Nick Varley
THE outsiders, Pulp, have won the Mercury Music Prize and presented the R175 000 to the music business charity aiding Bosnia.
With the hot pre-award favourites, Oasis, absent on tour in America, judges narrowed the short-list of 10 down to two contenders: Pulp and the veteran folk performer, Norma Waterson.
Simon Frith, chairman of the judges, described the decision to award the prize to Pulp rather than Waterson as the most difficult in the five-year history of the event.
To loud applause, Pulp’s front man, Jarvis Cocker, accepted the award but immediately gave the prize money to War Child, the music industry’s charity, which recorded an album of various artists last year. It was also one of the nominees.
Cocker said: “I hope I speak for everybody in the band when I say we are very pleased to have the award.
“What we would like to do is instigate a new award here: the Pulp Music Award. The contenders are two records: War Child and the child of war. The winner is War Child.”
Tony Crean, who devised the charity project, went on to the stage to accept Pulp’s award.He was joined by Brian Eno, a pioneer of ambient music and former member of Roxy Music, who helped in the production of the album.
War Child has so far raised 1.8-million for various schemes in Bosnia, including a #400,000 donation to the building of a music centre in Mostar.
Eno gave details of the various schemes which have benefited when the album nomination was read out at the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. After Pulp’s gesture he said: “That was completely out of the blue and really nice of them. It will help the schemes running in Bosnia.”
Earlier Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher said he thought his band deserved to win the prize but added that he thought others might and said: “I hope whoever does win it donates it all to charity.”