English Teachers win Mercury Prize

The English Teacher They won the 2024 Mercury Prize for their debut album “This Could Be Texas” and this is what happens to Ezra Collective which prevailed last year thanks to the album “Where I’m Meant To Be”The Mercury Prize is a music prize established in 1992 and awarded to the best British or Irish album. It is presented by the British Phonographic Industry and BARD (the British Recording Industry Association).

The panel of judges who chose the winners said: “This has been a tough year for the Mercury Prize judges, with the 12 nominated albums truly reflecting our rich and diverse musical landscape.

There was so much passion and enthusiasm for each of them. Ultimately though, we agreed that English Teacher’s ‘This Could Be Texas’ stands out for its originality and character. A winning lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation, along with a subtle way of wearing its musical innovations lightly, it shows a fresh approach to the traditional guitar band format. ‘This Could Be Texas’ reveals new depths with every listen; the hallmark of a future classic. The Mercury Prize was established to celebrate the album as an artistic format in its own right and all the judges agreed that this charismatic body of work deserves to be the 2024 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.”

The quartet – which is formed by the singer Lily Fontainefrom the drummer Douglas Frostthe guitarist Lewis Whiting and the bass player Nicholas Eden – is the first non-London group – the English Teacher are in fact from Leeds – to have won the award since 2014, when it went to the Scots Young Fathers from Edinburgh with the album “Dead”.

Lily Fontaine he was keen to highlight and acknowledge the support the band has received from the venues in their city. “If you look at the history of music in this country, Yorkshire in particular has produced some of our most prolific songwriters. There’s a real support for musicians in Leeds at the moment. The venues are welcoming new artists and I think that’s vital for the health of the scene.”