Mercury Month: Elbow

Who: Veteran Manchester rockers Elbow, fronted by the humorous and yet still mysterious Guy Garvey.

What: Their fourth album "The Seldom Seen Kid", a more upbeat and accessible collection of tracks compared to their third attempt.

Why: Look, in my own humble opinion you should just give the prize to them for "The Fix" (in which hard-done-by-Mercury-loser Richard Hawley guests) for its hilarity - who would have thought rigging a horse-race could be so much fun? Watch out - that jockey's cocky and vicious... heh heh.... Getting back to being serious for a change though and they've been a bit unlucky not to win it in previous years. Perhaps a sympathy vote will come into play - they've certainly been one of the most consistent British bands of recent years, but it's only really with the release of this album that they're getting some very strong recognition. "One Day Like This" is becoming a bit of an anthem, with everyone knowing the words at the festivals they've played and it being plastered on nearly every promotion that the British Olympic Team have featured in. Deserving winners, more so than some of the other people on this list...