English Teacher spoke to NME about the “concrete validation” they felt from their Mercury Prize win and hinted that their next batch of music will be “better.”
The Leeds group took home the Mercury Prize last year for their debut album This Could Be Texas and were back at this year’s ceremony last night (October 16) at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, where Sam Fender won over competition from acts including Pulp, CMAT, Wolf Alice, Fontaines D.C., and Pa Salieu.
Their win last year saw English Teacher triumph over albums such as Charli XCX’s Brat and The Last Dinner Party’s Prelude To Ecstasy. On the red carpet this time around, the band shared how that victory has shaped their last 12 months and gave an update on the progress of their anticipated follow-up record.
Guitarist Lewis Whiting joked that it was “quite nice knowing there’s no chance we have to go up and say an unprepared speech” this time.
Reflecting on the experience, he added: “I think it kind of reset the album cycle we were in. I felt like we were already really busy, but after that, everything just kept rolling. We’ve been on tour pretty much since then. It’s been a crazy year, and now it’s made me think a lot about how far we’ve come over the past 12 months. It’s been wild.”
Drummer Douglas Frost said: “Having a kind of concrete validation like that gives you real confidence, and that definitely goes a long way.”
When asked if the win adds pressure to their next release, frontwoman Lily Fontaine replied: “I think that pressure will always be there, regardless. We just want whatever we put out next to be better. But there’s also the so-called Mercury curse, isn’t there?”
Whiting agreed, saying: “I think the motivation has to come from within, because if you get too caught up in all that outside stuff, you’ll end up digging yourself into a hole.”
As for the progress of the new record, bassist Nicholas Eden said: “We’ve been bouncing ideas around between us, and we’re slowly getting there.”
Last week, the band released This Could Be A Remix Album, which features reworked versions of their tracks by Fontaines D.C., Working Men’s Club, Sherelle, Daniel Avery, Water From Your Eyes, and Baxter Dury.
“It’s a bit surreal for me personally,” Fontaine said of the project. “I really love a lot of the versions that came back. They’re all so different, and it’s great to hear our songs turned into something danceable too.”
“It’s kind of strange hearing something you made being filtered through someone else’s imagination,” added Whiting. “A lot of them surprised me completely.”
English Teacher were the first Mercury winners from outside London since 2014, and this year’s edition of the awards marked the first time the ceremony was held outside the capital — a change the band said they were fully behind.
“We’ve talked about this a lot before,” said Fontaine. “Obviously, the music industry matters for so many reasons, but the truth is, if you don’t have different types of people making art, everything starts to sound the same. And when that happens, it’s boring. It’s important to have as many perspectives as possible, especially from outside London.”
NME gave This Could Be Texas a five-star review on its release in 2024, writing: “What you have in This Could Be Texas is everything you could ask for in a debut; completely original from beginning to end, full of imagination and ambition. Whether or not the industry still makes room for bands to truly break through, English Teacher are already doing something remarkable. Not everyone gets to go to space, but they make it far more exciting down here on Earth.”
NME also spoke with Fontaines D.C. at the ceremony about the “witch hunt” surrounding Kneecap and the police’s handling of Palestine protests, as well as with Wolf Alice, who earned a record-tying fourth nomination, and Pulp, who shared that they are “not itching” to record a follow-up to this year’s More.
Sam Fender won the 2025 Mercury Prize for his third studio album People Watching. During his acceptance speech, he thanked “very good friends” Fontaines D.C. and CMAT, saying he was in “great company” on the shortlist.
Later, in the winner’s room, Fender said: “We didn’t think we were going to win anything, so I’m still in shock. It’s an amazing honour, and it feels incredible that it happened here, for the first time outside London. It’s a really important moment for the music industry, and I think it’s brilliant.”
Drummer Douglas Frost added: “And having a concrete validation like that does give you a sense of confidence, which does go a long way.”
