Image source, PA

Thanks for joining us tonight folks for our coverage of the 2018 Mercury Prize.

If the rest of your evening is as good as the night Joff, Ellie, Theo and Joel from Wolf Alice are about to have, then it will be a very good night indeed.

"I now know what overwhelmed feels like. I’m so overwhelmed. But it feels great" Ellie just told the BBC's Mark Savage.

As for those Jägerbombs?

"I’ve actually got diabetes but I’m going to try and do 15", added Theo.

Please drink responsibly and don't spend the entire prize pot all at once guys, we'd like to hear a third album soon.

Scroll down for all the build-up, action and reaction as it happened live and we'll see you next week with more Music News LIVE.

Until then, stay hungry like the Wolf...

Image source, Getty Images

Singer songwriter Kathryn Williams was shortlisted in 2000 for her album, Little Black Numbers, but lost out to Badly Drawn Boy on the night.

Here is what she learned from the experience.

Got that Everything Everything?

Image source, Getty Images

That's what the front of the Hammersmith Apollo in Wolf Alice's native London looks like round about now.

Surely a selfie waiting to happen.

It's proving to be a popular decision among many...

Others seem to think that bookies' fave Nadine Shah was a little unlucky to miss out though.

You can't please everyone.

Image source, PA

Singer Ellie had barely caught her breath from their closing performance only minutes before.

Now they’ve become only the seventh female-fronted Mercury Prize winners in its 27 year history.

"As if that wasn't hard enough, OK!", joked the singer - on the prize panel herself just two years ago - adding: "This means so much to pick this up with my three best friends.

"Aww I'm so nervous."

They pick up the trophy and a cool £25k.

Bass player Theo Ellis then jumped in to help Ellie out. He didn't seem nervous one bit, recalling in no uncertain terms how certain industry execs had initially cast doubts on them in the very early days.

"'You lot don't look like a band at at all'," he remembered them saying.

"'What are you? What are you supposed to be? All your songs sound different, you don't look like each other.'

"We never really figured it out but here we are, so..."

Basically, don't listen to the haters was the take home message.

He added: "He also said he didn't want to work with women who wore make up 'cos it was a bunch of fuss.'

Image source, PA

"Big up everyone who was nominated. This means the world."

He then signed off with "anyone got a Jägerbomb?"

They're now performing Don't Delete the Kisses for a second time and why not?

Well played WA - the vision is complete.

Image source, John Marshall, JM Enternational.

Difficult second album? What difficult second album?

They'd barely sat down.

Clara Amfo really teased it out before the big reveal then the cameras panned to a shocked looking Wolf Alice, as nominees Noel G and Lily A got to their feet to applaud in approval of the winners.

They were nominated once before for their debut album, My Love is Cool, in 2015.

Hammersmith Apollo must feel like the best place in the world right now.

Okay, the moment is almost here folks.

In case you'd forgotten, here is the final shortlist of 12

• Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
• Everything Everything - A Fever Dream
• Everything Is Recorded - Everything Is Recorded
• Florence & The Machine - High As Hope
• Jorja Smith - Lost & Found
• King Krule - The Ooz
• Lily Allen - No Shame
• Nadine Shah - Holiday Destination
• Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Who Built The Moon?
• Novelist - Novelist Guy
• Sons Of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile
• Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life

They may or may not take tonight's big album award for Visions of a Life but regardless Don't Delete the Kisses is certainly one of the best tunes of the last year.

Singer Ellie Rowsell went barefoot, wandering round the stage in a black dress reciting the love song word perfect.

Not long now - is their name on the trophy?

Rising grime/hip hop star Novelist gets the crowd up on their feet with Nov Wait Stop Wait from his album Novelist Guy.

He self-produced it in his bedroom in south London and to continue the domestic vibe he's also managed by him mum, who he pointed out has "managed me since birth".

So she's more than qualified.

Its been two years since fellow rapper Skepta won the prize.

"The guy with the the best smile in the biz," says Annie Mac.

Could he be smiling even more broadly in 15 minutes.

"Hypnotic and unsettling," the judges called his album, which includes samples of footsteps, foxes and footsteps.

The King, aka singer-songwriter Archy Marshall, performed Dum Surfer from his album The Ooz.

