The Enemy pick up award everyone's forgotten about

The XFM debut album award that was launched with a little fanfare last year has now been handed out to a winner, with The Enemy scooping the prize. Apparently they were selected by a panel of experts, rather than having the title given to them for simply remembering the thing hadn't yet been wrapped up.

The prize means The Enemy will now be able to ask their label to put a little sticker saying "Winner XFM debut album award 2007" on their jewel cases.

XFM debut album shortlist listed

The not-entirely-neccessary Debut Album Award being punted by XFM has revealed the shortlist voted for by listeners:

Air Traffic - Fractured Life
the Enemy - We’ll Live and Die in These Towns
Frank Turner - Sleep is for the Week
Kate Nash - Made of Bricks
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
the Maccabees - Colour it in
the Pigeon Detectives - Wait for Me
the Twang - Love it When I Feel Like This
the View - Hats Off to the Buskers
the Wombats - Proudly Present… a Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation

Is it just us, or has music actually felt a lot more exciting this year than that list would suggest?

XFM flatter their listener's choice, for all the world like a guest at an ambassador's party:

"We've always known that Xfm listeners have excellent taste and here is more proof," said Xfm music chief Mike Walsh.

"This is a very strong list of 10 great British debut albums and Xfm is proud to have been associated with all of them. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the judges decide is the overall winner, it will not be an easy call".

... although clearly, it's either going to be Kate Nash or the Klaxons. After all, they're not going to all the time and money and expense to give it to, say, The Wombats, garnering a small mention on page thirteen of the broadsheets when they could give the prize to Nash, and get at least a photo on the entertainment pages of the tabloids.

... and these would be the 8th most important awards

What the British music industry needs, of course, are a few more awards ceremonies - after all, this month alone there are three nights where Amy Winehouse has nothing scheduled to send her apologies to.

Into what they clearly perceive as a gap steps XFM, who are announcing their own awards ceremony:

Xfm announce the launch of their awards ceremony acknowledging the best of 2007's new music. Based around one main prize 'The Xfm British Debut Album Of The Year' the awards will take place at Camden's Koko on January 16, 2008.

Ah. So it's a mini-Mercury, then.

Xfm's managing director Nick Davidson commented,

"Xfm have been thinking of holding an awards ceremony for a while now but we wanted to make sure we got it right, ensure it has real meaning and a focus point - we have chosen 'The Xfm British Debut Album of the Year' because we know new music, inside and out.

"This awards isn't for the industry but for our listeners and the bands to acknowledge the passion and hard work that goes into a debut album. We hope it will be a great evening for everyone that attends and that the bands in the running for the award are genuinely excited by the prospect of winning it."

It's not for the industry, it's for the listeners, eh - although, strangely, timed to try fit a lean mid-winter slump for sales and, we'd imagine, for record labels advertising on XFM. Presumably that's when the listeners asked for the event to be scheduled, though, so what could XFM do, eh?