Mercury Prize

{{Infobox award

| name = Mercury Prize

| current_awards =

| image = MP22 Logo RGB.png

| imagesize =

| caption = 2022 Mercury Prize logo

| awarded_for = Best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland

| location = United Kingdom

| year = {{start date and age|1992|9|9|df=yes}}

| year2 =

| website = {{url|mercuryprize.com}}

| former name = Mercury Music Prize

| lastawarded = {{start date and age|2024|09|05|df=yes}}

| most_wins = PJ Harvey (2 wins)

| most_nominations = Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys (5 nominations)

| holder = English Teacher – This Could Be Texas (2024)

| sponsor =

| date = Every September

| venue = Abbey Road Studios

| reward = £25,000 (2017)

}}

The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the United Kingdom or Ireland.{{Cite web |title=About The Prize |url=http://www.mercuryprize.com/about-the-prize |access-date=24 May 2018 |publisher=Mercury Prize |archive-date=27 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927204556/https://www.mercuryprize.com/about-the-prize |url-status=live }} It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the British Phonographic Industry and British Association of Record Dealers in 1992 as an alternative to the Brit Awards.

Format and eligibility

Any album released by a British or Irish artist, or by a band where over 50% of the members are British or Irish, may be submitted for consideration by their record label. There is a fee for submission. Twelve submitted albums are shortlisted for the prize, chosen based solely on their musical merit and irrespective of how popular or successful an album or act that has been submitted may have been in the previous calendar year. The shortlist is chosen by an independent panel of musicians, music presenters, music producers, music journalists, festival organisers, and other figures in the music industry in the UK and Ireland.{{Cite web |title=Mercury Prize 2008 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/mercuryprize2008/prize/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915070321/http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/mercuryprize2008/prize/ |archive-date=Sep 15, 2008 |access-date=22 June 2009 |publisher=BBC Music}}{{Cite news |last=Beech |first=Mark |date=9 September 2008 |title=U.K. Band Elbow Wins Mercury Prize as Judges Surprise Again |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-09-10/u-k-band-elbow-wins-mercury-prize-as-judges-surprise-again |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2009 |df=dmy-all |archive-date=24 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324170747/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-09-10/u-k-band-elbow-wins-mercury-prize-as-judges-surprise-again |url-status=live }}

The prize is open to all types of music, including pop, rock, folk, urban, grime, dance, jazz, blues, electronica and classical. Presentation of the awards usually takes place at an Awards Show in October, after the shortlist is announced at the Album of the Year Launch in September. It is often observed that bands whose albums are shortlisted, or win the prize, experience a large increase in album sales, particularly for lesser known acts.{{Cite news |last=Innes |first=John |date=15 September 2004 |title=Band's debut album soars back into charts after Mercury success |work=The Scotsman |url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=940&id=1080702004 |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531222702/http://news.scotsman.com/mercurymusicprize/Bands-debut-album-soars-back.2564314.jp |archive-date=May 31, 2009}} Each shortlisted artist receives a specially commissioned 'Albums of the Year' trophy at the Awards Show. Unlike some other music awards, the overall winner of the Mercury Prize also receives a cheque; in 2017, the prize money was £25,000. The winner also receives an additional winner's trophy.

