Mercury Prize Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

A new report by BPI has revealed that nearly 2/3s of the biggest releases by domestic UK artists in 2021 came from acts born outside of London. 

Rina Sawayama has announced that she will release her second album, ‘Hold The Girl’, later this year.The announcement comes after the musician began sharing imagery proclaiming that “Rina Is Going To Hell”, while also wiping her Instagram account, in recent days. Now she’s announced that the album will be out on 2 Sep, sharing a 40 second trailer with some snippets of the new music.‘Hold The Girl’ follows her acclaimed 2020 debut album ‘Sawayama’, which sparked controversy around the eligibility rules for the Mercury Prize, after it was not – as had been widely expected – included in the shortlist for that year’s edition of the award.

Hard-Fi‘s upcoming London reunion show sold out in just 10 minutes after tickets went on sale this morning (April 29).As announced last weekend, the Staines band will perform their first gig since 2014 at the O2 Forum Kentish Town on October 1, 2022. It’ll mark the belated 15th anniversary of their 2005 debut album, ‘Stars Of CCTV’.Tickets for the performance went live at 10am BST following an O2 pre-sale on Wednesday (April 27).

Hard-Fi have revealed that they will be making an announcement later today (April 24).In a clip shared on social media, Hard-Fi confirm that they will be going live here at 6:30pm tonight with a “big announcement”.The video also displays the cover art for their 2005 debut album ‘Stars of CCTV’ alongside a date – 1st October 2022. Check it out below.A post shared by Hard-Fi (@hardfiofficial) It comes as a few weeks ago, a series of posters appeared over London with the same information, with fans jumping to the conclusion that Hard-Fi were teasing an anniversary gig.Those posters appeared after a series of not-so-cryptic Instagram posts.

RELEASESWill Young has released new single ‘Why Does It Hurt’, which is set to feature on his new greatest hits compilation marking 20 years since he won ‘Pop Idol’. He will also be touring to mark the anniversary in October and November.Belle And Sebastian have released new single ‘Young And Stupid’. Their new album, ‘A Bit Of Previous’, is out on 6 May.Pussy Riot and Slayyyter have teamed up for new single ‘Hatefuck’.

Alt J have today (April 14) unveiled details of a one-off anniversary show at Brixton Academy.The gig will be a special one-off live performance of their 2012 debut album, ‘An Awesome Wave’, which went on to win the Mercury Prize.The band will be playing the album in full along with some “bonus tracks” at London’s O2 Brixton Academy on May 17. Tickets are on sale here next Friday (April 22) at 10am.The show is to take place during the band’s run at O2 Brixton Academy in support of their fourth and most recent album, ‘The Dream’.Speaking about the special gig, the band said: “To celebrate the ten year anniversary of the album that changed our lives, we are thrilled to announce an extra show at Brixton Academy where we will play An Awesome Wave in full.“We know how much this record means to our fans and can’t wait to turn back the clock to 2012 with them in London’s best venue.” Speaking to NME recently, frontman Joe Newman said that Alt-J have “never stopped celebrating our debut album”.“We’ve never stopped playing those songs live,” he added about the continued inclusion of tracks from ‘An Awesome Wave’ in their setlist.

Hard-Fi appear to be teasing a live return to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their debut studio album, ‘Stars Of CCTV’.The band released the Number One record back in 2005, and it went on to be nominated for that year’s Mercury Prize. It contains the singles ‘Hard To Beat’, ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Living For The Weekend’.Hard-Fi released two more albums – ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ (2007) and ‘Killer Sounds’ (2011) – before going on hiatus in 2014.

Mercury Prize has announced the date for this year’s ceremony.The annual event is due to return in 2022 to hand out the prestigious Album Of The Year award, which will be chosen from a shortlist of 12 nominated records from across British and Irish music.Today (April 14) it’s been confirmed that the Mercury Prize show will take place at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London on Thursday, September 8. The live event is set to feature special performances from the nominated acts.BBC Music will be providing television and radio coverage of the ceremony.This year’s Mercury Prize shortlist will be revealed on Thursday, July 28.

