BBC Radio 6 Music listeners vote Gomez’s ‘Bring It On’ their favourite past Mercury Prize winner

BBC Radio 6 Music listeners have voted Gomez’s ‘Bring It On’ their favourite Mercury Prize winning album to date in an online vote hosted by the station.

Published: 14 September 2016
Cracking choices from the vote, so many great albums to choose from, but these are all stone cold killer.
— Nemone

The result is announced ahead of this year’s award ceremony which takes place tomorrow (Thursday 15 September) with coverage on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Four. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Mercury Prize.

The indie five-piece won the prestigious prize in 1998 beating off stiff competition from the likes of The Verve’s ‘Urban Hymns’, Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’, ‘This Is Hardcore’ by Pulp and Catatonia’s ‘International Velvet’.

Making up the Top Five, 6 Music listeners voted ‘Dummy’ by Portishead (1995) their second favourite Mercury Prize winning record, third was Pulp’s ‘Different Class’ (1996), fourth ‘Screamadelica’ by Primal Scream (1992) and fifth was Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not’ (2006).

Nemone, presenter of BBC Radio 6 Music’s live Mercury Prize coverage, says: “Cracking choices from the vote, so many great albums to choose from, but these are all stone cold killer. They reflect the current mood for aping the Nineties sound as well, with four of the Top Five falling in that decade. And Gomez’s ‘Bring It On’ is an album that’s endured - can’t believe that was 18 years ago – still sounds ace when you hear it today."

Jeff Smith, Head of Music, BBC Radio 6 Music & BBC Radio 2, and Mercury Prize 2016 judge, says: “For Gomez’s ‘Bring It On’ to win the Mercury Prize in 1998 against such a heavyweight list of nominees that year was a phenomenal achievement, particularly for a debut album. It made a real impact and the band’s music continues to be played on 6 Music and, as winning this vote proves, is still very popular with our audience.”

BBC Radio 6 Music’s special three-hour Mercury Prize programme (7-10pm, Thursday 15 September), presented by Tom Ravenscroft and Nemone, will include a discussion about the results of the listener vote and the expectations for this year’s award ahead of the 2016 winner being announced live on the show.

Gomez are an English indie band, hailing from Southport, whose music spans everything from alternative and rock to blues, folk, psychedelic and experimental. After signing to Hut Records in 1997, they recorded their debut album, ‘Bring It On’, in Liverpool and released it the following year.

The record, which includes the singles ‘78 Stone Wobble’, ‘Get Myself Arrested’ and ‘Whippin’ Piccadilly’, charted at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart and went on to be certified platinum. The band topped off a successful year by scooping the Mercury Prize in September 1998. They have since released a further six albums with their most recent in 2011 entitled ‘Whatever's on Your Mind’.

The winner of the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ with BBC Music, official UK broadcast partner, will be announced at the award ceremony on Thursday night at London’s Eventim Apollo. The 12 shortlisted records include David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ by Radiohead and Bat for Lashes’ ‘The Bride’.

For the second year running, BBC Music will be providing live coverage of the awards on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music. BBC Four will air an hour-long special, Best Album of the Year 2016 - Mercury Prize Live, hosted by BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne (9-10pm, Thursday 15 September), while on radio, BBC Radio 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft and Nemone will present rolling coverage of the awards ceremony with a bumper three-hour programme (7-10pm, Thursday 15 September).

Ahead of the BBC Four programme, BBC Red Button will feature an hour-long show (from 8-9pm) fronted by BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Shaun Keaveny, and BBC Music will also be offering comprehensive Mercury Prize coverage across the website and via the BBC Music app.

The 12 shortlisted 2016 Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ are:

  • ‘Hopelessness’ by Anohni
  • ‘The Bride’ by Bat for Lashes
  • ‘Blackstar’ by David Bowie
  • ‘Making Time’ by Jamie Woon
  • ‘Made In The Manor’ by Kano
  • ‘The Dreaming Room’ by Laura Mvula
  • ‘Love & Hate’ by Michael Kiwanuka
  • ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ by Radiohead
  • ‘Adore Life’ by Savages
  • ‘Konnichiwa’ by Skepta
  • ‘I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it’ by The 1975
  • ‘Channel The Spirits’ by The Comet Is Coming

Notes to Editors
BBC Radio 6 Music is an interactive digital radio station that celebrates and champions the alternative spirit of music and culture, bringing together the cutting-edge music of today and the iconic and ground-breaking sounds of the past 50 years. BBC Radio 6 Music now has a record weekly reach of 2.27 million listeners (RAJARs Q2 2016).

KA 

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