I Eat Music

The UK Festival Awards are back for their fifth year, and will be presented at IndigO2 in the O2 Dome on 19 Nov. But before they can be handed out, there needs to be some voting, which is where you come in. There are, of course, awards for festivals of all sizes and, perhaps most importantly, a nod to the one with the best toilets. Artists also get a look in, with performance skills and attractiveness amongst the areas rated. The award for most memorable moment is also sponsored by the folk who power the CMU-Tube, MUZU. From the artist categories, here are ten of our favourites.

01: Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone
‘I’m Not Alone’ is indisputably one of the anthems of the summer, which will be why it’s up for the Anthem Of The Summer award, one of three categories where Calvin Harris features. And if this doesn’t remain a summer favourite for years to come, I’ll eat some form of headwear.

02: Basement Jaxx – Raindrops
Nominated for Best Headline Performance for their turn at Creamfields, Basement Jaxx made a big return this year, with this the first single from their fifth album, ‘Scars’. Their live performances are always big and colourful, a description that also fits this video.

03: MGMT – Electric Feel
MGMT’s debut album was one of our favourites of last year. Most of their festival performances were not widely acknowledged as highlights of the summer, though. But their V Festival show has been selected for the Critics’ Choice Award for bringing something special to the event.

04: The Big Pink – Dominos
The Big Pink have shot up almost out of nowhere in the last few months, which validates a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist, if you ask me. They get my vote, for sure. And their album is a must have, too.

05: Blur – Coffee And TV
Frankly, I found the Blur reunion a bit embarrassing, but other people seem to have enjoyed it. As a result, Blur feature in the Anthem Of The Summer, Best Headline Performance and, er, Festival Fitty categories. Here’s a great video from before they sullied their legacy.

06: Bombay Bicycle Club – Dust On The Ground
Another band up for Best Breakthrough Act now, and Bombay Bicycle Club have certainly been a name on the rise this year, thanks in no small part to a series of festival performances that got plenty of tongues wagging.

07: Patrick Wolf – The Magic Position
It’s been quite a year for Patrick Wolf, with a fantastic new album and plenty of fiery live shows, some of which haven’t ended in violence. This track from his 2007 album of the same name has been a festival favourite and helped him gain his Critics’ Choice Award nomination.

08: Florence And The Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)
This year, Flo has gone from a girl with a couple of good singles to one of the UK’s biggest acts, which more than justifies her place in the Best Breakthrough Act category. As well as that, she’s also down for Anthem Of The Summer (for ‘Dog Days Are Over’) and Festival Fitty.

09: Faith No More – Midlife Crisis
If I had to make a list of my favourite bands, Faith No More would probably be in the top three. In fact, I’d probably make them numbers one, two and three, just to be safe. While we wait for a Better Than Everyone Else award to be added, the Best Headline Performance category is a suitable substitute.

10: Motorhead – Killers (Live)
We should probably have some live music before this playlist finishes. How about something from Motorhead, who are still as awesome on stage as they ever were, even after 476 years together. They’re up for Best Headline Performance and the Critics’ Choice Award.

So, while you ponder which bands were your favourites at this year’s festivals, check out these videos here:

Then head over to www.festivalawards.com to cast your votes.

So, I thought Jay-Z might be able to hold on to the number one slot for more than one week. But no, that position does seem to be very slippery of late and he’s dropped down to number three, making way for Pixie Lott to have a crack at grasping on to the top. There are a couple of new entries vying for position, too. Mika is at four with ‘We Are Golden’, Mini Viva are at seven with ‘Left My Heart In Tokyo’ and Muse are at eight with ‘Uprising’.

Outside the top ten there’s less going on. Shakira is the next new entry at 25, with ‘She Wolf’, while U2 are at 32 with ‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy’, and Livvi Franc closes proceedings, coming in at 40 with ‘Now I’m That Chick (feat. Pitbull)’.

The album chart is just weird this week. Vera Lynn has done what she failed to do last week and knocked Arctic Monkeys of the number one spot. Just in case you didn’t get that: Vera Lynn is at number one. Vera Lyn. Vera. Lynn. At number one. At 92 years old, she is the oldest person to ever hold the position – a full 25 years older than the previous holder, Bob Dylan, who went to the top of the chart at the sprightly age of 67 in May this year.

And if that wasn’t weird enough, The Beatles have four albums in the top ten. Not to allow Vera Lynn to take all the glory, they’ve broken two records, racking up the most number of albums by a group simultaneously in the top ten, which has been held by The Monkees since 1967 (when they had three), and also the most number of albums by an act in the top 60, with sixteen. The previous holder of that record was Elvis, who had 14 albums in the top 60 in 1977, thanks to a Michael Jackson-style mass purchase of his back catalogue following his death.

It’s not all old stuff in the album chart, though. Jamie T’s second album, ‘Kings & Queens’, goes straight in at number two, and The Cribs’ latest offering, ‘Ignore The Ignorant’, their first with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, is also new at eight.

