Young-Fathers

AGAINST the odds Scottish band Young Fathers have won the Mercury Music Prize 2014 for their debut album Dead.

Forming in 2008, they were up against acts including Royal Blood and spoken word singer and poet Kate Tempest to win the prestigious music prize worth £20,000. Fellow nominees Royal Blood tweeted following the news: “Thanks for all your support for @MercuryPrize but to be honest the best prize is having such brilliant fans. Let’s get on with it. Glasgow!”

The band, described as a “Liberian/Nigerian/Scottish psychedelic hip-hop electro boy band” have been grabbing the headlines this year. It was only a few months ago that they won the Scottish Album of the Year award against acts including Glasgow’s Hector Bizerk and Biffy Clyro.

The band’s winning album has sold 2,386 records in the UK since its release. Speaking at the awards, the trio said: “Doesn’t change anything at all … it’s just part and parcel of the industry.”

In 2013, James Blake took the title beating acts including Jake Bugg and Arctic Monkeys.