Best Album of the Year 2016: Mercury Prize Live Mercury Prize

Hello and welcome to the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize. We are coming

to your live from the legendary rock 'n' roll music venue, the Eventim

Apollo in Hammersmith! CHEERING

An exciting night, we are in west London with arguably one of the

biggest events in the music calendar. But it is not any old

year, it is the silver Jubilee year, it is the 25th Mercury prize. In

just under one hour we will announce this year's when a but we've got a

lot to do before them. This your's 12 albums are as always an eclectic

bunch. They cross genres and galaxies. They have been recorded

all around the globe from the Isle of Wight to LA, feature four number

ones and one posthumous nod. Let's have a quick reminder of them all

now. # Everyday is the day that you saved

me #. Ayr

# Beyond me # Beyond you #.

# In God's hands I do wait # For my love on our wedding day #.

CHEERING Survey you have it. Those were the

short listed albums of the year. Before we came on air, many of the

artists who are short listed performed for us in this very room

and you can enjoy all of those performances on the BBC I play.

Let's congratulate all of the artists short listed this year,

ladies and gentlemen. CHEERING

Some good work. During the course of this show I'm going to reveal one by

16 finalists from those 12 who are still in the running to win this

your's prize. Five of these have been chosen by the judging panel and

the other was chosen by a public vote held back in August. I can

exclusively reveal one of those finalists, a classically trained

musician, singer and Birmingham conservator graduate! Oh yes. Her

album, The Dreaming Room, is rich and seductive, with Phenomenal

Woman, please give it up for Laura Mvula!

# Nobody ever told her she was beauty

# One day she realised she was already free

# The colour in her eyes was fire rising

# She found the light inside, a new horizon

# Oh my, my, oh my, she flies # O my my, oh my, she flies

# Oh my my, oh my, she flies oh my my, oh my, she flies.

# She battled through in every kind of tribulation

# She revelled in adventure and imagination

# She never listened to no hater, liar

# Breaking boundaries and chasing fire

# O my my, oh my, she flies # Oh my my, oh my, she flies all my

my, oh my, she flies # Cause they don't know you, where

you come from or where you're going. CHEERING

The phenomenal Laura Mvula, ladies and gentlemen!