Further down the chart, there are a few non-Beatles new entries in the top 40 (though they do have a further six in addition to the four in the top ten). Beverley Knight is in at 17 with ‘100%’, Frank Turner is at 36 with ‘Poetry Of The Deed’, and Prefab Sprout (still relative newbies compared to The Beatles and Vera Lynn) are in at 39 with ‘Let’s Change The World With Music’.

And I wouldn’t be doing this properly is I didn’t keep you up to date with Mercury nominees’ chart movements. There’s little activity on that front yet, though it’s still less than a week since the award winner was announced. In reverse order, La Roux is at 34, Friendly Fires are at 32, Kasabian are at 16, are Florence And The Machine are at 12, all of which are drops from their positions last week.

The charts are compiled by the understandably quite excited Official Charts Company.

So, Speech Debelle’s debut album, ‘Speech Therapy’, has been named the best album of the last twelve months, by the Mercury Prize judges. The Ninja Tune/Big Dada-signed rapper also became the lowest selling artist ever to win the award, with just 3000 copies of her album sold prior to the win. Although this is something now likely to be remedied fairly quickly – sales of Elbow’s ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ have risen 700% since their win last year.

In a short acceptance speech, Debelle gave a nod to fellow nominees The Invisible and thanked all involved, including the judges, her label, her family, her band and “whoever’s name’s on the cheque”.

Asked later what she planned to do with the prize money, she said that she’d invest it, perhaps in her own record label, which she is currently in the process of setting up.

When the nominations were announced in July, Debelle was given odds of 33/1 by bookmakers, although these were cut to 4/1 yesterday, making her second favourite to take the prize, behind Florence And The Machine.

Last night’s ceremony was also supposed to be the first ever to feature performances from all twelve nominees. However, Glasvegas had to pull out of playing because frontman James Allan, according to reports, hasn’t been seen since Friday and didn’t turn up for the ceremony. The band told various journalists this was due to illness and a dislike of music industry awards. Friendly Fires drummer Jack Savidge also nearly missed the show, after being admitted to hospital on Monday with a rash on his leg, but recovered in time to perform with the band last night.

In other awards news, Girls Aloud last night won this year’s Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize for the fifth time in the seven years the award has been running. No one from the group has yet commented on how they will spend the money.

We’ve got a new number one again this week, those Black Eyed Peas only having managed one week at the top. And it’s that Tinchy Stryder fella who’s knocked them off their perch.

Now, we all know what happened last time Tinchy was at number one. He reached that position with a single called ‘Number One’. And by doing so he threatened the universe, and reality as a whole, when ‘Number One’ was knocked off number one. With metaphysical disaster averted at the last minute only a few months ago, Tinch isn’t risking getting himself into a situation like that again. His latest single is called ‘Never Leave You’.

Oh no, hang on. What happens when ‘Never Leave You’, leaves the number one position? Tinchy, you fool! You’re risking all our lives with your reckless naming of your songs. Sorry, I’m so furious I’m not sure I can continue with this week’s chart update. No, it’s okay, I will.

Also new in the top ten this week is the Ian Carey Project with ‘Get Shaky’ at number ten. Other than that there are no new entries in the top 40. None. Not even one. How very boring. Let’s just go and look at the album chart instead. Maybe that’s more exciting.

Okay, Michael Jackson is still at number one with ‘The Essential Michael Jackson’. Florence & The Machine are still at number two with ‘Lungs’. The first new entry this week is Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’, which arrives on the chart, dragging its heals, a full six week’s after Jacko’s death, when the likes of ‘Thriller’ and various best ofs have been living it up the whole time.

Next up is ‘The Best Of Chicane’, a collection of Chicane’s best tracks, apparently. Also new are Frankmusic at 13 with ‘ Complete Me’ and The Twang at 20 with ‘Jewellery Quarter’.

The charts, even the incredibly boring ones, are compiled by The Official Charts Company.

JLS are still at number one in the singles chart. That’s the sort of world we live in. Mr Hudson is the highest new entry at number two with ‘Supernova (feat Kanye West)’. Frankmusic is also new at 29, with ‘Confusion Girl’, and Michael Jackson’s ‘Man In The Mirror’ is at 16. That is all the news from the singles chart worth reporting. Yes, it really is that exciting.

Over in the album chart, ‘The Essential Michael Jackson’ is still at number one, and Florence And The Machine’s debut is still right behind it at two. With five straight weeks at the top (four with ‘The Essential…’ and one with ‘Number Ones’), Michael Jackson has now been at the top of the chart for longer than any other artist this year. And even though his singles are starting to slip down the charts, his albums are still going strong, with a total of nine in the top 40, including one new entry, ‘The Collection’, which goes straight in at 14.

Other new entries this week are Jordin Sparks at 11 with ‘Battlefield’, and Rhythms Del Mundo’s ‘Classics’.

The charts are compiled by The Official Charts Company. It’s the name that gives it away.