Entertainment/Mercury prize

The Mercury Prize is awarded annually for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. The Prize has no categories and is open to all genres of music. There are 12 shortlisted Albums of the Year.

The prize was originally sponsored by Mercury Communications and was known as the Mercury Music Prize. It was created in 1992 as an alternative to the Brit Awards.

Year	Winner	Shortlisted nominations included –
1992	Primal Scream – Screamadelica	Simply Red – Stars U2 – Achtung Baby
1993	Suede – Suede	East 17 – Walthamstow Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales
1994	M People – Elegant Slumming	Blur – Parklife The Prodigy – Music for the Jilted Generation Take That – Everything Changes
1995	Portishead – Dummy	The Boo Radleys – Wake Up! Oasis – Definitely Maybe
1996	Pulp – Different Class	Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
1997	Roni Size & Reprazent – New Forms	The Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole Radiohead – OK Computer Spice Girls – Spice
1998	Gomez – Bring It On	Massive Attack – Mezzanine The Verve – Urban Hymns Robbie Williams – Life thru a Lens
1999	Talvin Singh – Ok	Blur – 13 Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
2000	Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour of Dewilderbeest	Coldplay – Parachutes Doves – Lost Souls
2001	PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea	Gorillaz – Gorillaz Radiohead – Amnesiac
2002	Ms. Dynamite – A Little Deeper	David Bowie – Heathen Beverley Knight – Who I Am
2003	Dizzee Rascal – Boy in da Corner	Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head Radiohead – Hail to the Thief
2004	Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand	Keane – Hopes and Fears Snow Patrol – Final Straw Amy Winehouse – Frank
2005	Anthony and the Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now	Bloc Party – Silent Alarm Coldplay – X&Y KT Tunstall – Eye to the Telescope
2006	Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not	Muse – Black Holes & Revelations Thom Yorke – The Eraser
2007	Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future	Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare Dizzee Rascal – Maths + English Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
2008	Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid	Adele – 19 Radiohead – In Rainbows
2009	Speech Debelle – Speech Therapy	Florence and the Machine – Lungs Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
2010	The xx – xx	Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More Paul Weller – Wake Up the Nation
2011	PJ Harvey – Let England Shake	Adele – 21 Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys! Tinie Tempah – Disc-Overy
2012	alt-J – An Awesome Wave	Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again Plan B – ill Manors
2013	James Blake – Overgrown	Arctic Monkeys – AM David Bowie – The Next Day
2014	Young Fathers – Dead	Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots Royal Blood – Royal Blood
2015	Benjamin Clementine – At Least for Now	Florence and the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
2016	Skepta – Konnichiwa	David Bowie – Blackstar The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
2017	Sampha – Process	Ed Sheeran – ÷ Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
2018	Wolf Alice – Visions of a Life	Lily Allen – No Shame Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon?
2019	Dave – Psychodrama	Little Simz – Grey Area The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
2020	Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka	Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia Stormzy – Heavy is the Head
2021	Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams	Laura Mvula – Pink Noise Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
2022	Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert	Harry Styles – Harry’s House Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under Wet Leg – Wet Leg
2023	Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant to Be	Arctic Monkeys – The Car Raye – My 21st Century Blues Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy
2024	English Teacher – This Could Be Texas	Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown Charli XCX – Brat Corinne Bailey Rae – Black Rainbows The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
2025	Sam Fender – Watching People	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 Wolf Alice – The Clearing

Trivia

PJ Harvey is the only artist to win twice.

Arctic Monkeys have had five nominations, with one win. Alex Turner also had a nomination as a member of The Last Shadow Puppets.

Radiohead have had five nominations, with no wins. Thom Yorke also had an individual nomination.

PJ Harvey has had four nominations, with two wins.

Laura Marling has had four nominations, with no wins.

Wolf Alice are the sole act nominated for each of their first four albums.

In 2001 Gorillaz pulled out hours after being declared favourites to win the award. Cartoon bassist Murdoc said winning would be "like carrying a dead albatross round your neck for eternity".

Sponsors – Mercury Communications, Technics, Panasonic, Nationwide, Barclaycard, Hyundai, and Freenow. The prize currently has no sponsor.

The winning artist receives a cash prize of £25,000.

The 2025 awards ceremony was held in Newcastle, marking its first occurrence outside London.