English Teacher wins Mercury Prize for debut album 'This Could Be Texas'
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) -Rock band English Teacher won the Mercury Prize for its debut album "This Could Be Texas" on Thursday, beating the likes of singer-songwriter Charli XCX and rapper Ghetts for the British music award.
The four band members - singer Lily Fontaine, guitarist Lewis Whiting, bass player Nicholas Eden and drummer Douglas Frost - were visibly shocked as they stepped on stage at Abbey Road Studios in London to collect the prize.
"We just thought we'd make a band," Fontaine told the audience, before she and her bandmates gave out their thanks.
The Leeds group, which formed in 2020, released "This Could Be Texas" in April to critical acclaim. Judges said the record stood out for "its originality and character", describing it as "a lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation... (revealing) new depths and textures on each listen".
First handed out to rockers Primal Scream in 1992, the annual Mercury prize shortlists 12 albums released by British and Irish acts in the United Kingdom in the past year with the winner taking home 25,000 pounds ($32,942).
Considered less mainstream than Britain's pop music honours the BRIT Awards, the Mercury Prize is open to all music genres.
This year, eight of the nominated titles were debut albums, including "Prelude to Ecstasy" by indie rock band The Last Dinner Party, "Early Twenties" by British-Liberian singer Cat Burns and "When Will We Land?" by Scottish electronic producer and DJ Barry Can't Swim.
Other contenders included Ghetts for his fourth studio album "On Purpose, with Purpose" and Charli XCX's "Brat", which inspired a cultural phenomenon over the summer and had been considered favourite to win at Thursday's ceremony.
The record's lime green album cover look was even adopted by U.S. presidential hopeful Kamala Harris' campaign for her "Kamala HQ" social media account after the singer referenced her in a post in July.
Last year, Ezra Collective won for "Where I'm Meant to Be", the first jazz album to scoop the award. Past winners include rapper Little Simz, singer Arlo Parks and rockers Arctic Monkeys.
($1 = 0.7589 pounds)
Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Bill Berkrot
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