BPI All About The Music 2022 yearbook today (April 13). The publication is distributed free to BPI members but can also be purchased and viewed here.Figures reveal that the collective share of music consumption from independent labels including Dirty Hit, Partisan and PIAS was now at 26.9 per cent, up from 25.9 per cent in 2020 and 22.1 per cent in 2017.Indie label shares of artist album sales also grew in two years across every format, from 30.4 per cent in 2019 to 34.2 per cent in 2021.

Glass Animals have equalled a long-held US chart record with their mega-hit Heat Waves. 

Glass Animals have reached Number 1 in the US with their viral track Heat Waves, and broken an American chart record in the process. 

Clean-cut Streatham rapper who has won awards galore (the Mercury Prize, the BRITs) for his two brilliant number one albums, Psychodrama and We're All Alone in This Together. The talented musician boosts his income with a jewellery business, acting (Top Boy) and scoring music for Sir David Attenborough's Planet Earth.

Black Country, New Road have covered The Beatles classic ‘Hey Jude’ at a London gig – watch footage of the performance below.The cover came during the seven-piece band’s set as part of the Climate Music Blowout event in London last week (October 17), which included a full evening of live music, following a conference where leading UK music industry figures and artists discussed how music can play a leading role in the response to the climate emergency.At the event, the band played a completely

Hannah Peel has spoken out about the importance of inspiring more female artists to make electronic music – as well as the urgency of the music industry needing to act on climate change.

BERWYN has revealed that he’s currently “sitting on hundreds of new songs” and also has some “high-profile features” in the bag. Watch our video interview the rapper above.The Trinidad-born, Romford-raised rapper, producer, and songwriter was speaking to NME on the red carpet ahead of last week’s Mercury Prize – which he described as “one of the best days of my life”.“I don’t really know it feels,” he told NME.

NME on the red carpet of the Mercury Prize 2021, Laura Mvula told us about the rich variety of her pool of inspiration, as well as sharing advice for artists who might be up against adversity.

NME on the red carpet of the Mercury Prize 2021, Celeste revealed what fans can expect of her next album. Watch our video interview wit the singer-songwriter above.Celeste was in attendance at the London ceremony where she was nominated for her acclaimed 2021 album ‘Not Your Muse‘ – which saw her become the first British female artist in five years to score a Number One debut.

NME on the red carpet of the Mercury Prize last night (Thursday September 9), Mogwai told us about the secret to their song titles and advice to new and emerging artists.

Wolf Alice caught up with NME on the red carpet of the Mercury Prize last night (Thursday September 9), to talk about returning to playing live again and share some insight into their favourite cheeses. Watch our interview with the band above.The previous Mercury Prize winners were in attendance having been nominated for their acclaimed third album ‘Blue Weekend’.

Ghetts has spoken to NME about what went into making his Mercury-nominated album ‘Conflict Of Interest‘, as well as progress on his new material. Watch our video interview with the rapper above.Ghetts was speaking to NME on the red carpet at the Mercury Music Prize last night (September 9), where he opened up about what it meant to be among this year’s shortlisted records.“It’s such a moment for me, man,” Ghetts told NME.

Arlo Parks was last night announced as this year’s winner of the Mercury Prize for her album ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’.“It took a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get here”, she said while accepting the award. “There were moments where I wasn’t sure whether I would make it through – but I am here today, so thank you very much”.The judging panel added in a statement: “It was extremely difficult to choose a winner of the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize.

Black Country, New Road are one of 12 artists up for the Mercury Prize on Thursday night which recognises the best British album of the year. When asked by reporters on the red carpet what will they do if they win the £25,000 prize they joked: “Buy as many meal deals as that gets us.

Mercury Prize winner have been revealed, putting Arlo Parks and SAULT as favourites to walk away with the prize – see the complete list of odds below.Parks is shortlisted for her stunning debut album ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’ while SAULT are up for their fourth album ‘Untitled (Rise)’.William Hill currently have Parks at 2/1 while SAULT’s odds are 11/4.

Can you remember all 29 winning albums that took home the Mercury Prize? Refresh your memory on the big, the bold, and occasionally forgotten winners of the Mercury Prize.

We've been fans of Little Simz since her 2016 album Stillness In Wonderland. We brought her to The FADER Fort the following year, and the London rapper showed exactly why she's a favorite of everybody from Gorillaz to the Mercury Prize.

