Plan B and past nominee Richard Hawley are joint favourites to win the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize as the shortlist of 12 was announced tonight for the highly-valued award.

Singer-songwriter PJ Harvey could become the first act to win the Mercury Prize twice if she proves the bookies right and picks up the award at tonight’s event.

Indie trio The xx landed the Mercury Prize for their debut album 'xx'.

This year’s Nationwide Mercury Prize winner will be announced in the UK today, with albums by Radiohead, Estelle, Last Shadow Puppets and Adele vying for the accolade.

British band The Klaxons have won this year’s Mercury Prize for their debut album, 'Myths Of The Near Future'.

Scottish art-rockers Franz Ferdinand are firm favourites to scoop the prestigious Mercury Music Prize tonight with their debut album.