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Mercury Prize Nominees & Burial's Identity

When the nominees for the Nationwide Mercury Prize were announced late last month, the focus of most conversation was on Burial, the dub-step musician whose real identity was a mystery.

With Mercury nominees traditionally performing at the star-studded ceremony - this year to be held on September 9 in London - speculation was rife that for one of the only times in its 16-year history, a nominee would be a no-show in order to keep his identity secret. Worse than that, with Burial rapidly installed as favourite to scoop the coveted award, could the prize go uncollected by its winner?

Until the nomination, Burial had managed to go undetected and keep his real identity firmly under wraps. Despite releasing his first album, the eponymously titled 'Burial' in 2006 to vast critical acclaim - named as The Wire magazine's album of the year and coming fifth in Mixmag's Album of the Year list - and in 'Untrue' having one of the most hotly-anticipated releases of last year, the producer was able to lead a double life of everyday South Londoner and successful musician. Few photos of him exist and the ones that do had his face carefully concealed. Just as his real background is unknown, so do those who know him in real life scarcely know of his alter ego. "Only about five people outside of my family know I make tunes, I think. I hope," he said in a rare interview last year.

Celebrating success is somewhat difficult when you want to remain anonymous, which could prove tricky for the mystery man if he does bag the Mercury - having already had a taster of the difficulty of his double life. He recalled: "I was buzzing, totally buzzing when the first record did so well. But I had to hide that feeling, I didn't really have anyone to tell, apart from my brothers and my family - but that was all that mattered to me.

"I like it that way. I've had times when I've had mates sitting next to me and they've put my tunes on without knowing. I would just sit there whispering to myself, 'Please don't put that on - or at least, don't say anything bad about it.' I've had someone say to me, 'Yeah, Burial's a girl. I know someone who met her.' "

With so much speculation over his real identity among his friends, the strain of keeping his name a secret proved too much when several tabloid newspapers ran campaigns to find out who the man behind the music was.

Norman Cook - AKA Fatboy Slim, who has also gone under various guides including that of Pizzaman in the late 1990s - and dance-rock supremo Aphex Twin were two of the most high-profile artists put forward as likely candidates for being "music's equivalent to Banksy".

However, with 'Find Burial' campaigns at their peak, the dubstepper has finally decided to shed his cloak of mystery and out himself.

Posting on his MySpace page earlier this week, accompanied by a picture of himself, Burial outed himself as South Londoner William Bevan - a name previously reported by The Independent in a story about alumni of London's Elliott School of music. Hot Chip's Joe Goddard had previously claimed Burial was in the year above him at the same school.

Explaining his decision to remain anonymous, Will wrote a blog saying: "For a while there's been some talk about who I am, but it's not a big deal. I wanted to be unknown because I just want it to be all about the tunes. Over the last year the unknown thing become an issue so I'm not into it any more.

"I'm a low-key person and I just want to make some tunes, nothing else. My name is Will Bevan, I'm from south London, I'm keeping my head down and just going to finish my next album."

However, as soon as Burial identified himself, speculation began that it was all an elaborate hoax; he had given himself a fake 'real' identity in order to continue anonymously away from rumour.

The music website NME.com claimed online searches reveal that website Williambevan.co.uk belongs to a Herefordshire-based undertakers - arguing that the name has been chosen as a clever twist on Burial.

Only time will tell if Burial - or Will Bevan - is telling the truth, and fans will await him taking the stage at the Nationwide Mercury Prize before finally believing who is behind the alias - though it remains to be seen whether he can follow in the footsteps of Arctic Monkeys, Dizzy Rascal and lesser-remembered artists such as Gomez and Talvin Singh.

Despite high-profile, successful artists such as Coldplay and Duffy failing to receive the nod for this year's shortlist, Burial still faces stiff competition from the 11 other nominees.

The award's shortlist - which is narrowed down from around 240 submitted British albums by a panel of industry experts - has traditionally had a strong contingent of debut releases, left-field unknowns and the occasional mainstream chart-toppers and this year is no different.

Alex Turner will be hoping he can replicate his success of 2006 when his band Arctic Monkeys scooped the award for debut album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. This year, his critically-acclaimed side project, The Last Shadow Puppets - who the Yorkshireman fronts with The Rascals' singer-and-guitarist Miles Kane - are nominated for their debut release, 'The Age Of The Understatement'. Buoyed by a recent win at the MOJO awards - they scooped Best Breakthrough act - Alex will be hoping to take to the podium again and put last year's Mercury awards behind him, where, despite being favourites to take the award, Arctic Monkeys' 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' was beaten by The Klaxons' 'Myths of the Near Future'.

