Second-time winner
Singer PJ Harvey has walked away with this year’s Mercury Music Prize for her album Let England Shake, beating the likes of Adele, Katy B and Tinie Tempah.
It’s the second time the star – whose full name is Polly Jean Harvey – has been awarded the prestigious award, previously picking it up in 2001 for her record Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea.
In her acceptance speech, Harvey thanked the judging panel and also acknowledged the difficult circumstances surrounding her 2001 win, saying:
“First of all, I’d like to thank you very much for this award. Thanks for the recognition for my work on this album.
“It’s really good to be here, especially as when I last won on September 11, 2001, I was in Washington watching the Pentagon burning from a hotel window. So much has happened since then.
“This album had taken me a long time to write, and was very important to me. I wanted to make something that was meaningful, not just for me but for other people.”
The Mercury Prize is voted for by a panel of music executives and industry experts, with previous recipients including Elbow, Primal Scream, Arctic Monkeys and The XX.
