PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake has won her a second Mercury Prize a decade after her first.
In 2001 Harvey won the coveted Mercury Prize for her album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea but her win was overshadowed by the date – September 11.
At a ceremony last night in London, Harvey won her second Mercury Prize for her eighth album Let England Shake, which was released in February this year.
In her speech she said, "Thank you for the recognition of my work!" and recalled that she was watching the Pentagon burn from her hotel room when she last won.
It’s apt that the album is thematically centred around the history of armed conflict and was researched by reading war accounts from Iraqi and Afghan civilians and international soldiers.
Her album beat out records from Adele, Elbow, James Blake, Tinie Tempah, Anna Calvi, Katy B, Metronomy, Gwylim Simcock, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins, Everything Everything, and Ghostpoet.
The Barclaycard Mercury Prize is the UK's premier award for album of the year. Former winners include Dizzee Rascal, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, the XX, Gomez, Pulp and Portishead.
