The Mercury Prize is currently known as the Nationwide Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons. This annual music prize was established by the British Association of Record Dealers in 1992 as an alternative to the BRIT Awards which are industry-dominated.

Each year a selection of the best British or Irish albums of the previous 12 months are nominated for the prize. Past winners include Arctic Monkeys with ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ in 2006 and Antony and the Johnsons with ‘I Am a Bird Now’ in 2005.

The nominations for this year’s Mercury prize are as follows:

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Dizzee Rascal - Maths And English
The View - Hats Off To The Buskers
Maps - We Can Create
Bat For Lashes - Fur And Gold
Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future
Jamie T - Panic Prevention
The Young Knives - Voices Of Animals And Men
Fionn Regan - The End Of History
Basquiat Strings with Seb Rochford - Basquiat Strings
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom