Dave's 'Psychodrama' is crowned Album of the Year by Mercury Prize judging panel.
Dave was announced tonight, Thursday, 19 September 2019, as the overall winner of the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize for Album of the Year. The Awards Show was hosted by BBC Music's Lauren Laverne and guest presenter, Annie Mac announced the overall winner on behalf of the judging panel. The event was held at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith.
An overjoyed Dave, who paid tribute to the other shortlisted artists, his friends and family during his acceptance speech, collected the winner's trophy and cheque for £25,000, and then performed a song from the winning album 'Psycho' to a standing ovation from the audience.
The judging panel said "Psychodrama is the musical equivalent of a literary masterpiece: a conceptual album about Dave's experience of growing up in South London, structured in the form of a therapy session, which takes a deeply personal story and gives it universal relevance. Psychodrama is a moving, musically sophisticated work that tackles complex themes of identity, class, relationships and politics and demands total attention from the listener. It will have lasting relevance for a generation and underlines the importance of the album as an art form, making it the perfect winner of the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize"
The Show featured live performances from many of the 2019 shortlisted 'Albums of the Year' including Anna Calvi, black midi, Cate Le Bon, Dave, Foals, Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Little Simz, NAO, SEED Ensemble and slowthai.
The Prize's broadcast partner, BBC Music, provided live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four from 9pm to 10.15pm and BBC Radio 6 Music with Tom Ravenscroft from 7pm to 10.30pm
The Hyundai Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year' celebrate and promote the best of British and Irish music, recognising artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.
Hyundai Motor, the Mercury Prize's title partner, will be celebrating the shortlisted artists and continuing to support innovations in British and Irish music.
The Prize's digital music partner, Amazon Music, is supporting the Hyundai Mercury Prize through its channels. Amazon Music will also host the official Prize playlist featuring the 12 shortlisted artists and albums.
The 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize 'Albums of the Year' are:
Anna Calvi 'Hunter'
black midi 'Schlagenheim'
Cate Le Bon 'Reward'
Dave 'Psychodrama'
Foals 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1'
Fontaines D.C. 'Dogrel'
IDLES 'Joy as an Act of Resistance'
Little Simz 'Grey Area'
NAO 'Saturn'
SEED Ensemble 'Driftglass'
slowthai 'Nothing Great About Britain'
The 1975 'A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships'