Benjamin Clementine wins the Mercury Prize

Summary

The winner may have been announced, but you can watch the ceremony, as well as exclusive performances from the shortlisted artists, by clicking on the live coverage tab

Live Reporting

That's all from us...published at 22:54
... But we've got loads more #MercuryPrize content for you to enjoy.
- Tom Ravenscroft is live until midnight on BBC Radio 6 Music. Listen to hiswinner's interview with Benjamin Clementine.
- Live performances from Ghostpoet, SOAK, Gaz Coombes and C Duncan can befound on BBC iPlayer and in the live coverage tab above
- You can also watchWolf AliceandJamie xxin the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge
Thanks for watching and sending us your comments. We'll be back for theBBC Music Awards on 10th December - until then, you can find loads of amazing performances on theBBC Music website.
Image caption,
Benjamin Clementine on the red carpet
Some final tweets before we say goodbyepublished at 22:47
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Clementine catches up with Tom Ravenscroftpublished at 22:45
Quote Message
I just can't believe it... I always wanted to be nominated, but I didn't think to myself that I'd win it. I always made a joke about it!
Benjamin Clementine
Tom Ravenscroft grabbed a chat with Clementine (once he'd had a moment to let the news sink in). He plans on celebrating by 'dancing a little bit' and giving everyone lots of hugs. You can hear their conversation in the clip below.
A classic Benjamin Clementine performancepublished at 22:41
Back in January 2015, freshly crowned Mercury Prize winner Clementine stunned the artists and audience alike at Later... with Jools Holland as he performed Cornerstone.
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Stay tuned for more Mercury Prize magicpublished at 22:37
Tom Ravenscroft is live on BBC 6 Music until midnight, while right now on BBC Four you can watch performances from former Mercury Prize winners.
You can enjoy both by clicking on the live coverage tab above, where you'll also find performances from the shortlist
Your reactions to the 24th Mercury Prize recipentpublished at 22:35
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How has the Mercury Prize changed since 1992?published at 22:33
As Benjamin Clementine is announced as the 24th winner, Simon Frith explains why it still matters
24 years is a long time in the music industry. Over these years, we've seen the move from cassette tapes to CD, to digital-only formats and music streaming. Despite these changes (which includes the unexpected resurgence of vinyl releases), the album - and artists' desire to make one - still endures.
With this in mind, has the Mercury Prize had to adapt with the rest of the music industry? Simon Frith, chair of the judging panel, thinks not.
Quote Message
I don't think the Prize has changed very much. I think the original shortlist was 10 and now it's 12, but the main thing is how the music industry has changed. When we started, people had to go into a shop to listen [to the shortlist], and now with digital they can instantly stream it.
Simon Frith on how the Mercury Prize has changed
The award is one that is still very much on the minds of British and Irish musicians, given the spotlight it can give to newer acts, and the prestige it can bestow on more established acts.
Quote Message
We've been constantly told over the last 10 to 15 years that the album is dead, and every year we get more albums entered and more albums are released, so something funny's going on! Albums still matter, and that's why we still go on mattering.
Simon Frith on whether the Mercury Prize is still relevant
Benjamin Clementine prepares to play againpublished at 22:30
It's an emotional time for Clementine, who found his musical identity on the streets of Paris. He takes a moment to honour last week's tragic events in France, before returning to his piano.
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A winner's speechpublished at 22:28
Quote Message
I'd like to thank music, thank my great friend and manager Peter Hall, Mike Smith... I've forgotten names now! Everybody... I can't believe I've actually won this, I really can't! I'd like to say if there's anyone watching, a child, a student, just go out there and get what you want to get."
Benjamin Clementine
And the winner is... Benjamin Clementine!published at 22:25
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Deep breathpublished at 22:24
The winner is about to be announced...
What does being shortlisted mean for an artist?published at 22:24
The act that wins tonight will be crowned the Mercury Prize Album of the Year 2015 and take home a cheque for £20,000. The 11 acts that do not win however, are unlikely to be too disappointed, given the benefits of being highlighted on the annual shortlist.
Quote Message
One of the things I like about the Prize is that we have all sorts of artists and all stages of their career. People who are new or specialist, like folk or jazz, get their name in front of people who haven't heard of them. It makes a huge difference - particularly for live concerts. People who are big acts already and don't really need to tell people they exist, the thing is does for them is the prestige.
Simon Frith on the wide range of artists shortlisted each year
Successful artists such as Adele and Amy Winehouse were nominated with both their debut and breakout albums - meaning they were more inclined to return to perform for the Mercury Prize audience. "Musicians love it because I think it's about the music and not sales figures," Panel chairman Simon Frith reckons.
"It never works the way you expect it to"published at 22:24
Simon Frith, chair of the judging panel, has the tricky job of leading his panel of music industry experts, journalists and DJs to a decision. But don't ask him how he expects tonight's debate to end - firstly, the discussions of the panel are always kept top secret, and secondly, he's pretty sure he'd be proved wrong anyway...
Quote Message