Congratulations, Laura. Brilliant stuff. Right, the tension is

mounting in Hammersmith Apollo, the keen eyed among you will see that

we've got a change of going on. How is everyone feeling on the tension

scale? Pretty tense? More excited than tens? Just ready for a Barbie,

whatever happens? Well, I can now excitingly reveal that we have

another of our six finalists in contention for the gong tonight, who

I am sharing by the way in no particular order. Our next finalist

started out on pirate radio in east London. Inspired by his DJ father's

house parties, he kept it in the family when he formed record label

By Better Know with his brother. Fast forward a few years and he

released his short listed album, Konnichiwa. With showdown, let's

hear it for Skepta! # Man's never been in

# When its shutdown # That's not me and its shutdown

# Fashion Week and its shutdown # Went to the show is sitting in the

front row # In the black tracksuit and its

shutdown # Touch the road and its shutdown

# By better know when its shutdown # Yeah, take time of the man one a

try me, no time # Usain Bolt when I run up on stage

# And pick up the mike and its reload time

# Don't know your songs but they know mine

# That's why I got gigs just like Jill Bryant

# After the show I be rolling mine # Don't care but the no smoking sign

# They tried to steal my vision # Is integral departure, it's my

# # You one act like age either the

camera # You say you're Muslim, you say

your roster # Say you don't eat pork

# Liar, you're just an actor # Blood, you're not on your dean

# And of Selassie saw you he would say

# Bled take of the red gold and green

# I better make you respect me # When you see them and am selling

at Wembley # Roll deep in a blacked out Bentley

bollard outside... # Has its shutdown

# That's not me and its shutdown # Fashion Week and its shutdown

# Went to the show sitting in the front row

# In the black tracksuit and its shutdown

# Touch the road and its shutdown # By better know when its shutdown.

# I'm in a different class # When I get through and bring my

dogs # Two by two man walked in an arc

# Sitting on the front like Rosa Parks

# Trust me you don't want to see me get dark

# Upset cause man I wake up right now

# All happened so fast # I was in Paris, shut down the Ark

# New York, shutdown Central Park # Talk about London, Frisco, we

shall I start # Shutdown

# That's not me and its shutdown # Fashion Week and its shutdown

# Went to the show sitting in the front row

# In the black tracksuit and its shutdown

# Touch the road and its shutdown # Bore a better know when its

shutdown # Yet I just shut down. Touch the

road and its shutdown # Boy better know when its shutdown

#. CHEERING

What a performance, thank you so much for that, Skepta. What a year

for him. The crowd on their feet. No settling back down. Ready to move

on, thank you, Skepta, and good luck with the wonderful Konnichiwa. Now,

before we discover who else is vying for this your's Album of the Year

let's reflect on the first 24 years of the mercury Price. It's kind of a

history of three decades of British and Irish music. We thought it would

be fun to do it alphabetically. Where shall we start? Over 25 years

285 albums have graced the Mercury short list. And the letter A seemed

advantageous. Alt-J, Antony and the Johnsons are

amongst past winners. Let us go back to the Advent prize when achtung

baby was one of the first nominees in 1992. All the luck was out for

the Irish... The multi-million seller was beaten by primal scream's

superb Aladdin Sane. Badly Drawn Boy or James Blake, or even twice

nominated Guy Barker. We have gone with Britpop, which burns so

brightly in the mid-19 90s Mercury land. Suede's electrifying debut

stormed the charts and impress the judges but in 94 and 95, the boys

and girls were nominated but missed out. But Britpop bounced back in 96

when Pulp took the accolade. We are very pleased. C is all about the

cash... No contactless cards here. With the traditional ?20,000 prize

rising since inflation, this year the winner will pocket nearly 40

grand. Is that a cheque? To celebrate the work of new artists

and over the last quarter of the century, the Mercury Prize has been

a debutante delight, 16 of the 23 different prizewinners have won with

their debut record. E is for... Elegant Slumming was the surprise

winner ahead of her. It is like a fantastic disco. And E is also for

Elbow. They were equally elated as they bagged the 2008 prize. This is

literally the best thing that has happened to us. In 2004, Fortune

favoured the fantastic Franz Ferdinand. Although F is also for

Simon Frith, the journalist and actual professor of pop has had the

unenviable task of chairing those on really Mercury judges from the

outset. Any stressful moments? Every year! In 2001, those cheeky cartoon

apes the guerrillas... Were not happy. As they became the first act

to turn down the Mercury nomination. At least Gomez were more gracious in

1998. It is ridiculous to win here. What to Pulp, Dizzee Rascal, Elbow,

Bat for Lashes and Coldplay have in common? Thank you very much! A

hat-trick of nominations. Of the 83-time nominees, two of them are in

contention this year. -- eight, three time. The first helping the

alphabetical guide to the Mercury Prize. No spoilers but more coming

up. Back to the task in hand, another new twist for the prize this

year was to allow the public to choose one of the six finalists from

the short list of 12 and I can reveal the winner of the public vote

and another contender for this year's Mercury Prize, which we will

discover in 40 minutes or so... Whatever happens, this band will

walk away with the gong for the longest album title of the year! I

Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It.

This is their second number one album, performing love me, it is The

1975. # And there's things

we'd like to change # Next thing you'll find you're

reading 'bout yourself. # Oh, well, just keep looking,

looking, looking, looking. # If that's what you

wanna do (oh, yeah) # You've been reading

'bout yourself. # Caught up in fashion

Karcrashian panache and a bag # Let's be friends and portray

we possess something important # And do the things

we like, meaning. # A decline in the standards

are what we accept # If that's what you

wanna do (oh, yeah) # Be the man that gets

'em up on their feet Thank you!

APPLAUSE Were having that! In Hammersmith!

And we will need to check that the next performance is long enough for

me to get my dustpan and brush out! The clearing up is taken care of!

Congratulations to The 1975! APPLAUSE

Enjoy rightly so. To be young again! Winners of the first ever Mercury

Prize fan vote. Well done! Were happy through to reviewing the 2016

finalists and while you ponder what Z might be for, let us pick up where

we left off. Welcome back to the ages eight, I is for I Am a Bird

Now, Antony and the Johnsons flew away with the award in 2005 and

Anthony had a unique take on the prize. It is a contest between

Orange and spaceships and a potted plant and a spoon! J is for... Jazz!

