Mercury Prize 2015: The shortlist

The Mercury Prize shortlist has been announced, which we'll get to a moment. But first, to celebrate the now-defunct communications company who give the name to the prize, here's a lovely video showing how they cared for their customers until they flogged them to Deutsche Telekom for about seven million quid:

So, here's the shortlist in the year that is already being called "sorry, Wolf Alice, we think it's time for one of those years the outsiders win in order to keep it exciting":

Aphex Twin: Syro
Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool
Roisin Murphy: Hairless Toys
C Duncan: Architect
ESKA: Eska
Florence + the Machine: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Ghostpoet: Shedding Skin
Benjamin Clementine: At Least for Now
Jamie xx: In Colour
Soak: Before We Forgot How to Dream
Gaz Coombes: Matador
Slaves: Are You Satisfied?

The Vaccines haven't been nominated, you'll note, but they're not bothered at all, oh no. No. Not. Remotely. Bothered. In fact, they're so not bothered, they're making sure everyone knows how unbothered they are:

Speaking to NME, [Justin Hayward] Young said: "We've never been nominated so we never expect to be."

He added: "The cafetiere-drinking, Kentish Town-dwelling, Pizza East, 6 Music listener; that's not our demographic."

To be frank, I'm not sure there's anything more Kentish Town/Pizza East than describing your fans as "our demographic", but let's set that aside.

I'm more curious about "cafetiere-drinking" - as opposed to what? Is it better to use a Nespresso machine? Do Vaccine fans only drink instant? It's a surprising insult.

Perhaps "pushing 30s, Kings College history graduate, mates-with-Mumford, relocating to a loft in New York Chinatown" might have been a more succinct way of summing up a typical Mercury Music Award target, although that may be a little close to home for Young.

What's really confusing, though, is why - if the 6Music listener isn't their demographic - why the band played live on 6Music to launch the album, and providing the network with exclusive first plats of other tracks. Perhaps they had yet to discover the delights of Aeropress at that point.

Vaccines album release schedule 'impossible to put into iCal'

The Vaccines are working on a new album. Possibly. It seems to have 'cheque's in the post' status:

Young explained to XFM that the band have already started writing the follow-up to 2012's 'Come Of Age', but that fans might have to wait a while to hear it. He commented:

"We've always written in quite a solitary manner so we've actually already started writing the next record. I kind of feel by admitting that people are going to expect it sooner than perhaps we're ready to put it out."

He added: "We're not set on releasing it any time soon. When we feel like we've made the best record we're capable of making, which is hopefully sooner rather than later, then we'll put it out and we're halfway to doing that really."

That's clear, then, they're halfway to making the best record, and it's going to be sooner rather than later, but don't expect it sooner, so it'll be coming later.

In other words: expect the release three weeks after the label loses patience.

Gordon in the morning: Mumford 'umble

You know that point in Michael Caine's career where he suddenly started wittering on about how it's great in America because nobody cares about class? That's the point Mumford And Sons have reached:

anjo player WINSTON MARSHALL said: “Class is a big issue here. And some people get picked on more than others. I think we probably do.

“I mean, it doesn’t help that we wear waistcoats and tweed the whole time.

“But there is a reverse snobbishness in England towards that sort of stuff.

“And I think that’s one of the reasons we really enjoy America, ’cos we’re classless.”

Yeah, Winston. People think you're posh boys because of the tweed. Nothing to do with you and Mumford having met at an Eton Group private school, of course.

Worth remembering here that a couple of years back, there was an attempt to drag The Vaccines into the posh band part of the venn diagram, but, despite the parents with expensive London property and the best efforts of Simon Price, the label never stuck.

Compare that with the Mumfords. They can send their footmen to the front gates all they like, displaying "We are classless" messages on gilded easels until it's time for a kitchen supper, but the sense that they'd be played in a sketch by John Cleese rather than Ronnie Corbett always hangs over them.

I don't think it's that America doesn't notice this; indeed, it's a big part of their appeal over in the US - a country which happily shoved all the guns from the Royal baby salute onto the news.

If Winston turned up with his banjo but without the accent in New York, he'd not be given Grammys and would probably be thrown onto a bus heading off to the Appalachians.

It's okay for the Mumfords to complain about how they get "picked on". They seem less interested in admitting the massive advantages their background gave them.

Venue Cymru introduces pop quiz to gain entry

Strange times at Venue Cymru, as Andy Bellis turns up, hands his tickets in, and... doesn't get to see the band.

Here's what happened to him, from his Facebook status:

We go to a Vaccines gig in Llandudno tonight, queue up for a good half hour and give our tickets at the door. Yes it seems pretty normal that, no? So we're pulled aside to get searched and all that and the security guy asks if I know the lead singer and could I name their 2 albums and some songs. I couldn't think off the top of my head so the cunts kicked us out, took the tickets off us and said we couldn't watch the band because we didn't know enough information about them..

This wasn't some sort of new hipster-test, but apparently the security at Venue Cymru using some sort of precognition to decide that Andy might be wrong 'un. Again, from Andy's timeline:

Venue Cymru was made aware that pickpockets may attempt to operate in the arena during the Vaccines gig. In order to ensure the safety and security of our customers we carried out random checks of those in the queue. As a result 6 people were refused admission and a further two people were ejected from the building. Security were working closely with the police and licensing officers throughout the evening.

Ah, how very astute, Venue Cymru - for why would anyone want to go to see a band unless they knew dozens of facts about them? Unless they'd just heard from friends they were good, or were going with someone else, or were in town and wanted to see a gig and this was the only one on, or hadn't been paying much attention to music recently but got the free Vaccines CD with this week's NME and decided they'd like to see them live before buying the album, the only possible reason would be they were pickpockets.

To be fair, I have wished sometimes that venues would only allow in people who could plausibly claim to have been following the band on stage since their first rehearsal, but that's because I'm bad at sharing.

I never thought I'd see a venue demanding completion of the NME crossword before they'd let you in, though.

The Vaccines stick up for the X Factor

The Vaccines don't have a problem with The X Factor, seeing it as part of the grand tradition of pop:

"I actually think the talent shows hark back to the '50s, '60s era of variety stuff," [Justin Young] told BBC News.

"I think they're the old fashioned way. People expect us to turn our noses up at these shows, but I think that for a lot of people it's the only opportunity they're going to get and I think it's as valid as going out playing show after show every night."

Actually, that's not really "sticking up" for The X Factor, is it? That's just going up to Leona Lewis and saying 'you're effectively the Pam Ayres of our times'.