Mercury Prize 2012: Plan B And Richard Hawley Favourite For Album Of The Year As Shortlist Is Revealed

MERCURY: Plan B Favourite For Album Of The Year
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Plan B's chart-topping soundtrack to the film Ill Manors has been nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.

The rapper is joined by Sheffield singer Richard Hawley with his sixth album Standing at the Sky's Edge, as joint favourite to scoop the highly coveted music gong, according to William Hill betting odds.

The full list of artists nominated for the award, which recognises and celebrates music in the UK and has a reputation for highlighting both new talent and more established bands and artists, is below...

The 2012 Albums of the Year are:

  • Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
  • Ben Howard - Every Kingdom
  • Django Django - Django Django
  • Field Music - Plumb
  • Jessie Ware - Devotion
  • Lianne La Havas - Is Your Love Big Enough?
  • Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again
  • Plan B - Ill Manors
  • Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky’s Edge
  • Roller Trio - Roller Trio
  • Sam Lee - Ground of its Own
  • The Maccabees - Given to the Wild

The shortlist of 12 Albums of the Year is chosen by an independent judging panel and "provides a snapshot of the year in music, recognising artistic achievement across a range of music genres".

The announcement was made by presenter and broadcaster Lauren Laverne at London's The Hospital Club on Wednesday.

Simon Frith, Chair of Judges, said: “There are eight debut albums on the list and four albums from more established artists.

"The sheer range of music here celebrates the abiding ability of British musicians to find new ways to explore traditional themes of love and loss while making an exhilarating soundtrack for life in 2012.”

Last year, PJ Harvey pipped Adele to the Mercury Prize with her hit album Let England Shake, making her the only artist to have won the award on more than one occasion (in 2001 and 2011).

The overall winner of the 2012 Prize will be decided and announced at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards Show at the Roundhouse, London, on Thursday 1 November.

PHOTOS: The nominated artists...

Mercury Prize
Lianne La Havas (01 of10)
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Lianne La Havas (Photo by Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images for Alice + Olivia) (credit:Getty Images)
The Maccabees(02 of10)
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Orlando Weeks of The Maccabees performs on stage at Rock City in Nottingham. (credit:PA)
Sam Lee(03 of10)
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Sam Lee attends the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Nominations Launch at The Hospital Club on September 12, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Richard Hawley(04 of10)
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Richard Hawley performing at the Latitude festival in Southwold, Suffolk. (credit:PA)
Plan B(05 of10)
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Plan B performing at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London, as part of the iTunes Festival. (credit:PA)
Michael Kiwanuka(06 of10)
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Michael Kiwanuka performs live on stage at Bestival 2012 (credit:PA)
Jessie Ware(07 of10)
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Jessie Ware performs live on stage at Bestival 2012, Robin Hill Country Park, Isle Of Wight (credit:PA)
Django Django (08 of10)
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Vincent Neff of Django Django performs on stage during Lowlands music festival on August 17, 2012 in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. (Photo by Dimitri Hakke/Redferns via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Ben Howard(09 of10)
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Ben Howard performs live on stage at Bestival 2012, Robin Hill Country Park - Isle of Wight (credit:PA)
Alt-J(10 of10)
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Joe Newman of Alt-J performing at End of the Road 2012 (credit:PA)