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

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.”