writer & Broadcaster. The Chair of the judging team is Jeff Smith.
The 2025 Mercury Prize 12 ‘Albums of the Year’ are:
CMAT ‘EURO-COUNTRY’
Emma-Jean Thackray ‘Weirdo’
FKA twigs ‘EUSEXUA’
Fontaines D.C. ‘Romance’
Jacob Alon ‘In Limerence’
Joe Webb ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’
Martin Carthy ‘Transform Me Then Into A Fish’
Pa Salieu ‘Afrikan Alien’
PinkPantheress ‘Fancy That’
Pulp ‘More’
Sam Fender ‘People Watching’
Wolf Alice ‘The Clearing’
