***LATEST MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE ODDS! CLICK HERE!***
The Mercury Music Prize ceremony will take place on September 6th this year, so you’ve got plenty of time to bet on a winner.
We’re all tediously familiar with the fact that The Kaiser Chiefs are way out in front to win the prize. But it doesn’t matter. The Mercury Music Prize isn’t decided by a public vote or how many albums are sold. The decision is made by a handful of people inside a room who must choose which album they think is the best.
So, in a sense, the odds aren’t an indication of the result at all. And if the judges decide that ferocious angular squeaking honking free jazz is their thing, then even Polar Bear might win. That means that you can bet on anyone you like.
So here are the latest Mercury Music Prize betting odds this week from hecklerspray and Betfair.com…
fPolar Bear – Held On The Tips Of Fingers: Their odds to win keep shrinking each week, but they still don’t stand a chance. On the plus side, they’re still probably the only jazz band around that would make Michael Parkinson soil himself. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 54/1
Seth Lakeman – Kitty Jay: Much like Polar Bear, Seth’s odds have been cut this week. Maybe there was an article about how cool creepy folk songs about Dartmoor are in Gullible Twat magazine this week. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 33/1
KT Tunstall – Eye To The Telescope: The first artist on the list with odds that have grown in the week. She’s provided the music for an advert that assumes that in the future people will think "Do you remember 2005? We listened to KT Tunstall a lot, didn’t we?" Not. A. Chance. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 22/1
The Go! Team – Thunder Lightning Strike: It could be seen as a bad thing that The Go! Team’s odds keep getting longer and longer. On the other hand, when the judges come to their senses and give them the prize, everyone that bet on them will be rich! Rich beyond their wildest dreams! Yes, that includes us. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 37/2
Hard-Fi – Stars Of CCTV: Hard-Fi’s odds have shrunk a lot in the last week. What does this mean? Have the betters of the world all lost their Specials albums all at the same time? Whatever, their ranking hasn’t changed, even though their odds have. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 15/1
Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger: Maximo Park’s odds continue to ape Hard-Fi’s odds. They’ve shortened, but not enough to put them in the front-runners. It makes us think that the guitarheads are all betting the same way, you know. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 25/2
Antony And The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now: Antony And The Johnsons have slipped down the rankings a little this week. Their desperately aching lovelorn 0songs aren’t converting into bets very well. But who knows – if all the judges are dumped on September 5th, this album is gonna walk it. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 23/2
Coldplay – X&Y: Coldplay are scrapping their way up the rankings again. Although everyone is sick of hearing their U2 rip-off songs, the band are up for a number of MTV MVA awards this week, and that might have put them back in people’s minds again. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 11/1
The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers: The magic numbers are now one of the most famous bands in the country, thanks to Richard Bacon calling then enormous great bloaters, or something. All the attention they’ve been receiving hasn’t helped or hindered them – they’re holding fast. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 31/4
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm: Another non-moving week for the good people of Bloc Party. They’d obviously be doing much better if they weren’t making exactly the same kind of spiky post-punk that every freaking single other band is, though. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 7/1
M.I.A – Arular: She’s managed to claw her way to second place in the odds rankings, but M.I.A hasn’t quite got what it takes to oust the Kaisers as the favourite. In her heart, though, she knows she’s better.
LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 33/5
Kaiser Chiefs – Employment: Another week, another shortening in the odds of Employment. It’s almost like the betters know something we don’t. Or it could just be that the Kaisers are so hopelessly over-exposed that nobody gets to hear any other music ever. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 5/4
We’ll keep updating the Mercury Music Prize betting odds up until the winner is announced, but in the meantime head over to Betfair.com to see how the odds are sliding. Have fun betting, and good luck.
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[story by Stuart Heritage]