Jazz has been represented in all but six of the 25 short lists. But is

jazz jinxed? The judges are yet to give a jazz album the gong. K could

be for Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs or KT Tunstall... But if we're talking

about media moments, it can only stand for... Lauren Laverne, who

beat Amy Winehouse's back to this really is too much. -- Klaxons. L is

for a London. The awards have always been held in the capital and nine of

the 23 different winners hail from the big smoke. Including five of the

past ten factors. -- winners. M goes to Mark Morrison. He arrived at the

Mercury awards in 96 with his smashing debut album. The best song

about sexual betrayal since I heard it through the grapevine, it is that

good. The judges were not ready to crown the sulking. N is fourth 1997

and new forms. The ground-breaking album but drum and bass on the map

and went ahead of Radiohead. O is for the odds, the bookies are kept

in business, the music world equivalent of the Grand National,

the favourite could well fall before the final hurdle. They start off at

10-1, romping in... When the nominations were announced this

year, Blackstar made the front running. Do not adjust your set, P

is for pop, the Spice Girls made the short list in 97. Not the first time

the Mercury Prize had flown the flag for pure pop music, take that in 94

and it is possible it went to the head. The song is about other

people, like the Beatles, we don't flatter ourselves by comparing

ourselves to the Beatles. Q is for the Queen, PJ Harvey. The four-time

nominee is the only artist to win twice. Triumphing in 2001 with

Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, but she was unable to

attend, stuck in USA because of the terror attacks. And that the zacro

11 decade later with letting them shake. Thank you very much for this

award. Thank you for the recognition of my work. R is for Radiohead. 19

years since they were first nominated for the classic album, OK

computer and with three nominations from the subsequent six albums, they

are the most short listed band in Mercury Prize history. They have

never won the prize so will they take gold at the fifth attempt? We

will find out tonight. We will find out tonight. Now it is time to find

out who will be the next of the six finalists. We have had three of them

so three more yet to come. This year the world lost an irreplaceable

talent, an artist whose creative spirit have kept him at the cutting

edge of pop music throughout his extraordinary career, which spanned

almost half a century. David Bowie was an endlessly surprising and

inventive artist and his parting gift was no exception. Released two

days before his death, he gave us his 20th album, Blackstar. Tony

Visconti said his death was no different from his life. A work of

art. It seems fitting that David Bowie receives the first ever a

posthumous Mercury nomination. Tonight, with a special performance

of Lazarus by the star of the David Bowie musical, please welcome

Michael C Hall... APPLAUSE

# I'm so high it makes my brain whirl

Think you very much indeed, Michael C Hall, with that special

performance of Lazarus from David Bowie's album, Blackstar. Two more

finalists left to Le Mans, the first is a bad about height of their

powers and this year the most short listed artist in the 25 year history

of the Mercury Prize. They cannot be here tonight but they've filmed a

special performance shot by none other than Hollywood director Paul

Thomas Anderson, from their album, A Moon Shaped Pool, here are

Radiohead, performing a special version of Present Tense.

# I won't turn around when the penny drops

CHEERING Thank you Jonny and Thom of that

performance of Present Tends from A Moon Shaped Pool. They have now

reached the last of our finalists very much in the running for the

Mercury Prize this year. Love Hate was accorded between Los Angeles and

the Isle of Wight, the second album by this artist and his second time

on the Mercury Prize short list, performing the title track from his

album, Love Hate, here is Michael Q Aluko. -- Michael Kiwanuka.

