Only a week to go and it seems that Bowie is the front runner and then some. Just had this from William Hill
William Hill can report that an astonishing 78% of all the money placed on this year’s Mercury Music Prize has been for David Bowie – in what looks like the most one-sided competition in the prizes long history. His nearest challenger is Anohni who is offered at 6/1 with Radiohead 8/1. Of the outsiders by far the most popular has been Michael Kiwanuka who is 10/1.
“We have to accept that David Bowie is going to be very hard to beat and we fully expect to lose on this year’s prize,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.
Mercury Music Prize Winner: Evens David Bowie, 6/1 Anohni, 8/1 Radiohead, 8/1 Skepta, 10/1 Michael Kiwanuka, 14/1 Laura Mvula, 16/1 Bat For Lashes, 16/1 Kano, 16/1 The 1975, 20/1 Savages, 25/1 The Comet is Coming, 33/1 Jamie Woon
Something I pointed out when the nominations were announced was that the entire shortlist this year is 100% English. Not sure if that means anything, but given that most of my favourite releases of the past 18 months have been from Scottish and Welsh artists, I’m pleased to see some of them on the Neptune shortlist.
I’ve put money down on Skepta and Kano. Everyone knows Blackstar is great and Bowie doesn’t need any more accolades, especially posthumously. The obvious choice doesn’t win that often and I think choosing a grime album would be a great way to show that the Mercury Prize can still be relevant.