Mark SavageMusic correspondent
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CMAT has earned two consecutive Mercury nominations – for her second album Crazymad for Me, and this year’s Euro-Country
CMAT and Pulp are among the favourites to win this year’s Mercury Prize for album of the year, which will be awarded in Newcastle on Thursday.
Bookmakers say Irish singer CMAT is the front-runner with her third album, Euro-Country, which blends stories of loneliness and national identity with piercing humour.
She’s followed by former winners Pulp for their unexpected comeback album More; and Irish band Fontaines DC for Romance, which saw the alternative act cross over to the mainstream.
Other nominees for the album of the year award include pop artist PinkPantheress, singer-songwriter Jacob Alon and folk musician Martin Carthy who, at 84, is the prize’s oldest ever nominee.
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Sam Fender will return home for the award ceremony in Newcastle
This year sees the ceremony move from London to Newcastle, following in the footsteps of the Mobo awards, as part of a new partnership with Newcastle City Council and the North East Combined Authority.
It’s the first time the ceremony has taken place outside the capital since it began in 1992. Next year, the Brit Awards will also leave London, moving to Manchester.
“We’ve always had the aspiration to move the Mercury Prize, in particular, outside of London because it’s a representation of the best music of the year from across Britain and Ireland,” says Jo Twist, says chief executive of the BPI, which organises the Mercurys and the Brits.
“Celebrating that talent from all over the country was part of the thinking.”
Highlighting recent success stories from the north-east – including Brit Award winner Jade and last year’s Mercury Prize recipients English Teacher – Twist says the music industry is making a “big push” to decentralise.
“Talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t,” she says. “So it’s only right that we bring these large scale shows (outside London) to show there are opportunities within the music industry without having to move city.”
North-east ‘overlooked’
Coventry-born rapper Pa Salieu, who is also Mercury-nominated for his latest album Afrikan Alien, says the change was long overdue.
“I always heard of Mercury, growing up, but it seemed so far away, out of reach,” he says.
“So I think the Mercury Prize should be in Coventry, in Birmingham. It should move like a tour. Let the youth feel heard.”
In Newcastle, the build-up to the ceremony has included a week of fringe events, including concerts from local artists and workshops for newcomers looking for their break.
Among the performers is 29-year-old Finn Forster, from Teesside, who’s gone from playing pubs to supporting Stereophonics on their recent European tour.
Mercury fringe events to ‘inspire next generation’He says he’s “super grateful for how much the music industry is taking a step outside of London and the major cities”.
“The north-east has been overlooked for so long,” he says. “Everyone’s incredibly proud about the fact the Mercury is coming – and there’s such a high calibre of people performing at the fringe.”
Thursday’s ceremony will be held at the Utilita Arena, hosted by Sunderland native Lauren Laverne, with performances from nine of the 12 nominees.
The 12 nominated albums are:
CMAT – Euro-CountryEmma-Jean Thackray – WeirdoFKA Twigs – EusexuaFontaines DC – RomanceJacob Alon – In LimerenceJoe Webb – Hamstrings and HurricanesMartin Carthy – Transform Me Then Into a FishPa Salieu – Afrikan AlienPinkPantheress – Fancy ThatPulp – MoreSam Fender – People WatchingWolf Alice – The ClearingFull coverage will be available on BBC television, BBC Sounds, Radio 6 Music and BBC News.
