Royal Blood and FKA Twigs see significant sales boost following Mercury Prize nominations

Winner of this year's contest will be announced tonight (October 29)

FKA Twigs, Royal Blood and GoGo Penguin are the artists who have received the biggest boost in sales since being nominated for this year’s Mercury Music Prize.

Official Chart Company data shows that all three artists have seen a big increase in sales ahead of this year’s ceremony, which takes place in London tonight (October 29).

Royal Blood‘s successful debut album has sold 59,000 copies since it was revealed as one of the 12 nominees in this year’s contest, a rise of 62 per cent that brings the album’s total sales up to 154,318 for the year.

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Elsewhere, bookmakers favourites FKA Twigs and Kate Tempest have both seen their album sales rise significantly, with Tempest’s ‘Everybody Down’ soaring 124 per cent and selling more copies in the period since its nomination than in total for the period before that. FKA Twigs ‘LP1’, meanwhile, has had a sales increase of 83 per cent.

Some of the smaller acts on the list have seen the biggest sales boosts including GoGo Penguin. Sales of their album ‘V2.0’ have increased 138 per cent in the last few months.

Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot says: “Royal Blood set the Official Albums Chart alight this summer when they hit Number One with the fastest-selling British rock debut in three years, and if the Mercury Prize was decided based on pure sales, it would most definitely be a one-horse race for the band.”

“This year’s shortlist is full of faces yet to land on the radar of the wider British public, but all deserving of a place under the Mercury spotlight. Who the judges ultimately choose, is anyone’s guess. But certainly, if this were the public choosing, it could be between FKA Twigs, Kate Tempest, Royal Blood, or GoGo Penguin.”

The winner of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2014 will be announced at London’s Roundhouse tonight. James Blake won the award last year for his second album ‘Overgrown’, while Alt-J took the prize in 2012 for their debut release ‘An Awesome Wave’. FKA Twigs is the current favourite to win the prize.

Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominees, with odds from William Hill, are:

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FKA Twigs – ‘LP1’ (11/4)
Kate Tempest – ‘Everybody Down’ (3/1)
Royal Blood – ‘Royal Blood’ (5/1)
East India Youth – ‘Total Strife Forever’ (10/1)
Jungle – ‘Jungle’ (10/1)
Nick Mulvey – ‘First Mind’ (10/1)
Damon Albarn – ‘Everyday Robots’ (14/1)
Young Fathers – ‘Dead’ (14/1)
Bombay Bicycle Club – ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ (16/1)
Anna Calvi – ‘One Breath’ (16/1)
Polar Bear – ‘In Each And Every One’ (20/1)
GoGo Penguin – ‘v2.0’ (25/1)

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