Paul McCartney gains a first-ever Mercury Prize nomination, joining a shortlist packed with current chart heavyweights and emerging talents. His album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, a reflective account of his Liverpool childhood, is one of 12 records competing for the award that honours the best album by a British or Irish artist.
McCartney told the Guardian during the album’s May release that he felt the presence of John Lennon while writing, and he said he could imagine how Lennon would have reacted to specific places and lines. That personal reach has put him up against Olivia Dean, whose The Art of Loving swept the Brit awards this year and has spent all but one of its 43 weeks since release in the UK Top 5, eight of them at No 1.
Raye appears for her second consecutive Mercury nomination with This Music May Contain Hope, while Dave is shortlisted with The Boy Who Played the Harp, which contains the global hit Raindance. The Guardian awarded Dave’s album five stars and praised his lyricism. Florence + the Machine earns a fourth nomination for Everybody Scream, her sixth album, which the Guardian called musically and emotionally rounded. If Florence does not win, only Radiohead will have accumulated more nominations without a victory.
The shortlist includes an unusual compilation, Help(2), recorded at Abbey Road to raise funds for War Child. The charity album features new recordings by artists including former Mercury winners Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Sampha, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Young Fathers and Beth Gibbons, who won with Portishead. Help(2) follows 1995’s The Help Album, the only other compilation ever nominated for the Mercury.
Several other commercially successful records made the list. Jade’s That’s Showbiz Baby! reached No 3 in the UK, while Suede’s Antidepressants peaked at No 2; Suede won the Mercury for their 1993 debut and were last nominated in 1997. Dove Ellis’s Blizzard, praised across the music press and given a five-star review in the Guardian, is a quieter contender and he also appears on Help(2).
Newcastle natives Knats are nominated for A Great Day in Newcastle, a groove-driven project featuring a large cast of musicians and spoken word artists. Their local connection matters, the prize ceremony being hosted in Newcastle this year after last year’s winner, Sam Fender, hailed from the city. Kojey Radical secures a second Mercury nomination, and Nia Archives earns her second nomination with Emotional Junglist, released on the last day of the eligibility period.
The list skews diverse, with eight of the 12 albums by artists of colour. It also prompted notable omissions: Lily Allen’s West End Girl, which shaped cultural conversations in 2025, did not make the cut. Other artists missing from the shortlist include Harry Styles, Boards of Canada, Gorillaz, Sienna Spiro, Lola Young, Ed Sheeran, Kneecap, James Blake, the Cribs, Celeste, Cat Burns, the Last Dinner Party, Robert Plant, Joy Crookes, Fakemink, Dry Cleaning and My New Band Believe. Charli XCX’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack fell outside eligibility, and her new album Music, Fashion, Film was also just outside the period. Blood Orange’s Essex Honey missed eligibility by one day.
The 2026 Mercury Prize will be awarded at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on 22 October, with the winner decided by an 11-strong industry panel. The nominees are Dave: The Boy Who Played the Harp; Dove Ellis: Blizzard; Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream; Jade: That’s Showbiz Baby; Knats: A Great Day in Newcastle; Kojey Radical: Don’t Look Down; Nia Archives: Emotional Junglist; Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving; Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane; Raye: This Music May Contain Hope; Suede: Antidepressants; War Child Records: Help(2).
