The Mercury Prize was won last night by Leeds band English Teacher for their debut album This Could Be Texas.
It’s the first time an act from outside the capital have won for a decade and the first guitar band to take home the prize since Wolf Alice in 2018, a sign of the renewed health of the independent sector.
Judges commended the album “for its originality and character” and said that its “winning lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation, alongside a subtle way of wearing its musical innovations lightly, displays a fresh approach to the traditional guitar band format.”
English Teacher were distinct outsiders on the night though with a profile nowhere near as big as the bookies’ favourite Charli XCX or the much-praised Last Dinner Party.
The band looked genuinely gobsmacked as they accepted the award at Abbey Road Studios last night. Vocalist Lily Fontaine just said ‘Look, Mum’ and explained they hadn’t expected to win. “We didn’t really plan this far," she said. "We just thought we’d make a band.
"What do we do now?”
Later the band collected themselves and were able to praise the support they’ve received from their hometown, and thanked small venues, the Hyde Park Book Club and Brudenell Social Club.
“There's real support for musicians in Leeds at the moment," said Fontaine. "Venues are willing to take on new artists and I think that's integral to the health of the scene."
When asked about breaking London’s decade-long grip on the Mercury, guitarist Lewis Whiting said: "It's kind of ridiculous. There's so much going on outside London. Plenty of places in the north have thriving scenes and produce amazing bands. It's crazy it's been going on for so long."
The band received a cheque for £25,000 and will hope that the win will boost sales of the album, which sadly these days is not a given. Gone are the days when a Mercury win instantly could break an artist in the way that, say, Elbow’s 2008 win for The Seldom Seen Kid did.
Last year’s winners Ezra Collective saw their album Where I’m Meant To Be rise to the dizzy heights of, er Number 30 in the album chart. The less said about previous winners Speech Debelle (2009) and Benjamin Clementine (2015), both of whom quickly returned to obscurity, the better.
Indeed the Mercury itself faces a precarious future. This year’s award failed to find a sponsor after their partnership with the taxi company Freenow ran out and so last night’s ceremony was very much a stripped-down affair. BPI Chief Executive Jo Twist explained to Music Week recently that: “With no sponsor, we unfortunately aren’t in a position to put on a live show this year to the high production values and standards we hold ourselves to.”
English Teacher though head to the US next week where they’re supporting Idles and have their own headlining UK tour to look forward to in November. Information on English Teacher tickets can be found here.
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