UNITED KINGDOM: Arctic Monkeys return as hot favourites for second year running as nominations are announced for 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize

Sheffield-based band, Arctic Monkeys, look set to rewrite the UK music history books if they win the 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize for their second album, 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'. The band unanimously won the same award in 2006 for their debut album, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. The Arctic Monkeys could become the first band ever to land the Mercury Prize twice as they bid for album of the year for the second year running. The Sheffield band, who shot to fame on the Internet and broke all records with their debut album, was shortlisted again for the award on Tuesday (July 17) with "Favourite Worst Nightmare." "I think it is a measure of how strong the British music industry is at the moment, Conor McNicholas, Editor of the NME (New Musical Express) magazine told Reuters. "It shows the quality of what is coming out that you can have people that you can have people... You know like the Arctic Monkeys won on the first one, they get nominated on the second. I mean, how many bands have ever done that? Usually it is second album syndrome, but these artists, these are career artists that are coming out of this generation , I think that is something really to be celebrated." Bookmakers installed the band as 4-1 joint favourites along with Amy Winehouse for her chart-topping album "Back to Black" to land the 20,000 pound prize on September 4. The Mercury Prize judges tend to court controversy every year by picking quirky and offbeat winners rather than chart-topping blockbusters. The 2007 shortlist offers a string of new albums from New Young Pony Club's "Fantastic Playroom" to "Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford" and "Panic Prevention" by Jamie T. "To be recognised in this manner, our debut album came out last week essentially, so to be recognised so soon is amazing and I think it is going to get us into a lot more houses so they can do the vacuuming to our songs," Tahita Bulmer, vocalist for pop rock band 'New Young Pony Club', explained. Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan flew from Dublin to London and performed at the nominations press conference. "It is a heavy weight prize you know," Regan told Reuters. "It is a beacon amongst all the prizes I think and it is something when I started growing up, took very seriously." The Mercury, first awarded in 1992, usually puts the accent on music quality rather than volume of sales. In 1994, M People's "Elegant Slumming" beat competition from Blur, Pulp and The Prodigy -- much to the bafflement of the music press.

ITN Source | July 20, 2007

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