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Bloc Party have spent their career making their voice to be distinctive and unique in today’s modern music, known by all for their always evolving sounds. Their first release ‘Silent Alarm’ back in 2005 reshaped the indie world for years to come with ground-breaking fusion of indie, rock, electronica and house.

Kele Okereke, lead singer of Bloc Party, said to The Ivors official website: “To be recognised for songwriting is a very special thing for an artist, and receiving an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Song Collection is a massive honour. Even before you form a band, play a show or record a note, you’re writing songs – it’s at the core of being an artist. It’s amazing to see people connecting with Bloc Party’s music, from those who’ve loved the band from the start, to more and more young people we’re seeing at our shows over the past few years; inspiring us to push forward as a group whilst also being privileged to look back at everything we have already achieved.”

With an extra five studio albums added to their names, Bloc Party have proved their brilliance both as songwriters and musicians with their rare ability to fuse introspective lyricism with a bold, dynamic sound. Their sophomore album ‘A Weekend in the City’ saw the band expand their sound with atmospheric textures and politically charged themes, earning them a #2 spot in the UK albums chart. In 2008, ‘Intimacy’, another daring shift for the band, embraced electronic production and experimental song structures. Their 2022 release ‘Alpha Games’ was met with widespread critical acclaim, reaffirming Bloc Party’s fearless creativity and ever-evolving artistry.

Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: “Bloc Party have made a lasting impact on British music through fearless and innovative songwriting and an unwavering artistic vision. With emotional depth and urgency, their songs continue to inspire fans and songwriters around the world. We’re proud to honour Kele, Russell, Gordon and Matt with the Outstanding Song Collection Ivor Novello Award, recognising their craft and the impact of their work.”

Bloc Party rounds the number of songwriters who have received the award up to sixty-two, following in the footsteps of John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor (Queen), Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jnr and The Edge (U2), Philip Cunningham, Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner (New Order), Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior and Mark Webber (Pulp), Noel Gallagher, Steve Winwood, KAMILLE and KT Tunstall.

This year’s fellow nominees are Lola Young, Charli XCX, RAYE, Ghetts and more.

The annual Mercury Prize awards ceremony took place this week on Thursday 7th September at the Hammersmith Apollo London. The ceremony acknowledges the best of British music with their prestigious award for Album Of The Year, alongside a £25,000 prize.

Previous winners of the highly-respected award include Wolf Alice, Dave, Skepta, James Blake, and Little Simz, who took home last year’s prize with the album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

This year’s winners were Ezra Collective, with their 2022 album Where I’m Meant To Be, however they faced some stiff competition being shortlisted with other UK acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Loyle Carner, RAYE and Jessie Ware.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 Mercury Prize were:

• The Car by Arctic Monkeys
• Where I’m Meant to Be by Ezra Collective
• Actual Life 3 by Fred Again
• Beautiful and Brutal Yard by J Hus
• That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware
• I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
• False Lankum by Lankum
• Hugo by Loyle Carner
• Messy by Olivia Dean
• My 21st Century Blues by Raye
• Nymph by Shygirl
• Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers

Jessie Ware was nominated for her 5th studio album That! Feels Good!, which was released on April 28th of this year. The album includes singles such as “Pearls”, “Begin Again”, “Freak Me Now”, and the LP’s debut single “Free Yourself”, which the 38 year old performed live at the Mercury Prize ceremony.

Many of the other shortlisted acts performed on the Hammersmith Apollo stage, including RAYE, Shygirl, and 2023 winners Ezra Collective.

That! Feels Good! saw Jessie Ware achieve her highest placement on the American Top Album Sales chart, with the record peaking at number 16 for one week. Moreover, in the UK Albums Chart, the London-born singer celebrated her second top 3 entry, with the first being 2020’s What’s Your Pleasure?.

In July, Ware delighted fans with a new version of her song “Freak Me Now” that featured pop singer Roisin Murphy. The single was produced by electronic musician and DJ Stuart Price, who has produced for many artists including Madonna, The Killers, Gwen Stefani and more.

Jessie Ware will be hitting the road at the end of this year to promote That! Feels Good!. You can purchase tickets for the upcoming tour here.

Tour dates:

10/11/2023 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

11/11 – Victoria Warehouse – Manchester, UK

13/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK

14/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK

17/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK

18/11 – Alexandra Palace – London, UK

The Car is shortlisted for the 2023 @MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/nBoCgwAed1

— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) July 27, 2023

While Radiohead, arguably one of the UK’s biggest and most popular acts in recent decades, has never won the prestigious award, Arctic Monkeys have taken the prize home on one occasion so far-winning for their debut effort Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not in 2006. Although The Car has seen the band drift further away from their indie rock roots, the album has nevertheless earned the group plenty of plaudits from critics.

Primarily written by frontman Alex Turner, the album features an eclectic mix of genres that has already seen the work nominated for several awards, including a Grammy and Ivor Novello Award. Fears of a fan backlash were largely unfounded as The Car reached the top ten UK album charts, debuting at number 2. And the group can now add a Mercury Prize nomination to the album’s already impressive run of industry nods.

Arctic Monkeys have supported the album’s release with a global tour which included a successful run of stadium performances in the UK and Ireland and a headlining slot at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival. Set to wrap in October this year, the tour has been notable for featuring lesser known songs in the setlist, giving a broader range of material the chance to thrive in a live setting.

