This year’s Barlcaycard Mercury Prize has been won by London indie group The xx.
Released last year, The xx’s debut album ‘XX’ scooped numerous plaudits. A mixture of spidery guitar lines, processed beats and sighing vocals the band’s twilight sound soon caught hold of music fans.
Proving to be an enduring success on both sides of the Atlantic, The xx toured across Europe and North America. Losing a member in the process, the trio attended the Barclaycard Mercury Prize ceremony tonight full of hope.
Early favourites for the award, last minute betting saw a surge in favour of Paul Weller. Dizzee Rascal dropped from the bookie’s choice to a mere 40/1, which proved to be accurate with his London contemporaries waltzing away with the prize.
The xx scooped the Barclaycard Mercury Prize, with the band only recently emerging from their teens. A remarkable triumph for the London group, they will hope to avoid the Mercury curse which claimed last year’s winner Speech Debelle.
The young rapper failed to translate press coverage into sales, and accrimoniously split from label Ninja Tune. Now though, Speech Debelle has mended relations with the imprint and is working on her second album.
More to follow…