History

The prize was originally sponsored by Mercury Communications, a brand owned by Cable & Wireless,{{cite news |last=Dann |first=Trevor |date=9 September 2003 |title='By the time the list is agreed you wonder whether you like music at all' |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/sep/09/marketingandpr.mercuryprize2003 |url-access=registration |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819174637/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/sep/09/marketingandpr.mercuryprize2003 |url-status=live }} from which the prize gets its name. It was later sponsored by Technics{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/404980.stm|title=Manics lead Mercury shortlist|work=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2009|date=27 July 1999|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813003619/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/404980.stm|url-status=live}} (1998 to 2001), Panasonic (2002 and 2003), Nationwide Building Society (2004 to 2008) and Barclaycard (2009–14).{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsroom.barclays.com/r/1530/barclaycard_mercury_prize_sponsorship_announced |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913120715/http://www.newsroom.barclays.com/r/1530/barclaycard_mercury_prize_sponsorship_announced |url-status= dead |archive-date=13 September 2016 |publisher=Barclays |access-date=8 August 2010 |date=30 March 2009 |title=Barclaycard Mercury Prize sponsorship announced }}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/mercury-prize-2015-florence-the-machine-tipped-for-success-as-blur-miss-out-on-a-global-shortlist-a6697491.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/mercury-prize-2015-florence-the-machine-tipped-for-success-as-blur-miss-out-on-a-global-shortlist-a6697491.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Mercury Prize 2015: Florence + The Machine tipped for success as Blur miss out on a global shortlist|first=Adam|last=Sherwin|date=16 October 2015|work=The Independent}} The 2015 prize was sponsored by the BBC, while in 2016 it was announced that a three-year deal had been struck with Hyundai to sponsor the event.{{cite web |title=Hyundai Partners with Mercury Music Prize |url=http://www.hyundai.co.uk/about-hyundai/hyundai-partners-with-mercury-music-prize |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918103412/http://www.hyundai.co.uk/about-hyundai/hyundai-partners-with-mercury-music-prize |archive-date=18 September 2016 |access-date=8 August 2016 |publisher=Hyundai |df=dmy-all}} It was sponsored by Free Now, as part of a multi-year deal that began in 2022.{{Cite web |title=big group brokers the headline sponsorship of The Mercury Prize with FREENOW |url=https://www.biggroup.co.uk/news/big-group-brokers-the-headline-sponsorship-of-the-mercury-prize-with-freenow-the-leading-mobility-services-provider |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=www.biggroup.co.uk |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812000116/https://www.biggroup.co.uk/news/big-group-brokers-the-headline-sponsorship-of-the-mercury-prize-with-freenow-the-leading-mobility-services-provider |url-status=live }} In 2024, the award lost their deal with Freenow, prompting the cancellation of the ceremony and live performances for that year.{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=Mark |title=Mercury Prize nominations 2024: Charli XCX, Beth Gibbons and the Last Dinner Party on shortlist |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz5r235rr08o |access-date=25 July 2024 |publisher=BBC |date=25 July 2024}}

To date, PJ Harvey is the only artist to have won the award on more than one occasion (in 2001 and 2011). She was also the first female solo artist to receive the award. Alex Turner has received six nominations, five as a member of Arctic Monkeys and one with The Last Shadow Puppets, winning once. Thom Yorke has six nominations, five with Radiohead and one for The Eraser, but has never won.{{cite news |date=6 September 2011 |title=PJ Harvey wins Mercury Music Prize for second time |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14815129 |access-date=6 September 2011 |archive-date=7 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907064501/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14815129 |url-status=live }}

The awards ceremony was postponed for the first, and so far only, time in 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=8 September 2022 |title=Last Night of the Proms and Mercury Prize called off after the Queen's death |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62825157 |access-date=9 September 2022 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909115755/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62825157 |url-status=live }}

