Sleaford Mods‘ Jason Williamson has attacked the Mercury Prize over their policy of charging musicians an entrance fee in order to be considered.
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“We didn’t enter the mercury,” he said in a now-deleted tweet. “You have to enter it with a pile of dough. That’s how all award ceremonies work.”
“To further extend my point. Mercury overlooked not only [Sleaford Mods’ 2015 album] ‘Key Markets’ but also [2017’s] English Tapas,” he said in a follow-up tweet. “Two albums that most definitely set the landscape for at least 3 nom’s in the current shortlist. So why pay more entry dough? Don’t fucking @ me either. The points bullet proof.
To further extend my point. Mercury overlooked not only Key Markets but also English Tapas. Two albums that most definitely set the landscape for at least 3 nom’s in the current shortlist. So why pay more entry dough? Don’t fucking @ me either. The points bullet proof.
— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) July 25, 2019
In a reply to one comment, he confirmed that the band did enter in the past, but were never considered. “We paid for it before. Got no mention. Obvs I’m being biased but you got the impression it had gone a bit ‘soapy incrowd'” he said.
The Mercury Prize nominees were announced earlier today (25 July), with the likes of The 1975, Little Simz, Anna Calvi and Foals all up for this year’s award.
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Also nominated are Sleaford Mods’ old antagonists IDLES. The two bands became embroiled in a feud earlier this year after Williamson accused the Bristol punks of ‘class appropriation’.