Paul McCartney has landed his first-ever Mercury Prize nomination, heading a 12-album shortlist revealed on 30 July 2026 for the UK and Irish album of the year award Billboard. His album 'The Boys of Dungeon Lane' sits alongside records by RAYE, Dave, Florence + The Machine and eight others competing for the £25,000 prize.

The full shortlist spans established names and newer arrivals. RAYE is nominated for 'THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE,' a return to the shortlist after a previous nomination NME. Dave appears with 'The Boy Who Played the Harp,' Florence + The Machine with 'Everybody Scream,' and JADE — formerly of Little Mix — with 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!' Rounding out the list: Olivia Dean's 'The Art of Loving,' which reached Number 1 on the UK Albums Chart Official Charts; Dove Ellis with 'Blizzard'; Knats with 'A Great Day In Newcastle'; Kojey Radical with 'Don't Look Down'; Nia Archives with 'Emotional Junglist'; Suede with 'Antidepressants'; and the War Child charity compilation 'HELP(2).'

For Dean, it is a second Mercury Prize nomination NME. For McCartney, who turned 83 in June, the nod arrives in a year when the prize's eligibility window — albums released between 30 August 2025 and 17 July 2026 — happened to align with a record he put out in his eighth decade.

Not every heavily tipped release made the cut. Lily Allen, whose work fell within the eligibility period, was not included on the shortlist BBC News. The Mercury Prize judging panel, chaired by Jeff Smith — head of music at BBC 6 Music and Radio 2 — also includes broadcaster and pianist Jamie Cullum, DJ and producer Afrodeutsche, and Times chief pop and rock critic Will Hodgkinson, among others: Danielle Perry, Lea Stonhill, MistaJam, Phil Alexander, Sian Eleri and Sophie Williams Billboard.

The ceremony takes place on 22 October 2026 at Newcastle's Utilita Arena, making Newcastle the host city for the second consecutive year. The prize first moved outside London in 2025, when Sam Fender — a North Shields native — won for his album 'People Watching' Billboard.

What gives this shortlist its texture is the range. A former Beatle who has never been nominated before sits beside a Leeds-born rapper, a producer riding jungle's resurgence, a Newcastle jazz quintet named after their home city, and a Britpop band now on their ninth album. The War Child compilation — a multi-artist charity record — is the only non-solo or non-group entry, and its inclusion means the shortlist can recognise collective, fundraising releases alongside individual bodies of work. The winner takes £25,000, a figure that matters more to a small-label act like Knats than to McCartney's publisher, but that has never been the point of a prize built on judging albums as whole records, not sales totals.