P J Harvey wins Mercury again

Posted on | September 7, 2011 | No Comments

PJ Harvey is the first person to win the Mercury Prize twice.

The 41-year-old, who was the first female Mercury winner in September 2001 with Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, said: “It’s really good to be here this evening, because when I last won 10 years ago I was in Washington DC watching the Pentagon burning from my hotel window.

“So much has happened since then. This album took me a long time to write. It was very important to me. I wanted to make something meaningful, not just for myself but for other people, and hopefully to make something that would last.”

The album features graphic lyrics about warfare, as well as allusions to other songs and unusually includes the prominent use of an autoharp, played by Harvey.