Benjamin Clementine became the 2015 Mercury Music Prize winner last week, beating off stiff competition from the likes of Florence and the Machine, Slaves, Wolf Alice and Jamie xx. The British-French poet and musician’s album “At Least For Now” was honoured by the distinguished panel of judges.
Fillip for the twelve nominees
With the likes of Blur and Everything Everything not even making the shortlist, just being among the nominees was a tremendous fillip for each of the twelve acts that eagerly awaited the announcement last Friday.
Sales boost expected
The Mercury Prize is a prestigious award for any artist to include on their CV, reflecting as it does the best album of the past twelve months by a British or Irish artist in the judges’ opinion.
It can also boost business for those who are successful, as former winners Elbow can testify to after winning the 2008 edition. Sales of “The Seldom Seen Kid” increased by an amazing 700 per cent in the aftermath. Similar patterns have been seen for other previous winners such as The xx in 2010 and James Blake two years ago.
With the BBC backing this year’s awards through their extensive coverage and showcasing of those in the running for the top prize, all of the acts would have benefited from the publicity that their work enjoyed.
Spotify plays increase
None more so than the winner one suspects, as his Spotify plays alone increased by around 500 per cent after the victory. To rack up some 350,000 monthly users through the digital music service was a notable achievement, especially given that he was busking on the streets of Paris not so many years ago.
Dedicated to Paris victims
Indeed the London-based singer, clearly recollecting those early days and in tribute to the victims of the recent Paris attacks, stated in his victory speech: “I'd like to dedicate this to the people of Paris.”
Clementine performed “Cornerstone” at the ceremony, a deeply emotional track that ably allies his inner passion for the music with an almost mesmeric piano accompaniment.
Recognising the standard of his fellow competitors this year, he invited them on to the stage at the culmination of the ceremony.
Glastonbury headliners Florence and the Machine and the NME readers and bookies’ tip Jamie xx were both left disappointed. Instead it was Clementine that was favoured by the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae, Nick Mulvey and Anna Calvi on the independent judging panel.
Social media pledge
After the ceremony, the winner took to Facebook to express his thanks for the award and also to re-iterate his support for those affected by the terrorist attacks across the sea. He vowed that he would continue “to sing and make music with love and dignity for the grace of mankind and nobody can stop us. Peace, love the World xxxx.”
