Globe trotting masters of melancholy Radiohead may yet have to wait another year to get their hands on the Mercury – bookies have installed dubstep guru Burial as favorite to pick up this year’s gong.
Astonishingly, Radiohead have never won the Mercury despite being one of the most critically praised acts in the history of both critics, and over the top praise. William Hill have obviously taken this into account, making mysterious dubstep producer Burial the favorite for this year’s award.
Burial remains an enigma even in the close knit dubstep scene, with very few openly admitting that they know his / her identity. Ironically, it was at one time rumoured that Burial was a Thom Yorke side project. Currently 3-1, Burial may well repeat the trick of Roni Size / Reprazent who defeated Radiohead’s seminal “OK Computer” in 1998.
The full list of nominees is:
Adele – ’19’
British Sea Power – ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’
Burial – ‘Untrue’
Elbow – ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’
Estelle – ‘Shine’
The Last Shadow Puppets – ‘The Age Of The Understatement’
Laura Marling – ‘Alas, I Cannot Swim’
Neon Neon – ‘Stainless Style’
Portico Quartet – ‘Knee-Deep In The North Sea’
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss – ‘Raising Sand’
Radiohead – ‘In Rainbows’
Rachel Unthank And The Winterset – ‘The Bairns’
