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Story: Jack Foley
COLDPLAY and Radiohead will go head to head for this year's prestigious
Mercury Music Prize, after both were nominated in the annual awards.
The giants of the UK music scene were immediately installed as
joint favourites for the award, despite the fact they will be
pitted against 10 other artists for the most sought-after accolade
in music.
And don't bet against a David versus Goliath-style triumph in
September, as the awards have a habit of throwing up the odd surprise.
Last year's hot favourite, The Streets, for instance, lost out
to Ms Dynamite; while both Coldplay and Radiohead have been nominated
before, losing out to Badly Drawn Boy and PJ Harvey, respectively.
The competition this year will be no pushovers, given that nominations
have also been received by hot new Irish band, The
Thrills, as well as Radio 1 and XFM favourites, The Darkness
and Athlete, and IndieLondon's highly-rated Martina Topley-Bird.
In fact, the only surprise was that there was no mention of Blur
in the nominations, given the quality of their latest album, Think
Tank. But then, lead singer, Damon Albarn, insists he didn't
want to be considered and that he isn't interested in awards.
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Of the notable nominees, Martina-Topley Bird has got to be a
smart outside bet. Her debut solo album, Quixotic,
is an absolute barnstomer and features collaborations with the
high-profile likes of David Arnold, David Holmes, Queens of the
Stone Age's Josh Homme and Tricky - some of the coolest names
in the industry.
Topley-Bird is no stranger to the music scene, either, having
found fame as Tricky's singer.
Soul duo Floetry, who have enjoyed more success in the US than
in the UK, having worked with Justin Timberlake, are nominated
for their debut album, as is jazz performer, Soweto Kinch and
soul diva, Terri Walker.
And another of IndieLondon's favourites, Lemon Jelly, also get
a nod for their offbeat album, Lost
Horizons, which contains the memorable singles, Spacewalk
and Nice Weather for Ducks.
A panel of judges drawn from the music industry will announce
the overall winner on September 9.
The winner receives a £20,000 cheque, along with the prestige
of being named Mercury Prize winner.
Coldplay's latest album, A
Rush of Blood to the Head, has already picked up a Brit and
an Ivor Novello songwriting award, in what is proving to be yet
another great year for the band (assault charges aside!).
The full list of the nominees is:
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
The Thrills - So Much for the City
Soweto Kinch - Conversations with the Unseen
Floetry - Floetic
The Darkness - Permission To Land
Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
Martina Topley-Bird - Quixotic
Eliza Carthy - Anglicana
Athlete - Vehicles and Animals
Terri Walker - Untitled
Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons
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