English Teacher win the 2024 Mercury Prize with ‘This Could Be Texas’
Congratulations, English Teacher!
By Nick Reilly
English Teacher have won the Mercury Prize 2024, for their acclaimed debut album This Could Be Texas.
The Leeds band scooped the award for their debut album, which has become one of the most celebrated guitar records of 2024.
Accepting the award, the group – who beat bookies favourite Charli XCX – said they were lost for words and that they “didn’t really plan this far”.
“We just thought we’d make a band,” said singer Lily Fontaine, before paying tribute to her bandmates and the formative influences of the Leeds music community including Nathan Clark, the owner of the Brudenell Music Social Club venue.
“What do we do now?” said Fontaine, before thanking her mother for making the band’s album artwork.
The judging panel said of the band: “This has been a really tough year for the Mercury Prize judges, with the final 12 albums being so reflective of our diverse & 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 & 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.”
Tonight’s Mercury Prize also saw the band facing competition from The Last Dinner Party as well as their fellow Rolling Stone UK’s 2024 Future of Music stars Barry Can’t Swim and Nia Archives. Other nominees included the likes of BERWYN, Ghetts, Cat Burns and CMAT.
Completing the list of nominees were Beth Gibbons, Corinne Bailey Rae and jazz star corto.alto. The nominee list – and eventual winner – was decided by a panel of industry experts including artists, journalists and broadcasters.
English Teacher can also expect a spike in their listening figures in the wake of the win.
Last year’s winners, the jazz band Ezra Collective, saw a 6k spike in sales of their album Where I’m Meant to Be immediately after scoring the prize. In November, the band will also become the first jazz act ever to headline Wembley Arena.
More follows…