"Somebody call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed"

So, they won it. Not the album I would have picked, I must add, but not entirely undeserving I think. What's the point in even trying to argue the toss over what the best record of the year is anyway? Sure, you can have an opinion, but you're rarely going to get a whole panel of people to agree on just one album. Which makes the whole Mercury Prize thing a bit of a nonsense really.

The actual ceremony (televised on BBC4) was a bit on the dry side too. Jools Holland was the compere, a man who it's impossible to really dislike, but who you wouldn't particularly want to be stuck in a lift with. There were performances from some of the nominees, namely Editors (a bit rubbish), Hot Chip (also a bit rubbish, but I'll let them off this once), Guillemots (spirited, but Fyfe Dangerfield reminded me of Noddy Holder having an epileptic fit in that top hat), Zoe Rahman (one word; teeth), Richard Hawley (lovely), Scritti Politti (equally lovely), Sway (lively) and Thom Yorke (spellbinding).

Anyway, my streak of being able to predict the winner came to a halt this year, as these guys won:

Arctic Monkeys - From The Ritz To The Rubble (mp3)

I thought this guy would have won:

Richard Hawley - Just Like The Rain (mp3)

And I really wanted these guys to win:

Hot Chip - The Warning (mp3)

So I guess what this tells me is that you shouldn't ask me for tips on who will win the Mercury Prize. Next year? I'm going to stick my neck out and say iLiKETRAiNS. Check back in a year to see if I'm right.

In the meantime, have a look-see if you agree they have the potential.

iLiKETRAiNS - The Beeching Report (mp3)

JMx