In contrast to the demure side glances depicted in the artwork for both Lungs and Ceremonials, the cover for How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful features Florence Welch staring squarely into the camera lens. The latter is an entrancing work that’s the closest the Mercury prize has come in years to nominating a classical album, albeit one that bears closer resemblance to the oeuvre of indie label 4AD than to Harrison Birtwistle. The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. "Taylor said that you must sing about what's happening in your life," she explained. Did you know?

In 2011, Mercury chair of judges Simon Frith said "[Metal] is a niche that a lot of people don't listen to. !” you might balk, except the design concept is demonstrative of Welch’s creative approach for this third album. [10], The Mercury Prize can have a considerable effect on sales for those artists who are shortlisted. They said: "In our generation there's lots of negativity towards people being creative.

This year’s Mercury Prize in association with BBC Music culminated in the announcement of the overall winner on Friday 20 November 2015 on BBC Four. Follow.

Preview A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (Explicit), Preview The Seldom Seen Kid (Bonus Tracks Version). [16][17] 2011 winner PJ Harvey's album Let England Shake jumped from number 181 to 24 in the UK official charts the week after the 2011 Awards Show. This year’s winner was Benjamin Clementine, with his debut album, At Least For Now. Laura Marling on how she sang away her shyness – with a little help from LSD, 'Being at the BBC has given me confidence - and now I speak with authority', Cancel culture will fizzle out - as these lessons from history prove, ‘A song of sorrow and grieving’: Mike Oldfield, John Lennon and the myth of Moonlight Shadow, Alicia Keys interview: ‘We are on a precipice again, and America has a sickness’, Simon Rattle interview: ‘It is frustrating to be always behind Europe', St George's diary: 'We’ve now set our sights on a 27,000 seat stadium', Thelonious Monk, Palo Alto, review: worth half-a-century's wait, Satanists or superstars?
Her favourite bands are Abba and Pink Floyd. With its state-of-the-nation punk rock firebombs, Slaves' debut album is not for the faint-hearted. It was later sponsored by Technics 6/5. Did you know? Highest UK chart position: Did not chart. Did you know? Eska is the only artist on the shortlist with a degree in maths.
Plus how to find out this year's Shortlist! Did you know? Krautrock emerges as a key influence – via the motorik rhythms of ‘The English Ruse’ and in the digital shimmer of ‘20/20’ – and throughout Coombes’ displays a near-perfect strike rate in terms of killer songcraft. [1] Simon Frith, chair of the Mercury Prize judging panel, has said that albums are chosen because they are the "strongest" each year, rather than according to genre.

Speaking after the award ceremony, broadcast live on BBC4 from BBC Broadcasting House, he said that he would celebrate the award “by dancing, as I don’t really drink” and was looking forward to playing live in the future. These are external links and will open in a new window.

Fifty years on, how Black Sabbath's Paranoid sparked worldwide moral panic.

He said: "Because it was made over such a long period of time [five years], all the songs on the album just ended up not conforming to any specific era or trend."

Unlike some other music awards, the overall winner of the Mercury Prize also receives a cheque; in 2017, the prize money was £25,000. Long-time fans, look out for the revamped version of 'Sea Creatures', her heartfelt ode to a troubled friend. Totals listed are for bands or artists nominated more than once under the same name. She said: "I think I've got quite a strange voice. Did you know? The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act.

Watch performances and interviews with the nominees on BBC Music. The prize was conceived by Virgin Records managing director Jon Webster, and was originally sponsored by Mercury Communications, a brand owned by Cable & Wireless,[2] from which the prize gets its name.

one august rock critic’s damning assessment, eclectic Zimbabwe-born singer-songwriter Eska, Architect, by Glaswegian composer C Duncan, The alternative 2015 Mercury prize shortlist.

The sales gulf between the first and second most commercially successful albums on the list is striking: Florence + the Machine’s How Big How Blue How Beautiful went to No 1 in eight countries and sold more than 200,000 copies in the UK and US its first week, while its closest rival, Jamie xx’s In Colour, had a combined UK and US first-week sale of less than 40,000. Elbow saw a 700% sales increase of their album The Seldom Seen Kid after winning the Prize in 2008. Yet this is clearly not a selection of albums compiled by people overly concerned about one august rock critic’s damning assessment of the 2014 winner, the eponymous debut by Young Fathers, as “an obscure Scottish hop hop [sic] mash up that nobody bought”. News > Comment > Culture > Music > Film > TV > Gaming > Food&Drink > Travel > Life&Style > Sci&Tech > Sport > Features.