Mercury Prize winners: where are they now?

Mercury Prize winners: where are they now? - The Mercury Prize just celebrated its 27th anniversary, with Wolf Alice taking home the prize. It's an award given to the best album from a British or Irish artist. There has been some big-name victors, like Arctic Monkeys and Dizzee Rascal. However, the Prize has also honoured little-known artists like Talvin Singh, Speech Debelle, and Young Fathers. But does the Mercury Prize make or break careers? Find out for yourself, with this gallery following what the Prize-winners are up to these days

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Primal Scream - Primal Scream won the first Mercury Prize in 1992, for their third album ‘Screamadelica’. They celebrated the album’s tenth anniversary in 2011.

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Suede - Suede won the Prize for their debut album, ‘Suede’. After that, they joined the Britpop “big four”. They went on to have a number of top ten hits and reformed in 2010.

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M People - Since beating Take That to the Mercury in 1994, M People saw some brief success. They have since taken an extensive hiatus.

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Portishead - Portishead beat Oasis to win the Mercury in 1995. They released two more albums, ‘Portishead’ in 1997, and ‘Third’ in 2008. Aside from some festival appearances, Portishead maintain a low profile.

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Pulp - Pulp won the Mercury for their number one album, ‘Different Class’. After that, they headlined Glastonbury twice. These days, frontman Jarvis Cocker is a revered DJ.

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Roni Size/Reprazent -

Roni Size surprised the bookies, beating Spice Girls and Radiohead to the Prize in 1997. Last year, they celebrated the 20 year anniversary of winning album, ‘New Forms’.

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Gomez - Southport rockers Gomez won the Prize in 1998. These days, member Ian Ball has ventured on a solo career.

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Talvin Singh - With debut album ‘Ok’, Talvin Singh beat Blur and Kate Rusby to the Prize. He picked up an OBE at the 2014 Birthday Honours.

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Badly Drawn Boy - Badly Drawn Boy has kept things pretty quiet since winning the Mercury. In 2015, he appeared on ‘Celebrity Mastermind’ and cameoed in comedy-drama ‘Cold Feet’.

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PJ Harvey -

PJ Harvey won her first Mercury in 2001. She released three more albums and then won again in 2011.

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Ms. Dynamite -

Ms. Dynamite won the Mercury in 2002, with her debut ‘A Little Deeper’. After taking a hiatus, Dynamite hosted a show on BBC Radio 1Xtra, and collaborated with Katy B.

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Dizzee Rascal -

Dizzee was just 19 when he won the Mercury Prize in 2003. He’s still active in the grime scene, with charting singles and popular albums, like last year’s ‘Raskit’.

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Franz Ferdinand -

The Scottish rockers followed their Mercury success in style. They released fifth album, ‘Always Ascending’, earlier this year.

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Antony and the Johnsons -

Since winning the Mercury, Antony transitioned and changed her name to Anohni. She released the critically-acclaimed album, ‘Hopelessness’, in 2016.

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Arctic Monkeys -
Arctic Monkeys have come a long way from their win in 2006. They are one of the UK’s biggest bands, and have headlined many festivals around the world.

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Klaxons - Klaxons controversially beat Amy Winehouse to the Prize in 2007. They performed their “last headline tour” in January 2015.

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Elbow - Elbow were the lucky winners in 2008. Frontman Guy Garvey has become a respectable DJ, and last year, the band released seventh album ‘Little Fictions’.

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Speech Debelle - Debelle shocked the bookies when debut ‘Speech Therapy’ won the Prize in 2008. She has since become a prominent political activist.

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The XX - The XX were the first Mercury winners this decade. They have since become a successful act, with drummer Jamie XX (right) rising to fame as a solo artist.

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PJ Harvey - Fast forward 10 years and Harvey wins the Prize again. She is the only artist to win the competition twice.

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Alt-J - Alt-J achieved Mercury success with ‘An Awesome Wave’ in 2012. The band lost a member in 2014, but bounced back with two hit follow up albums.

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James Blake - James Blake has been a busy man since winning the Prize in 2013. He released a follow up record in 2016, and has recently worked with Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Stevie Wonder.

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Young Fathers -

Scottish rappers won the Prize in 2014, for their debut album ‘Dead’. After that, they worked on the ‘T2 Trainspotting’ soundtrack, released two follow up records, and toured with Massive Attack.

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Benjamin Clementine -

Clementine was another little-known name who won the Prize. After that, he released a follow up album, ‘I Tell a Fly’, and has collaborated with the Gorillaz.

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Skepta -

Skepta beat David Bowie to win the Mercury for his album ‘Konnichiwa’. His career is doing well, with US tours, and the release of last year’s ‘Vicious’ EP.

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Sampha -

Since winning the Mercury Prize for debut album ‘Process’, Sampha has worked with Drake and David Byrne.

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Wolf Alice -

They just won the Prize, so there’s no real knowing where Wolf Alice are going. The quarter will tour through 2018, supporting acts such as Liam Gallagher and Queens of the Stone Age.

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Oasis -

Oasis have lost out on the Prize twice, 1995 and 1996. Noel Gallagher got a nomination this year, but Liam Gallagher is arguably the more successful solo artist.

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Take That -

Unfortunately, Take That lost out to M People in 1994. However, Robbie Williams got a nomination back in 1998, for his hit album ‘Life Thru a Lens’.

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Spice Girls -

Spice Girls lost out to Roni Size in 1997. They’re not doing too bad these days. We're still waiting for the reunion though!

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