Reputation

The Mercury Prize can have a considerable effect on sales for those artists who are shortlisted. Elbow saw a 700% sales increase of their album The Seldom Seen Kid after winning the Prize in 2008.{{cite news |last=Ellis-Petersen |first=Hannah |date=30 October 2014 |title=Young Fathers likely to be touched by unreliable magic of Mercury prize |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |url-access=registration |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=Mancunian band Elbow, who won in 2008, enjoyed a 700% rise in sales of their album The Seldom Seen Kid in the week following their Mercury victory |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207201613/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |url-status=live }}. In their winner's speech, Elbow's frontman Guy Garvey said that winning the Mercury Prize was "quite literally the best thing that has ever happened to us".{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7606963.stm|title= Elbow elated at Mercury Prize win|quote= 'This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us,' singer Guy Garvey told the ceremony in London.|work= BBC News|access-date= 4 December 2014|date= 9 September 2008|archive-date= 11 January 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090111205618/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7606963.stm|url-status= live}}{{cite news |date=9 September 2008 |title=Elbow: 'Mercury win is best thing that's ever happened to us' |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/elbow-115-1327147 |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=Elbow claimed that their Nationwide Mercury Prize victory is 'the best thing that's ever happened to us' during their acceptance speech tonight |archive-date=11 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911072808/http://www.nme.com/news/music/elbow-115-1327147 |url-status=live }}. Similarly, sales of The xx's winning album rose by 450% the day after they won the 2010 Mercury Prize{{cite news |last=Ellis-Petersen |first=Hannah |date=30 October 2014 |title=Young Fathers likely to be touched by unreliable magic of Mercury prize |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=It was a similar tale for the XX after their 2010 win. Sales of their debut album soared 450% the day after they won, according to figures from music retailer HMV |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207201613/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Rainey |first=Naomi |date=9 September 2010 |title=The xx 'terrified' after Mercury win |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a275439/the-xx-terrified-after-mercury-win.html#~oXue91geN4crdK |access-date=4 December 2014 |work=Digital Spy |quote=Their debut album, which had sold 125,000 copies prior to winning the prize, has experienced a jump in sales of almost 450% since Tuesday's award ceremony. |archive-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208143622/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a275439/the-xx-terrified-after-mercury-win.html#~oXue91geN4crdK |url-status=live }} and 2013 winner James Blake saw a 2,500% sales increase on Amazon after he was announced as the winner of the 2013 Mercury Prize.{{cite news |last=Ellis-Petersen |first=Hannah |date=30 October 2014 |title=Young Fathers likely to be touched by unreliable magic of Mercury prize |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=After winning the 2013 prize, James Blake saw sales of his album Overgrown jump more than 2,500% on Amazon. |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207201613/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/30/young-fathers-unreliable-magic-mercury-prize |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Tina |date=1 November 2013 |title=James Blake album sales increase 2500% on Amazon since Mercury Prize win |work=Music Week |url=http://www.musicweek.com/index.php/news/read/james-blake-album-sales-increase-2500-on-amazon-since-mercury-prize-win/056599 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 December 2014 |archive-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208234331/http://www.musicweek.com/index.php/news/read/james-blake-album-sales-increase-2500-on-amazon-since-mercury-prize-win/056599 |url-status=live }} 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/press/pixie-lott-and-example-all-about-number-one/ |title=Pixie Lott and Example – all about number one! |quote=Finally, the double Mercury Award winning PJ Harvey sees Let England Shake, last week's prize winner, jump a phenomenal 151 places from last week 181 to this week's 24. |work=Official Charts |access-date=4 December 2014 |date=11 September 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628141801/http://www.officialcharts.com/press/pixie-lott-and-example-all-about-number-one/ |archive-date=28 June 2012 }}

Despite being regarded by many as highly prestigious, it has been suggested that having an album nominated for or winning the Mercury Prize could be a curse on a career in music.{{cite news | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/curse-of-the-mercury-407786.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090914185907/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/curse-of-the-mercury-407786.html| url-status = dead| archive-date = 14 September 2009| title =Curse of the Mercury|work=The Independent| quote=...the Mercury Prize has acquired a well-established reputation for destroying its winners' futures...| access-date=18 June 2009|date=14 July 2006|first=Andy|last=Gill }}{{cite news |last=Williamson |first=Nigel |date=13 July 2003 |title=Uneasy listening |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/jul/23/artsfeatures.mercuryprize2003 |url-access=registration |access-date=18 June 2009 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002145954/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/jul/23/artsfeatures.mercuryprize2003 |url-status=live }}

In 2001, the band Gorillaz requested that their eponymous debut album be withdrawn from the shortlist, with cartoon bassist Murdoc Niccals saying that winning the award would be "like carrying a dead albatross round your neck for eternity".{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2159934.stm|title=Entertainment | Mercury Prize's guessing game|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|last=Youngs|first=Ian|date=30 July 2002|access-date=10 June 2009|archive-date=5 June 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040605193004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2159934.stm|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1522766.stm|title=Gorillaz taken off Mercury list|work=BBC News|date=3 September 2001|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=4 December 2014|archive-date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803213429/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1522766.stm|url-status=live}}

