Brighton band Royal Blood have been nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize.
The rock duo, bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher, join Damon Albarn and Bombay Bicycle Club and Anna Calvi on the shortlist for the prestigious industry award.
It comes just a couple of weeks after the band’s debut album was released and immediately went to the top of the UK album charts.
Royal Blood is a @MercuryPrize album of the year. Get your copy from http://t.co/95iGhi3suZ #MercuryPrize2014 pic.twitter.com/UncNDcsXpw
— Royal Blood (@royalblooduk) September 10, 2014
Meanwhile another city band was included in The Guardian’s alternative list of nominees for the Mercury Music Prize.
The Wytches, who describe their sound as “surf doom”, were nominated by Caroline Sullivan, who admires their “roiling murkiness”.
But a former neighbour says the band also have a sweeter side.
Charlotte Bray, who lives next door to the student house they shared in Hanover last year, said: “They did wake me up a couple of times and I had to go round there and let them have the point of view of a sweary mother of two young children.
“However I also seem to recall also saying that they were very nice lads whose mums had raised them right and who had a record deal in the offing, so I’m very happy for them.”
“The day after I went round to moan about late night noise, they brought round chocolates to apologise and biscuits for the old lady who lived on the other side of them which they asked me to deliver because they didn’t want to trouble her.
“Like I said – they were very sweet which is probably at odds with the rock and roll image they may or may not be trying to cultivate.”
Last month, the Wytches were one of 15 bands, alongside fellow Brightonians Fink, to share £250,000 in Government funding to promote British music around the world.
