N.Y. band wins British award

Britain’s prestigious Mercury Music Prize was established to honor the best British album of each year, so eyebrows have been raised after an album by the New York-based band Antony & the Johnsons won the award over such high-profile and indisputably British acts as Coldplay and the Kaiser Chiefs this week.

“I Am a Bird Now,” a critically acclaimed collection of introspective art/cabaret songs, was eligible because the group’s singer, Antony Hegarty, was born in England and spent some of his childhood there before moving to the U.S.

When the nominations were announced a month ago, Kaiser Chief’s drummer, Nick Hodgson, complained, “He’s an American, really. It’s a good album, but it’s daft he’s got in on a technicality.”

Hegarty accepted the award, which comes with a cash prize of about $37,000, at a London ceremony on Tuesday, saying, “It’s interesting you would call me an American. I’m just really pleased to be part of this.”

The Mercury Prize, intended to recognize artistry rather than sales, is more meaningful in Britain than in the U.S., but its cachet has helped create commercial and/or critical interest in such previous winners as Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal and PJ Harvey. Antony & the Johnsons are due to perform Sept. 22 at the Vista Theater in L.A.

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Richard Cromelin