# Calling all the people here to see the show

# Calling for my demons now to let me go

# I need something, give me something wonderful

# She won't take me somewhere I'm not supposed to be

# You can't steal the things that God has given me

# No more pain and no more shame and misery

# How much more are we supposed to tolerate

# Can you see there's more to me than my mistakes

# Sometimes I get this feeling, makes me hesitate

# She won't take me somewhere I'm not supposed to be

# You can't steal the things that God has given me

# No more pain and no more shame and misery.

# And now I feel some days of trouble

# Calling all the people here to see the show

# Calling all my demons now to let me go

# I need something to give me something wonderful

Fantastic stuff, first ever session on my radio show, thank you very

much Michael Kiwanuka with the brilliant Love Hate. We know that

you've all been waiting to see how we have dealt with this difficult

end of the alphabet letters. Wait no longer is the final part of our a to

Z. S is for all things speech. Starting with Speech Debelle was the

shock win in 2009. And then the other speeches. I really honestly

haven't got much to say. I've never speechless. I can't believe I've

actually won this. We both want to thank our parents, thank you for not

making us get jobs. Thank you so much, Mike Brown 's over there. --

my Gran 's over there. One talent tapped his way to the trophy at the

turn of the century and his unexpected triumph came at the

expense of blur, and the manic Street preachers. Bargain bin at the

game. U could be for urban hymns all for underworld but we are going with

Underground. When Dizzee Rascal was the winner aged 18 and he brought

grime out of the East London underground and exposed it to the

mainstream. This is for every underground pirate radio station,

every underground DJ, just do your thing. V is the violins and

virtuosos. The awards have regularly supported both classical music and

folk although there is yet to be a winner from either genre.

Artic monkeys waltzed away with the prize, giving the prize is one of

the greatest one-liners. Somebody call 999! And this is the only

Mercury winning album ever to feature not one but two number one

singles. X can only be for The xx, the South London Trio delighting the

judges in 2010 with a delicately self titled debut. Y is for the

young guns, just on the youngest ever nominee at 17. Dizzee Rascal is

the youngest winner, Jake Bugg was 19,. Silk was also. Adele was a

relative bedroom by the time she gets her first nomination. Finally,

z is for zeitgeist, each year the short list represents the sound of

the year in British and Irish music with some amazing records on the

list, we will soon find out which will be record of the year in this

25th year of the prize. What a mercurial history the Mercury Prize

has had, no more so than the remarkable events of 2015 when the

winner, a you face whose victory that some people speechless,

including himself, invited all of his fellow short listed artists on

stage to join him in memory of the victims of the Bataclan terrorist

attack. While we wait with bated breath for tonight's winner to be

revealed, we have a very special performance that celebrates last's

winner, back with a view song, please welcome the winner of the

2015 Mercury Prize, Benjamin Clementina.

-- Clementine. # Somewhere beyond the iron fence.

# A man must know glimpse... They say you must become the animal. #

Are good, good animal, so we go to war. # I do agree. # That men are

purely evil. # But whereas some are born with a spoon in their mouth,

others are nurtured with a bullet in your hands. Use they say you must

become an animal for the animal... The good, good animal. # And so, we

go to war. # Taste fruits of fear

in the depths of my own sorrow # Hasn't been near to me... Thank

you. APPLAUSE

Thank you very much, the spellbinding talent of Benjamin

Clementine, last's winner. We're getting closer, the prize is judged

by a panel of influential music industry movers and shakers, they

are a motley crew of journalists, broadcasters, previous short listed

artists and even a Mercury Prize winner. Since earlier this evening

they have been locked in a secret room downstairs deliberating this

important decision so we popped in to test the temperature just before

their discussions began in earnest. In this room they will decide the

winner of the Mercury Music Prize 2016. I want a voice that speaks to

me and tells me something, almost like I am having a conversation, and

that was a good thing this year, to listen to these records because

people go on about these industries, dying or dead and we have to

resuscitate it... But I got really involved with a lot of the records

so I would say the art of conversation is not dead. We are all

music fans and that is the most important thing, you cannot see

anyone is an expert, no one can say this music is better than anything

else but when you get passionate music fans you can decide on

something and hold it up and say, this is great. This is the good side

of democracy. They talk about it and I do not know if we will have a

unanimous decision but I hope everybody will be happy. It will be

an interesting discussion, I love talking about music, it is what I

do, I like to sit with like-minded people and discuss music without

coming to blows! I hope not, because these hands are registered lethal

weapons! We shovelled on the winner... -- we shall vote. There

you have it. The judges, some -- some good years in that room. We are

about to discover what they concluded that firstly, we can look

back at all six finalists as revealed tonight... # She flies...