All genres of music are eligible for entry, and it is stated that all are treated equally, with only the music on the album being taken into account. 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.{{cite news |last=Chrisafis |first=Angelique |date=23 July 2003 |title=Mercury prize puts black artists to the fore |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jul/23/arts.mercuryprize2003 |url-access=registration |access-date=4 December 2014 |quote=.Simon Frith, the head of the judges, yesterday rejected the age-old complaint that the Mercury shortlist featured "token" jazz, folk, classical and soul acts who do not stand a chance. "We are not tokenist, we chose the albums that are strongest," |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207200132/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jul/23/arts.mercuryprize2003 |url-status=live }} However, the presence of classical, folk and jazz recordings has been cited by some as anomalous, arguing that comparisons with the other nominees can be invidious.{{cite news |url = http://arts.guardian.co.uk/mercury2002/story/0,,795354,00.html |work = The Guardian |access-date = 10 June 2009 |date = 20 September 2002 |title = Back to basics |first = Alexis |last = Petridis |archive-date = 9 July 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080709015858/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/mercury2002/story/0,,795354,00.html |url-status = live }} Classical acts to have an album nominated have included John Tavener, Peter Maxwell Davies, Gavin Bryars and Nicholas Maw. None has ever won, and there has not been a shortlisted classical album since 2002.

The Mercury Prize also has a reputation for being awarded to outside chances rather than the favourites.{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Stephen |date=5 September 2007 |title=Amy Winehouse performs at Mercury prize |work=Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1562214/Amy-Winehouse-performs-at-Mercury-prize.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-date=9 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509030913/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1562214/Amy-Winehouse-performs-at-Mercury-prize.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2262195.stm| title=Ms Dynamite wins Mercury prize| work=BBC News| access-date=22 June 2009| date=17 September 2002| archive-date=13 August 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813003623/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2262195.stm| url-status=live}} The 1994 award winner was Elegant Slumming by the pop act M People, which some felt was a controversial decision considering the shortlist included popular albums from Britpop figureheads Paul Weller, Blur and Pulp, and electronica band The Prodigy.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4197994.stm|title=Judging music the Mercury way|work=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2009|date=2 September 2005|first=Darren|last=Waters|archive-date=5 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060605003700/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4197994.stm|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Millar |first=Anna |date=13 August 2006 |title=Why Mercury makes Isobel's blood boil at pop industry |work=The Scotsman |url=http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=940&id=1177592006 |access-date=10 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531221311/http://news.scotsman.com:80/mercurymusicprize/Why-Mercury-makes-Isobels-blood.2800886.jp |archive-date=May 31, 2009}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3077975.stm|title=Does the Mercury Prize get it right?|work=BBC News|access-date=10 June 2009|date=4 December 2003|first=Ian|last=Youngs|archive-date=20 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720020922/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3077975.stm|url-status=live}}

Other music journalists critical of the awards stated that the 2005 award should not have been given to Antony and the Johnsons for their album I Am a Bird Now as, although they are British-born and therefore eligible for the Prize, the band was based in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Barlow |first=Karen |date=26 September 2005 |title=Inaugural Australian music prize announced |url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1468509.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531014153/http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1468509.htm |archive-date=May 31, 2009 |access-date=10 June 2009 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Company}}{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4217140.stm|work = BBC News|access-date = 10 June 2009|date = 7 September 2005|title = Antony and Johnsons win Mercury|archive-date = 22 December 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061222144757/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4217140.stm|url-status = live}} In 2006, Isobel Campbell's collaboration with Mark Lanegan, Ballad of the Broken Seas, was included in the shortlist, despite Lanegan being American, as the album was eligible due to Campbell's British citizenship, while Guillemots, whose album was also shortlisted in 2006, contained band members from Brazil and Canada, although the majority were from the United Kingdom.{{Cite web | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/music_week/debate_mercuryarctics.shtml |title = Who can beat the Arctic Monkeys to win the Mercury Prize? | publisher=BBC 6 Music|access-date=10 June 2009|first=Mark|last=Sutherland}}

Current eligibility criteria state that all albums must be available to buy as a digital release in the UK. In September 2013, My Bloody Valentine vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields expressed concerns about the award in an interview with The Guardian, accusing the Mercury Prize's organisers of "banning" the band's self-released album, m b v, from the shortlist nominations and addressing the nomination criteria, which he claimed branded the album "virtually illegal".{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/13/my-bloody-valentine-slams-mercury-prize|title=My Bloody Valentine frontman slams Mercury prize list | Music|work=The Guardian|last1=Deeovy|last2=Michaels|first1=Adrian|first2=Sean|date=13 September 2013|access-date=13 September 2013|archive-date=14 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914062837/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/13/my-bloody-valentine-slams-mercury-prize|url-status=live}}