Mercury Prize awards ceremony has been announced, along with confirmation of the host.Nominees Wolf Alice, Arlo Parks, Ghetts, Celeste, Mogwai, BERWYN, Hannah Peel, Laura Mvula, Nubya Garcia and Black Country, New Road will each play a song from their shortlisted album at the ceremony held on September 9 at London’s Eventim Apollo.Lauren Laverne will return to host the ceremony again, with BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Four both broadcasting the awards ceremony live.BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Laverne

Wolf Alice played their first post-lockdown festival show at Latitude tonight (July 23).The London band showcased a host tracks from their recent album ‘Blue Weekend’ during their headline slot at Henham Park, which came a day after it was nominated for the 2021 Mercury Prize.The 35,000-capacity event, which runs until Sunday (July 25), will also see fellow headliners Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Chemical Brothers perform.Fans have taken to social media to react and post clips from Wolf

A rap superstar across the pond, London artist Dave has nabbed the 2019 Mercury Prize, a FADER profile, and yes, even a Drake remix. After a string of U.K.

Wolf Alice played their first post-lockdown show in Bournemouth last night (July 22).The band showcased a host tracks from their recent album ‘Blue Weekend’ just hours after it was nominated for the 2021 Mercury Prize.Taking to Twitter ahead of their first show since restrictions were lifted on Monday (July 19), the four-piece posted pictures from their dressing room.“We’ve just walked in to Bournemouth academy and wow it feels so good to be here the sun is shining, Johnny Haskett won’t stop

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe shortlist for the U.K.’s prestigious Mercury Prize have been announced, and includes such recent Variety favorites as indie singer-songwriter Arlo Parks (pictured above), alt-R&B outfit Sault, R&B singer Celeste and rock savants Wolf Alice, as well as instrumental vets Mogwai, rapper Ghetts and more.

Celeste has confirmed that work is underway on her second record, and her generous plans for the £25,000 prize money if she wins the Mercury Prize.The soul singer was nominated for the Mercury Prize this morning (July 22), after winning praise for her debut album ‘Not Your Muse‘.While the album has received widespread acclaim since its release at the end of January, Celeste says she’s already looking ahead to album two.“My rule with this second album which I’ve just started writing in the last

Arlo Parks, Mogwai, Ghetts, Wolf Alice and Celeste are among the names nominated for the 2021 Mercury Prize.The year’s award will be handed out at a live ceremony at the Eventim Apollo in London on September 9.Also included on the 12-strong ‘Albums Of The Year’ shortlist are the likes of Black Country, New Road, Nubya Garcia, Laura Mvula and SAULT.On this year’s list are a number of debut albums including Arlo Parks’ ‘Collapsed In Sunbeams’, Black Country, New Road’s ‘For The First Time’ and

Michael Kiwanuka has joined the judging panel for this year’s Mercury Prize.The London-based singer-songwriter won last year’s prize for third album ‘KIWANUKA’.Details of the 2021 Mercury Prize were revealed earlier this year, with a 12-strong ‘Albums of the Year’ shortlist set to be announced on BBC Radio 6 Music from 11am BST tomorrow (July 22).The 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize Awards Show will then be held at the Eventim Apollo in London on September 9.Kiwanuka joins existing judges on the panel

APPOINTMENTSLivestreaming company Driift has hired Sasha Duncan as Head Of Production. Her previous credits include managing production teams for the BBC at events including Glastonbury Festival, Reading Festival and the Mercury Prize.

DIGITAL & D2F SERVICESRemember how Spotify was dabbling with a move into hardware via a pilot device that would facilitate in-car listening called Car Thing? No? Well it was. I remember.

Mercury Prize have announced details of their plans for the 2021 ceremony.Last year’s ceremony, which saw the prestigious music prize being awarded to Michael Kiwanuka for his 2019 album ‘Kiwanuka’, was dramatically scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic.The Hyundai Mercury Prize will return in 2021, with a 12-strong ‘Albums of the Year’ shortlist set to be announced on July 22.The 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize Awards Show will then be held at the Eventim Apollo in London on September 9 –