Damon Albarn Leads Mercury Prize Nominations

Damon Albarn, Royal Blood and Bombay Bicycle Club are among the artists nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize.

Honouring the best British or Irish records of the past year, 12 established and up-and-coming artists are vying for the £20,000 prize.

Now in its 23rd year, the prize is judged by a panel of 12 critics, DJs, musicians and figures within the music industry who often pick more obscure and leftbeat acts alongside some recognisable names.

“This year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlist confirms that these are fascinating times for UK music”, says Simon Frith, Chair of Judges.

“There are seven outstanding debut albums here, and five records by more established artists, all pursuing exciting new directions.

“What most impressed the judges was the inventive passion with which musicians explore music and emotional possibilities, refusing to be pinned down by rules or genre.”

The full list of nominees are as follows:

Anna Calvi – ‘One Breath’ Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ Damon Albarn – ‘Everyday Robots’ East India Youth – ‘Total Strife Forever’ FKA twigs – ‘LP1’ GoGo_Penguin – ‘v2.0’ Jungle – ‘Jungle’ Kate Tempest – ‘Everybody Down’ Nick Mulvey – ‘First Mind’ Polar Bear – ‘In Each and Every One’ Royal Blood – ‘Royal Blood’ Young Fathers – ‘Dead’

Entertainment NOW!’s Jo Parkerson was at the nominations announcement at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

Hear what Anna Calvi and FKA Twigs – who’s rumoured to be dating Robert Pattinson – had to say about their nominations below: