Noel Gallagher has received his first Mercury Prize nomination for 22 years with his LP ‘Who Built the Moon?’ up for the prestigious album of the year award.
The 51-year-old rocker’s third solo record – which was produced by David Holmes – is one of the 12 nominees and is up against Arctic Monkeys’ sixth album ‘Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino’, Lily Allen’s ‘No Shame’ and Florence + the Machine’s ‘High as Hope’ among others.
It is the first time that an album written by Noel has been shortlisted since Oasis’ 1996 release (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’, which went on to lose to Pulp’s fellow Britpop classic ‘Different Class’.
Arctic Monkeys’ nomination means they are now the joint second most-nominated act in the prize’s history. They share four nominations with PJ Harvey, whilst Radiohead have received five nods since the Mercury Prize was created in 1992.
Lily has received her first nomination with her fourth LP and the 33-year-old pop star got emotional when she found out her music had been recognised.
Shedding a few tears on the red carpet at the nominations announcement in London on Thursday (26.07.18), she said: "I’m just very overwhelmed! I’m just a little bit weepy all of a sudden – it’s sort of hit me now, I don’t know what’s going on!
"I worked really hard on this album and I worked to make something that felt really connected, and a true representation of how I feel. I really believe that that’s what music is meant to be and people so often say to me – when I’m doing promo, or interviews – they’re like, ‘Wow, you’ve really been honest with this record’, but if you hold it up to Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, it’s like, no, not very! Something’s kind of gotten lost, maybe in the internet age, where music is so much more about the visual aspect of things and not so much about what you’re saying. I really wanted to change that with this record and I felt like I had achieved that. To get the nod from the panel is just amazing. I feel so happy."
Among the other nominees are Jorja Smith, who is shortlisted for her debut ‘Lost and Found’, Everything Everything for ‘A Fever Dream’, King Krule’s ‘The Ooz’ and Wolf Alice’s ‘Visions of a Life’.
The winner of the 2018 Hyundai Mercury Prize will be announced in a ceremony at London’s Eventim Apollo on 20 September.
Hyundai Mercury Prize 2018 nominees:
Lily Allen: ‘No Shame’
Arctic Monkeys: ‘Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino’
Everything Everything: ‘A Fever Dream’
Everything Is Recorded: ‘Everything Is Recorded’
Florence + the Machine: ‘High as Hope’
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: ‘Who Built the Moon?’
King Krule: ‘The Ooz’
Novelist: ‘Novelist Guy’
Nadine Shah: ‘Holiday Destination’
Jorja Smith: ‘Lost and Found’
Sons of Kemet: ‘Your Queen is a Reptile’
Wolf Alice: ‘Visions of a Life’