2008 Mercury Music Prize Winners Elbow
Judges from one of music’s most respected UK awards will announce the shortlist for the prestigious prize on July 21 .
The Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize has received more entries than ever before in 2009 and is open to all genres of music . The shortlist of 12 Albums of the Year is chosen by an independent judging panel, which includes musicians, producers, presenters and music journalists, will be announced at 1130am.
Lauren Lavern will crown the winner on September 8. The panel’s decision is based solely on the music on the albums, rather than commercial sales. 2008 winners Elbow enjoyed a significant rise in profile and uplift in sales of their album The Seldom Seen Kid after taking home last year’s accolade.
Chair of judges Simon Frith said: “It’s been an intriguing year for UK music and we once again saw a rise in the number of albums entered for the Barclaycard Mercury Prize.”
Winners of the prestigious award in the past have been:
2007, Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future.
2006, The Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
2005, Anthony And The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
2004, Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand 2003,
Dizzee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner
2002, Ms. Dynamite – A Little Deeper
2001, PJ Harvey – Stories From The City,Stories From The Sea
2000, Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of Bewilderbeast