It has also been noted that heavy metal has been overlooked by the prize. A 2013 article by Vice on the Mercury Prize said "Metal certainly never gets a look-in, not even on the official entry information form: 'The Prize is open to all types of music, including pop, rock, folk, hip-hop, R'n'B, dance, soul, jazz, blues, electronica, classical…'"{{cite web |last1=Hebblethwaite |first1=Phil |last2=Marshall |first2=Alex |date=October 30, 2013 |title=Why Is Everyone at Mercury So Cagey About the Mercury Prize? |url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/questions-the-mercury-prize-dont-want-to-answer-about-the-mercury-prize |work=VICE |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=6 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206010759/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/questions-the-mercury-prize-dont-want-to-answer-about-the-mercury-prize/ |url-status=live }} The only metal record that has ever been nominated for the Mercury Prize is Troublegum by Therapy? in 1994. In 2011, Mercury chair of judges Frith said "[Metal] is a niche that a lot of people don't listen to."{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/features/five-points-for-mercury-prize-reform|title=Five Points For Mercury Prize Reform|work=Clash Magazine|first=Robin|last=Murray|date=18 November 2013|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019012041/http://www.clashmusic.com/features/five-points-for-mercury-prize-reform|url-status=live}} In 2011, The Guardian music critic Alexis Petridis agreed that the Mercury Prize underrepresented heavy metal, but argued that this actually benefitted the genre because "At least part of metal's appeal is its outsider status."{{cite web |author=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=22 July 2011 |title=Alexis Petridis on heavy metal and the Mercury prize |url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jul/22/alexis-petridis-metal-mercury-prize |access-date=8 August 2019 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808094258/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jul/22/alexis-petridis-metal-mercury-prize |url-status=live }}

Winners and shortlisted nominees

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Winner

!class="unsortable"|Shortlisted nominees

!class="unsortable"|Image

!class="unsortable"|Ref(s)

style="width:1em;" align="center"|1992
{{small|(1st)}}

|style="width:17em;"|Primal Scream – Screamadelica

Barry Adamson – {{nowrap| Soul Murder}}
Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart – {{nowrap| Rising Above Bedlam}}
The Jesus and Mary Chain – {{nowrap| Honey's Dead}}
Bheki Mseleku – Celebration
Saint Etienne – {{nowrap| Foxbase Alpha}}
Simply Red – Stars
U2 – {{nowrap| Achtung Baby}}
John Tavener and {{nowrap| Steven Isserlis}} – {{nowrap| The Protecting Veil}}
Young Disciples – {{nowrap| Road to Freedom}}

|File:Primal-Scream.jpg

|style="width:1%" align="center"|{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/rock--the-1992-mercury-music-prize-andy-gill-looks-at-the-winner-of-the-inaugural-mercury-music-prize-1550461.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/rock--the-1992-mercury-music-prize-andy-gill-looks-at-the-winner-of-the-inaugural-mercury-music-prize-1550461.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Independent|access-date=10 June 2009|date=10 September 1992|first=Andy|last=Gill|title=The 1992 Mercury Music Prize: Andy Gill looks at the winner of the inaugural Mercury Music Prize}}

align="center"|1993
{{small|(2nd)}}

| Suede – Suede

Apache Indian – No Reservations
The Auteurs – New Wave
Gavin Bryars – Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
Dina Carroll – So Close
PJ Harvey – Rid of Me
New Order – Republic
Stereo MCs – Connected
Sting – Ten Summoner's Tales
Stan Tracey – Portraits Plus

|File:Suede in Thailand new.jpg

| align="center"|{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/london_suede/artist.jhtml|publisher=MTV|access-date=10 June 2009|title=The London Suede|url-status= dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090716233503/http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/london_suede/artist.jhtml|archive-date=16 July 2009}}

align="center"|1994
{{small|(3rd)}}

| M People – Elegant Slumming

Blur – Parklife
Ian McNabb – Head Like a Rock
Shara Nelson – What Silence Knows
Michael Nyman – The Piano Concerto/MGV
The Prodigy – Music for the Jilted Generation
Pulp – His 'n' Hers
Take That – Everything Changes
Therapy? – Troublegum
Paul Weller – Wild Wood

Mercury Prize

Format and eligibility

History

Reputation

Winners and shortlisted nominees

Artists with multiple wins

Artists with multiple nominations

See also

References

External links