Bookies have installed Mercury Prize-nominee PJ Harvey as joint favourite alongside Adele to win this year’s prestigious trophy and its £20,000 prize money. Her album Let England Shake is her fourth nomination but she also won the award in 2001 for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. It makes her the most successful artist in the prize’s history (Radiohead have also been nominated for four but have failed to win). Let England Shake documents man’s self-destructive propensity for war and Harvey spent two years researching warfare, in particular the First World War. The Guardian’s five-star review called it a richly inventive album that’s unlike anything else in Harvey’s back catalogue. The singer said, “I found out on the day. Obviously, I knew that the announcement was coming up and I hoped that the record would make it in because, for me, I think it’s probably one of my best pieces of work. It’s always wonderful to have some recognition and the Mercury prize is a good platform for that and I’m just really delighted that it’s been acknowledged.”
