English Teacher have won the 2024 Mercury Prize for their debut album, This Could Be Texas.
English Teacher after winning the 2024 Mercury Prize. Photo credit: Mercury Prize
The four-piece band, who formed at Leeds Conservatoire, are the first act from outside London to win the Mercury Prize in a decade.
Up against strong competition, including odds-on favourite Charli xcx’s Brat, the band members took to the stage in disbelief after being announced as this year’s winner noting they “didn’t really plan this far.”
“We just thought we’d make a band,” said Lily Fontaine. She and her bandmates Lewis Whiting, Douglas Frost and Nicholas Eden then acknowledged multiple members of the Leeds music community.
The judging team said: “This has been a really tough year for the Mercury Prize judges, with the final 12 albums being so reflective of our diverse and rich musical landscape. There was so much passion and enthusiasm for each one.
“In the end, though, we did agree that This Could Be Texas by English Teacher stands out for its originality and character.
“A winning lyrical mix of surrealism and social observation, alongside a subtle way of wearing its musical innovations lightly, displays a fresh approach to the traditional guitar band format.
“This Could Be Texas reveals new depths on every listen; the mark of a future classic.
“The Mercury Prize was set up to celebrate the album as an artistic format in its own right and all the judges agreed that this charismatic body of work deserves to be the 2024 Mercury Prize Album of the Year.”
Find out more about the Mercury Prize on their website and re-watch the show on BBC iPlayer (available for eleven months after broadcast)
Other articles are available about English Teacher’s win, including on The Guardian and BBC News online
