Sam Fender Wins 2025 Mercury Prize and Announces People Watching Deluxe Edition Featuring Elton John
Sam Fender has been named winner of the 2025 Mercury Prize for Album of the Year, marking another defining moment in the career of one of Britain’s most important modern songwriters. The North Shields artist also announced details of a brand new deluxe edition of his third album, People Watching, featuring a previously unheard collaboration with Elton John.
The deluxe edition of People Watching was released on 5th December via Polydor Records and includes eight additional tracks, expanding on the critically acclaimed album that dominated charts and conversations earlier this year.
A Landmark Year for Sam Fender
Originally released in February 2025, People Watching proved to be a career-defining record for Fender. The album sold over 100,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone, outselling the rest of the Top 10 combined and becoming the fastest-selling album by a British solo artist since Spring 2022.
The album’s success was followed by a summer of sold-out stadium shows, including a landmark performance at London Stadium in front of 80,000 fans, firmly cementing Fender’s place among the UK’s biggest contemporary artists.
People Watching Deluxe: New Music and Special Collaborations
The upcoming deluxe edition brings together material previously only available on Sam’s Record Store Day vinyl-only Me and The Dog EP, alongside three brand new, unheard tracks:
-
Talk To You (feat. Elton John)
-
Fortuna’s Wheel
-
The Treadmill
The release also marks the first physical release of “Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)”, as well as digital versions of the Record Store Day tracks.
“Talk To You (feat. Elton John)”
To coincide with the announcement, Sam has shared the new track “Talk To You”, featuring Elton John on piano. The song was recorded during the original People Watching sessions at British Grove Studios in London, produced by Marcus Dravs.
Speaking on the track, Sam explained:
“Talk To You was written during the People Watching sessions at British Grove – it’s a song about the end of a long relationship – about the regret, the mistakes and the lessons that come with it. It’s that feeling of losing your best friend, and coming to terms with that."
Elton John added:
“Sam was writing and recording in a studio in West London, and called to say he'd written a song with a piano riff that he thought would sound great with me playing it. I couldn't resist, and it was so much fun playing it for him. I truly love Sam. He's been a friend for many, many years and it's incredible to see him grow into being a truly world class artist.”
What’s Next
Fresh from attending the 2025 Mercury Prize ceremony, Sam Fender is set to spend the remainder of the year sharing this new material with fans, before turning his attention to writing and recording the follow-up to People Watching.
People Watching Deluxe – Additional Tracklisting
-
I’m Always On Stage
-
Talk To You (feat. Elton John)
-
Fortuna’s Wheel
-
Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)
-
Me and The Dog
-
Tyrants
-
The Treadmill
-
Empty Spaces
