No Rock And Roll Fun

IT'S THE LAUGHING GNOME AGAINST THE SCALLIES: Mercury Music Prize nominees list has come out - with the following up for the prize (no longer sponsored by Mercury, a company which no longer exists): Who I Am - Beverley Knight
Sunshine, Hit Me - The Bees
The Coral - The Coral
Heathen - David Bowie
The Last Broadcast - Doves
Holes In The Wall - Electric Soft Parade
Night On My Side - Gemma Hayes
Soundtrack - Guy Barker
Play - Joanna MacGregor
A Little Deeper - Ms Dynamite
Run Come Save Me - Roots Manuva
Original Pirate Material - The Streets
So, a pretty typical Mercury line-up - one or two Spag Bol soundtracks (Gemma Hayes and Beverley Knight), an elder statesman (Bowie), a troika of young pups (Coral, ESP, Ms Dynamite) and the winner, which is either going to be Doves or The Streets, isn't it? The Coral's skill in getting nominated on an album which only appeared in record racks twenty four hours before the press release was printed must rate some sort of record, if nothing else.
Ananova focus on Dave's sudden return to acclaim - plus the early show of betting