Nationwide Mercury Prize 2005

"Great job everyone," said the incredibly nice and humble musician, Anthony who won this years prestigous Nationwide Mercury Prize for his album, I Am A Bird Now.

"It's kind of a crazy contest... it's bonkers to give it to just one person" said Anthony And The Johnsons as he accepted the Mercury Prize from Jools Holland, along with the £20k prize moola.

"It's a bit nutty - what am I supposed to say? The record would be nothing wihout all the musicians - Julia and Rob and all my band. So all of our friends, I guess. Thanks!"

The twelve albums shortlisted for this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize were:

The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers
M.I.A. - Arular
Polar Bear - Held On The Tips Of Fingers
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger
Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV
KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Seth Lakeman - Kitty Jay
Coldplay - X&Y
Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike

Shame Razorlight and Keane weren't nominated this year, but at least Coldplay, Kaiser chiefs and KT Tunstall got a look-in.

The Nationwide Mercury Prize provides a snapshot of the year in UK music. The 2005 shortlist were chosen from an entry of around 170 albums released by British and Irish artists. Albums released between July 2004 and July 2005 are eligible for the Prize, which champions the best of UK music.

All genres of music are treated equally and the music on the album is the only thing taken into account. Glasgow based band Franz Ferdinand were the winners in 2004 for their self-titled debut album.

'It has been a really strong year for UK music. With so many great albums out there at the moment, it has the potential to be a classic Nationwide Mercury Prize year!' said Jools Holland.

All of the Albums of the Year were celebrated at the 2005 Nationwide Mercury Prize Awards on Tuesday 6 September.