People could ask me to predict what will happen and I would be 95 percent sure to be wrong because you can't tell, even after the shortlist meeting, what people are going to think after they listen. So sometimes meetings have gone right to the wire and people have been arguing right to the very end, and other times [the winner has] emerged quite quickly. It never works the way you expect it to.
Simon Frith
"Will my favourite win? Who knows!"published at 22:23
What's it like to get the phone call of duty and join the Mercury Prize panel?
2015 judge MistaJam and his fellow panelists have already whittled down over 290 albums to the 12-strong shortlist, and tonight they'll pick the overall winner.
In this video, the BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ explains what you can expect tonight, and whether he's managed to decide who he thinks should take the £20,000 prize money home.
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- Newsbeat explains why musicians love the Mercury Prize
- Catch up with MistaJam on BBC Radio 1Xtra and BBC iPlayer Radio
"I remember one year I compared albums to a relationship"published at 22:22
Former Mercury Prize panel member Janice Long can currently be heard presenting After Midnight on BBC Radio 2. Here, she explains what it's like to be part of a very prestigious award.
Quote Message
The final moments of the judging are filled with passion and heated debate. Each judge will have listened over and over to all of the nominations. I used to walk the streets of Clapham, headphones on and vigorously make notes on each one. On that final day of judging I knew exactly what I was going to fight for. It really was down to the last minute. It had nothing to do with performance. It had to be the best album of an incredible bunch.
Image caption,
Radio 2 presenter Janice Long
Quote Message
I remember one year I compared albums to a relationship. Maybe a one night stand for me, or great to have around. My winner was one that I would live and spend the rest of my life with. (This is a very polite version!) Nobody 'elbowed' me.
Flashback Fridaypublished at 22:21
Head back to 2006 with the Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys scooped the Mercury Prize for Album of the Year Award in 2006, memorably celebrating fellow nominee Richard Hawley's shortlisted album Coles Corner as they picked up their trophy.
Quote Message
Somebody call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed!
Arctic Monkeys Singer Alex Turner picks up the Mercury Prize in 2006
Winning record Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was already a massive success by time of the band's win, but the band's popularity couldn't overshadow what would become one of the most critically acclaimed rock albums of the decade.
The Arctic Monkeys' second release Favourite Worst Nightmare and most recent LP AM, were also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, in 2007 and 2013 respectively - so if the band maintain their notoriously consistent form, future records may well see them back on the Mercury Prize stage.
You can watch performances from Mercury Prize recipients on the BBC at 22:30 tonight on BBC Four, and by clicking the live coverage tab at the same time on this page.
What did you think of Roisin Murphy's amazing show?published at 22:20
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Spotlight on... Ghostpoetpublished at 22:20
This isn’t the first time Ghostpoet, AKA Obaro Ejimiwe, has found himself in the Mercury Prize line-up. Since his last appearance (with the critically-acclaimed debut Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam), Ejimiwe's sound has taken an unmistakable turn, moving from sparse electronica to guitar-supported, ambitious band-led music. But as always, at the centre of Ejimiwe's songs is his contemplative poetry.
The Clash predicted in an early review of Shedding Skin, Ejimiwe's shortlisted album, that the Mercury Prize could come calling, and DIY Mag believes that his sense of conviction on record could make him unstoppable.
Quote Message
The record is alive. It has punch, guts, heart, all the things you would hope for really, whilst at the same time maintaining the central potency of what made Ghostpoet so great in the first place: that voice, delivering paeans to lost love and the reality of life like really no-one else can.
Haydon Spenceley, Drowned in Sound
Read the reviews in full:
"It's a really good example of Ghostpoet at his absolute best"published at 22:19
Gemma Cairney has her fingers crossed for Ghostpoet
Are you crossing everything like Gemma for Ghostpoet tonight? Contemplate why you want him to take the prize using the hashtag #MercuryPrize.
Quote Message
This particular album takes a while to fill your brain. It's quite surreal and cerebrally conscious
Gemma Cairney on Shedding Skin
Spotlight on... SOAKpublished at 20:18
At only 19, Northern Irish singer songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson, who performs as SOAK, is the youngest artist on the Mercury Prize shortlist, for her debut album Before We Forgot How to Dream. She wrote signature song Sea Creatures aged 13, emerging onto Derry's live music scene a year later.
Championed by BBC Introducing, SOAK's delicate, alternative take on the theme of coming of age appeals to a much wider audience than her peers. Clash Music calls her debut 'irreverent, observational and soulful', and DIY heralds her 'potent and distinct voice'.
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It's a polished debut, but what's most interesting about it lurks beneath that shine. Monds-Watson writes like she's ready to fall in love and get her heart broken a hundred times over—like she's hungry to feel everything the way a lot of 18-year-olds are hungry to feel everything.
Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork
Quote Message
In a time where linguists believe it may be the emoticon which becomes the picture that paints a thousand words, SOAK manipulates words to mean more than they typically convey
George Meixner, The Line of Best Fit
Read the reviews in full: