The world's biggest band Coldplay have been snubbed in the Mercury Music Awards. Instead, the nomination headlines go to Estelle, Adele and Radiohead.
They are all up for the gong, which celebrates British and Irish music. "This turns out to be a remarkably rich year for British music," says Simon Frith, Chair of Judges. "What is most striking is the continued resilience and flexibility of the album as a way of organising music-making. It remains an unrivalled source of musical invention and imagination, a way of linking songs, exploring themes and developing sounds that is endlessly thrilling, surprising and worth celebration.”
The Nationwide Mercury Prize celebrates the year in music. The shortlist, chosen from an entry of over 240 albums by UK artists, was announced by Lauren Lauren at Covent Garden’s The Hospital Club, the club for the creative industries. The winner of this year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize will be announced live on BBC Two on Tuesday 9 September 2008 as part of the BBC’s coverage of the Awards Show.
A second programme on BBC Two will be broadcast on Friday 12 September. The programmes will be presented by Lauren Laverne, with the Awards Show itself hosted by Jools Holland.
The 2008 Albums of the Year nominated are:
Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid (Fiction/ Polydor)
Radiohead, In Rainbows (XL Recordings)
British Sea Power, Do You Like Rock Music (Rough Trade/ Beggars Group)
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand (Decca/ Rounder)
Burial, Untrue (Hyperdub)
Estelle - Shine (Atlantic)
Adele – 19 (XL Recordings)
Laura Marling – Alas I Cannot Swim (Virgin/ EMI)
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns (EMI)
Neon Neon – Stainless Style (Lex)
Portico Quartet – Knee Deep In The North Sea - (Vortex)
The Last Shadow Puppets – The Age Of The Understatement (Domino)
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