Founded as an alternative to the Brit Awards, The Mercury Prize has become one of Britain’s most cherished music achievement honours. Open to any band containing at least 50% British or Irish membership, the prize seeks to reward the best studio album released in the United Kingdom. The award is bestowed purely upon musical merit, regardless of how successful or popular the artist was in the previous year.

In the award’s 31 year history, PJ Harvey holds the record for being the only artist to have won the award on more than one occasion, having taken home the prize twice in 2001 and 2011 respectively. Arctic Monkeys will be hoping to become only the second artist to accomplish this feat with The Car.

Introducing the artists on the Shortlist for the 2023 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK! @ArcticMonkeys@EzraCollective@fredagainagain1@jhus@JessieWare@jockstrapmusic1@LankumDublin@LoyleCarner@oliviadeano@raye@0800shygirl@Youngfathers#MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/tw8UQzp5Zx

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) July 27, 2023

While open to all genres, the prize has been noted by some critics for the absence of bands within the metal subgenre, although rock groups are included in this year’s shortlist.

This year’s ceremony judges will consist of music journalists, presenters, artists and broadcasters and will be held at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London on 7 September. The event will be shown live across the BBC’s TV and radio stations.

The ceremony, which takes place on Thursday, 17 September, will honour the best British or Irish album released in the past year and provide the usual musical spectacle with live performances from many of the nominated artists and bands.

The first name on the 2023 shortlist is Arctic Monkeys, who claim a fifth nomination for their latest LP The Car – making them the joint most-nominated act in Mercury history alongside Radiohead. While Alex Turner and co. previously landed the award for their breakout album Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not in 2007, Radiohead have never won.

Listen to “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” from The Car:

The Sheffield band’s rivals this year include four second-time nominees: Loyle Carner, J Hus, Young Fathers and Jessie Ware – the latter of whom received her first Mercury recognition in 2012. Ware’s fifth studio album That! Feels! Good! was met with universal acclaim, impressing critics and earning her a second top-three entry on the UK Albums Chart.

Listen to “Free Yourself” from That! Feels! Good!:

Meanwhile, Shygirl, Olivia Dean, Raye and experimental pop duo Jockstrap – whose latest studio effort I Love You Jennifer B claimed a top-ten position on both BrooklynVegan and Clash’s end of year lists – make their Mercury debut.

Other nominations include Fred Again.. with Actual Life 3, jazz ensemble Ezra Collective with Where I’m Meant To Be and the Mercury’s infamous “token” folk nomination – False Lankum by Irish group Lankum, whose new album has been hailed as the OK Computer of modern folk.

Listen to “Go Dig My Grave” from False Lankum:

While Raye’s inclusion on the shortlist brings the most vindication after her 2021 departure from Polydor and subsequent self-release of My 21st Century Blues, Fred Again..’s nomination has left bemusement in its wake, with the Independent describing his selection as “part of a long Mercury Prize tradition of championing at least one eye-rollingly bad album each year”.

A whole number of major pop acts didn’t make the final twelve, with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, The 1975, Gorillaz, Lewis Capaldi and Rina Sawayama all missing out on nominations for their eligible albums. Little Simz, who won the award last year after beating stiff competition from the likes of Harry Styles and Sam Fender, also wasn’t shortlisted for her new album No Thank You.

See the full list of nominations below:

Arctic Monkeys – The Car
Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant to Be
Fred Again.. – Actual Life 3
J Hus – Beautiful and Brutal Yard
Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!
Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B
Lankum – False Lankum
Loyle Carner – Hugo
Olivia Dean – Messy
Raye – My 21st Century Blues
Shygirl – Nymph
Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy

Check out the official shortlist here.

And the winner of the 2022 Mercury Prize with @FreeNow_UK is… @LittleSimz – ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ #MercuryPrize pic.twitter.com/PqMWA59e0C

— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) October 18, 2022

This puts Little Simz in a very respectable position this year after she also bagged the title of best newcomer at the Brit awards earlier this year – despite it being more than 7 years since she crashed onto the scene – as well as her appearances at Reading and Leeds Festival. Simz well deserved recognition was met with rapturous applause as she gave her short and sweet acceptance speech, “There was times in the studio when I didn’t know if I was going to finish this record, I was feeling all the emotions and really going through it. He stuck by me and pushed me to deliver this album for you guys.”

In a statement made by the Mercury Prize judges, they explain, “This accomplished and complex yet entirely accessible album is the work of someone striving constantly to push herself.” Continuing, “It deals with themes both personal and political while putting them against music that is as sophisticated as it is varied. The Mercury Prize is all about shining a light on albums of lasting value and real artistry. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert has both.”

The original performance night was supposed to take place 6 weeks ago, on September 8^th, but the night was postponed after the news broke of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. In the days following the announcement many members of the public, as well as revered artists, made their respects to the Queen. You can take a look at a select few of those moments here.

My fundamental belief that Simz is the deserving winner of this prize doesn’t mean to take away from the achievements of all of the artists that even managed to be nominated for the award. Yard Act, Self Esteem, Nova Twins, Kojey Radical, and all of the other names featured here have given massive contributions to the ever-expanding repertoire of fantastic British music. But when you boil down thoughtful lyricism, creative production, and a bizarrely effective portrayal of a political system… you’ve just got to give it some credit.