There's some Madness-esque horns, baggy wig out guitars and lots of reverb, as Archy raps away like Jamie T's younger angrier brother.

We wouldn't bet against this one walking away with the prize either.

The singer and newfound author has just stood motionless on stage under the spotlight to deliver a highly-emotionally charged yet musically lo-fi rendition of her track Apples.

The song chronicles the romantic start and then subsequent breakdown of a relationship.

Let's be honest, she's quite frankly talking about the breakdown of her marriage.

The track also sees her aim a thinly-veiled dig at her own parents, with the refrain:

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

"Stunning" said presenter Annie Mac.

A video of Lily’s old noughties indie pals the Arctic Monkeys performing new TBH+C track, One Point Perspective, live on their current tour is now being shown in lieu of their actual appearance.

Just look at that elabrotate set design. Four out of five at least from us.

Especially on this form.

In one of the most intense performances of the night, maybe of the year, Nadine Shah has belted out her track, Out the Way, from her nominated album Holiday Destination.

Dressed in black and at times singing through gritted teeth, glaring at the audience and stalking the stage like a caged panther, it's impressive stuff.

She looks on the verge of tears when she finishes.

"Incredibly passionate," says host Annie Mac.

What an understatement.

No wonder she's been talked about as the favourite.

The Manchester indie quartet looked like they were enjoying their 'meal' earlier judging by the contents of the drinks bucket in front of them and their delighted faces.

Thankfully, they left enough in the tank to deliver an energetic performance of Night of the Long Knives, the opening track from nominated album A Fever Dream.

It takes a brave man to wear a double-breasted bright orange jacket on live national telly - and that's exactly what frontman Jonathan is.

Watch above.

The 21 year-old singer has already got some big achievements under her belt, she's won a Brit, she worked with Drake and Stormzy and had a top three album.

But could she add to that haul with a Mercury Prize later?

She just gave a spine-tingling performance of her breakout song Blue Lights.

If she takes the big one, Jorja would be the first woman in seven years to win and the youngest in over a decade.

The band, with another of tonight's more political albums, have just picked up a whole new room of fans with their performance of My Queen is Harriet Tubman.

Could they be the first jazz act to win the award?

That standing ovation suggests they're in with a chance.

Check it out above.

Last year's winner Sampha has just performed alongside this year's nominee Richard Russell and the rest of the Everything is Recorded crew.

Can Sampha become the first man involved in back-to-back Mercury wins?

If he does, he certainly did his bit providing lead vocals on the performance of Close But Not Quite as the rest of the band sat around his piano joining in and inexplicably a pregnant lady did yoga stage right.

"That looks like a very fun band to be in," said presenter Annie Mac.

Georgie Rogers from 6 Music enjoyed it too, she's like a bear in honey listening to this.

In October last year.

The former Oasis kingpin elected not to perform live at tonight's Mercury Music Prize so this video of him and his High Flying Birds playing on Later... with Jools Holland is being played instead while he's, ahem, "enjoying a shandy".

Well put Annie.

Even the man even himself, clad in a fetching cool grey dinner jacket, admitted as much to BBC reporter Chi Chi Izundu earlier.

Image source, John Marshall, JM Enternational.

As promised, Florence + the Machine are kicking things off with a beautiful version of Hunger from their nominated album, High As Hope.

Check it out below, complete with harp and everything.

Nine more live performances are set to follow after this, plus two performance videos - from Noel & the Arctics - before the winner is announced.

Let's get it on.

It's still over an hour until the winner is announced, but according to first time judge Ella Eyre (above), things were looking clear even before tonight's show begins.

Though we understand the judges have on occasion been swung by a killer live performance so there is still all to play for.

Image source, Getty Images

All 12 of the nominees get given a trophy with the eventual victor getting an extra winner's trophy.

They'll have to earn it though by performing for a second time at the end of the show.

Which means it will be very interesting to see what happens if that man above or the Arctic Monkeys win, as apparently Noel hasn't brought his guitar/all of his High Flying Birds crew and Alex Turner and co don't seem to be here at all.

Gulp.

Stay tuned.

The Manchester indie band are getting stuck in by the looks of it.

And wine not. Wine not indeed.

Have fun lads but remember you have to perform shortly, yeah?