***LATEST MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE ODDS! CLICK HERE***
The winner of the 2005 Mercury Music Prize will be announced on September 6th this year, and discerning music fans up and down the country are all betting on the winner.
According to the odds, there’s one very clear favourite to win the prize this year. The Kaiser Chiefs are running away with the popular vote. But – as we keep pointing out – the popular vote means squat to the Mercury Music Prize judges. They’re a contrary lot, and they’ve been known to cause a few upsets in the past.
This is a good thing. The Kaisers are in front by so much that all the other artists have got much longer odds. So if the Kaisers don’t win, some people will be getting quite a bit richer. It’s a risk, but it’s one worth talking.
So here are the Mercury Music Prize odds this week from hecklerspray and Betfair.com…
Polar Bear – Held On The Tips Of Fingers: These post rock, free jazz skronksters have seen their odds get cut during the last week. Not that it means a lot, though. They’re still least favourites to take the prize. Now, if there was an award for best hair… LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 59/1
Seth Lakeman – Kitty Jay: Holding his position firmly near the bottom of the list is Seth and his fiddle-de-dee love songs about Dartmoor. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 59/1
KT Tunstall – Eye To The Telescope: KT and her brand of yodelling anaesthesia have taken a tumble this week. Once she was riding high, but now it seems like people have actually heard her sing and stopped betting on her. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 21/1
Hard-Fi – Stars Of CCTV: Hard-Fi’s ‘Busted Sing The Specials‘ shtick has seen them blag their way into the Notting Hill carnival this year, but it’s not making people want to bet on them any more. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 21/1
Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger: Maximo Park have been doing very well lately, getting big interviews and appearing on front covers willy nilly. It hasn’t helped their odds, though. Their odds have hardly shifted. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 20/1
The Go! Team – Thunder Lightning Strike: The Go! Team have also slipped up a little bit in the odds this week. As if they care – their primary-coloured playground brilliance is taking over the world by itself. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 19/1
Coldplay – X&Y: X&Y has sold more copies than the Bible, or something. It seems like you can’t move these days without hearing Chris Martin whining about fixing people backed by anodyne stadium rock. Despite this, the Coldplay Mercury curse looks like it will continue – they’re nowhere near the front of the pack here. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 37/2
Antony And The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now: The singer looks a bit like that girl from Sugar Rush, he writes very sad songs, and Devendra Banhart is on this album. Those three facts haven’t convinced betters to place money on them, though. They’re holding firm. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 12/1
The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers: They’ve made the news lately because they got upset when someone called them fat. It’s like Britney Spears getting upset for being called . Dr Gillian McKeith‘s worst nightmares are holding steady this week. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 22/3
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm: They’ve been touted as possible winners by other sources, but as far as Betfair goes, Bloc Party are slipping down the rankings a little. Having said this, we wouldn’t write them off just yet. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 25/4
M.I.A – Arular: When the Mercury Music Prize odds were first announced, M.I.A’s odds were longer than the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. But as more people have been exposed to her, her odds have dropped and now she’s second favourite to win. This is a good thing. We like M.I.A. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 9/2
Kaiser Chiefs – Employment: If you listened to Betfair, you’d think that the Mercury Music panel may as well hand the prize over to the Kaiser Chiefs right now. They’re out-and-out favourites to win, but whether they actually do or not remains to be seen. LISTEN/BUY Current odds – 9/4
We’ll keep updating the odds each week, but in the meantime head over to Betfair.com to see how the odds are sliding. Have fun betting, and good luck.
Related stories:
The hecklerspray Betfair.com Tutorial
[story by Stuart Heritage]