# I'm a black man in a white world... # Beyond me... # Beyond...

# I'm a Blackstar... # I know this sounds... I love when you are

lined... -- around. Using macro in a black track-side and he is shot

down. There you have it, the six finalists

for this year's Mercury Prize but of course there were 12 short listed

albums and you can enjoy performances from of them on the BBC

iPlayer. The moment has come, it is time to reveal the Mercury Prize

2016 winner... APPLAUSE

I know! I'm going to give this honour to the musician who is no

stranger to these awards. This year he is a judge, he has three short

list mentions under his belt and he won this award with his band, Pulp,

in 1996. 2% this year's prize, please welcome... Jarvis Cocker!

APPLAUSE -- to present.

Hello! Come on, I have not been out for a while- hello! I have the

result here. I have to tell you a little bit of a story before I can

let you know who is inside. Myself and my fellow jurors, sat over

there, hello, about four months ago, we started off with 223 albums. And

we had to listen to those and that was whittled down to the 12 you have

seen performances from tonight. In the end, the winner, who was in

here, it came down to a contest between two black stars.

And we decided... Are you listening? We as a jury decided... That's...

Shut up! , on! We as a jury decided... That if David Bowie was

looking down on the Hammersmith Apollo tonight... And let us face

it, maybe he has... We have seen traces of his influence in many of

the bands we have seen tonight... If he was looking down at the

Hammersmith Apollo tonight... He would want the 2016 and I Mercury

Prize to go to... -- Hyundai. Skepta!

APPLAUSE Can't Skepta come to the stage,

please? APPLAUSE

Come on, Skepta. Get up your! -- get up your!

Get up here! APPLAUSE

Yeah! Yeah! Thank you, thank you.

APPLAUSE Man!

APPLAUSE The start, the person on the

microphone always gets seen first of all and I want to say thank you to

everyone who made Konnichiwa happen. APPLAUSE

For everybody who knows what it takes to put an album together, it

is so much more than making the music, everybody who was there for

me and others going through depressed times, rest in peace

Spenc. Everybody who makes this show work, Spence... I'm going to say

thank you to Grace, Sam, Jake... Toby Smith. Angelic, for letting

record. The smoke out of his studio and house! I don't know, I am just

so thankful, I have been trying to do this music stuff and worker died

for so long, it was the moment where I was, like, yo, let us do this for

ourselves, the family, all the songs we have travelled the world, no

record label, we just travelled the world...

APPLAUSE And yeah, we just did this for us

but the love is very appreciated, I love you bro, for life, bro. We did

it. And lastly, my mum and dad... And... INAUDIBLE.

APPLAUSE And... All my friends' mums and

dads... Because, yeah, they gave was that voice in our head that is

talking to keep us in line and in check. Thank you very much,

everybody else who was nominated, we are all winners today, we all get to

take the trophy home, or blessings and love and support...

APPLAUSE Konnichiwa! Getting ready to perform

for us right now... Absolutely brilliant! Put your hands

together for Skepta, everybody! APPLAUSE

I don't know what to say, let's get some music.

Let's have a celebration! Big shout out to everybody who

supports us. Rest in peace David Bowie and Amy Winehouse. # Trust no

one... # I get money for the gang. # He told me he was a big fan... # And

you socialise with the group and a gang.

# Talk to my accountants... You and I have got different plans... #

Yeah! APPLAUSE

Big shout out to Emma. like you just come from church

Better do your research # You don't wanna hear my verse

come after your verse # MCs act brand new cause they got

a little money in their purse # Had a few big songs

over the years? # Back then you was a real Top Boy

But right now fam, nobody cares # I don't know why man's callin' me

family all of a sudden # Like hmm, my mum don't

know your mum Stop telling # I got day ones and I got new ones

No fake ones, trust no one # It's Boy Better Know 'til I die

Tryna run up in the bank # like Bonnie and Clyde Cause Man

get money with the gang # Man get girls with the gang Man

eat food with the gang # Man talk slang to the feds Can't

work out what I just said to a man # Told me you was a big fan

but the first thing you said # when you saw me is "Can I get

a pic for the gram?" # I was like "Nah, sorry man" I only

socialize with the crew and the gang Make some noise! Thank you very

much. It's been an amazing night, make sure you enjoy the rest of it.

I love you. Benji, I love you. Wow! APPLAUSE