James Blake Wins The Mercury Prize Award 2013

James Blake has just been announced as the winner of this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Prize Award.

Twelve prestigious nominees gathered within the walls of the iconic Roundhouse in Camden, London, for a celebratory evening of live music for James Blake to ultimately be crowned winner.

Although soulful singer Laura Mvula was the bookie’s favourite, she sadly missed out, proving just how unpredictable the award can be.

Established in 1992, the Mercury Prize has continued to award and give high praise to some of the greatest albums of all time, including Pulp’s ‘Different Class’ and Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’. The award has also recognised some more unknown albums. In 2009, for example, the award went to a pretty much unknown artist, Speech Debelle, who was taken aback with surprise along with her record company and the public, when she won the award.

Live performances on the night for the 2013 award ceremony came from Rudimental, Foals, Laura Mvula, Jon Hopkins, David Bowie, Villagers and Arctic Monkeys. 

Last year’s award went to Alt-J, whose album ‘An Awesome Wave’ was inexplicably original and brilliant, and by winning the award, it really proved everything that the Mercury Prize stands for.

Artists that didn’t make the list this year included My Bloody Valentine, who complained bitterly about their exclusion and London Grammar.

The full list of 2013’s nominees included, Arctic Monkeys (‘AM’), David Bowie (‘The Next Day’), Disclosure (‘Settle’), Foals (‘Holy Fire’), Jake Bugg (‘Jake Bugg’), James Blake (‘Overgrown’), Jon Hopkins (‘Immunity’), Laura Marling (‘Once I Was An Eagle’), Laura Mvula (‘Sing To The Moon’), Rudimental (‘Home’), Savages (‘Silence Yourself’) and Villagers (‘Awayland’).