September 15, 2005 15:02

Antony And The Johnsons 'flung into hyperspace'

That Mercury Music Prize win has changed things

Antony & The Johnsons frontman Antony Hegarty says his recent Mercury Music Prize win has “flung me into hyperspace”.

The singer won the prize for his album ‘I Am A Bird Now’ earlier this month – and he revealed what his day was like to NME .

He said: “It felt jungley, like some weird mating ritual. It was a rude awakening! I had no idea this would happen. I feel like I have been flung me into hyperspace. Not to over-react, but this was an amazing shock. It was like getting yanked out of my comfortable nest and being flung into the world naked.”

He added: “There were a good few highlights for me. MIA was amazing. I think she’s brilliant.

“It was great to meet some of the people there. I’m friends with The Magic Numbers and I got the chance to spend some time with them which was great. I also got to meet The Go! Team and Maximo Park who were amazing. I really liked Bloc Party too. They’re all really interesting kids and I’m old enough to be their grandmother!”

And the star also revealed why he chose choose a Christmas song (John Lennon’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' to cover on the ‘Warchild: A Day In The Life’ charity album when it’s being released in September.

He confessed: “Boy George asked me to sing ‘War Is Over’ for the compilation and I was delighted to take on the role of Yoko ! War Child is an important organization and is doing great things.”

See the full interview with Antony in this week’s NME, dated September 10, on sale now.