Mercury Prize 2018: Wolf Alice win for Visions of a Life

'This means the world, thank you so much... anyone got a Jaeger Bomb?'

Alternative rock band Wolf Alice have won the Hyundai Mercury Prize for their album Visions of a Life.

This was the second time in a row the band had been nominated, after their debut My Love Is Cool received a nod in 2015.

Accepting their award singer Ellie Rowsell said: “Thank-you so much, this means so much to pick this up with my three best friends.”

She added: “I’m so overwhelmed, but it feels great.”

Asked if the moment meant more given her previous status as a judge she said: “I know the dedication it takes to choose (one album) now I know the intensity and frustration involved in that decision.”

Bassist Theo Ellis said: “When we first started as a band, we walked into a meeting and a geezer said ‘You don’t look like a band at all. He also said he didn’t want to work with women who wore make up. Big up everyone who was nominated, this means the world, thank you so much... anyone got a Jaeger Bomb?”

Earlier this month the band told The Independent that they cried when they learned they had been shortlisted for the prize for a second time.

“Everyone’s always like, ‘That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,’” Ellis said. “So for it to happen again … It makes us feel like we’re a proper band.”

“It means more [than the first nomination], in a way,” Rowsell, who was herself a judge for the Mercury Prize the past two years, added. “You feel less important when you’re putting out your second album, so you hope that people aren’t bored of you.”

The shortlist was selected from over 200 albums entered for the prestigious music award, narrowed down to 12 after months of listening. The prize aims to recognise artistic achievement across a range of genres. Albums by British and Irish artists with a UK release date between 22 July 2017 and 20 July 2018 were eligible for this year’s prize.

Other artists to appear on this year’s Mercury Prize shortlist included Florence & The Machine, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Lily Allen, Everything Everything, Novelist and the Arctic Monkeys.

While the Mercury Prize often proves controversial, this year came under fire for featuring a large number of mainstream acts, with many that had appeared on the shortlist at least once before.

Florence & the Machine were nominated for a third time with their album High As Hope. Alex Turner has appeared on the shortlist five times, for his work with both Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets, while rock bands Wolf Alice and Everything Everything were given a spot on the shortlist for a second time.

The awards took place at a ceremony in London’s Eventim Apollo theatre in Hammersmith.

The judges of this year’s Mercury Prize were:

Clara Amfo – broadcaster and DJ

Danielle Perry – broadcaster and writer

Ella Eyre – musician and songwriter

Harriet Gibsone – deputy editor, The Guardian Guide

Jamie Cullum – musician and songwriter

Jeff Smith – head of music, 6 Music and Radio 2

Lianne La Havas – musician and songwriter

Marcus Mumford – musician and songwriter

Mike Walsh – head of music, Radio X

MistaJam – DJ and broadcaster

Phil Alexander – creative director, Kerrang!/contributing editor, Mojo

Will Hodgkinson – chief rock and pop critic, The Times