Another act who will be hoping to put the past behind them is Radiohead. The band have never won the Mercury Prize, despite three previous nods - 'OK Computer' in 1997, 'Amnesiac' in 2001 and 'Hail to the Thief' in 2003, as well as a nomination for frontman Thom Yorke's solo album, 'The Eraser' in 2006. The Oxford outfit will be hoping their seventh studio effort 'In Rainbows' can finally bring them success. The album - as well as being one of the most hotly-anticipated records of the last year - was much talked about on release because of the controversial 'pay what you think it is worth' tactic employed by the band. Fans were allowed to pay whatever they wanted for the 10 MP3 files - contributions ranged from nothing to £100 - before a CD was released later in the year.

Newcomer Adele has enjoyed a swift rise to success since releasing her debut album '19' in January. A diary of the then-teenager's heartbreak, tracks such as 'Chasing Pavements' and 'Cold Shoulder' proved instant winners with fans and critics alike. Having already bagged a BRIT Award - receiving the Critics Choice prize at this year's bash - the former BRIT School pupil will hope to add to her trophy collection by picking up the Mercury - though solo females have traditionally never fared well at the awards - in its 16-year history, the prize has gone to just two female artists; PJ Harvey in 2001 and Ms. Dynamite the following year.

After being dropped by her record label and moving to America to kick-start her career, Estelle will have more to prove than many of the other nominees. Her second album, 'Shine' featured production from the likes of Will.I.Am, Wyclef Jean, Mark Ronson and John Legend and Kanye West appeared on her smash -hit single 'American Boy'. With the support from a 'who's who' of hip-hop behind her, it is little wonder the three-time UK Hip-Hop Award winner has returned to prominence. After silencing critics who warned she should give up music when she lost her record deal in 2004, the 28-year-old will hope to silence them for good by taking home the prize.

Laura Marling is another artist wishing to avoid the curse of the female at the awards. The 18-year-old folk singer will hope the gentle tones of her debut album 'Alas I Cannot Swim' can see her become the youngest-ever winner of the Nationwide Mercury Prize, beating the record currently set by Dizzee Rascal, who was 19 when he was awarded for his debut album, 'Boy In Da Corner' in 2003.

Dizzee's win caused an upset after he beat some of the year's most commercially successful albums - including The Darkness' 'Permission to Land' and Coldplay's 'A Rush of Blood To The Head' to land the award. Unlike other awards ceremonies, such upsets are common in the Mercury, with the eventual winner being difficult to predict. Antony and the Johnsons caused a stir in 2005 after Coldplay again lost out - this time with 'X and Y', as did Bloc Party, Hard Fi and Kaiser Chiefs, who all enjoyed impressive-performing debut records in comparison with the relatively-unknown winner.

The Portico Quartet - a four-piece London jazz act - and Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - a quartet originally formed in 2004 who have undergone two line-up changes - will be relying on this 'obscurity factor' for their chances of success.

After two years honing their craft busking, the Portico Quartet finally bagged a record deal last year. Their album, 'Knee-deep in the North Sea', was released to widespread critical acclaim, thanks to their distinctive sound using the hang, a 21st century percussion instrument. Their position as jazz favourites was cemented when they were given Time Out's Jazz Album of the Year award and they will hope to build commercial success by winning the Mercury Prize.

Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, although unknown to the majority, have also achieved great recognition within their own genre. Their 2006 debut 'Cruel Sister' was honoured by MOJO magazine as Folk Album of the Year. Last year, they received nominations for Best Album, Best Band, Best Live Act, and the Horizon Award at the BBC Folk Awards, eventually taking home the Horizon award. Although 'The Bairns' missed out on Best Album on that occasion, the women will be hoping it doesn't go unrecognised on September 9.

Somewhat overshadowed by Led Zeppelin's reunion gig in London, Robert Plant's collaboration with Union Station singer Alison Krauss, 'Raising Sand' blended Plant's rock style with the country singer. The resulting dark, brooding record provided both with their most successful solo projects, while their single, 'Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)' won a Grammy Award. However, organisers risk stirring controversy if they award the duo the prize as Alison is American.

Super Furry Animals' eccentric frontman Gruff Rhys is another who has received a nomination for work away from his more famous band. Neon Neon sees the Welshman team up with producer Boom Bip on 'Stainless Style', a conceptual album based around the controversial life of automobile mogul John DeLorean. The duo had a wide range of special guests featuring on the album, Including Har Mar Superstar, The Magic Numbers and The Strokes' Fabrizio Moretti, so it remains to be seen how many people Neon Neon can cram on stage if and when they give an acceptance speech.

Making up the final two places on the shortlist are underground indie favourites British Sea Power and Elbow.

Brighton-based British Sea Power enjoy a huge following on the live scene, with their lavish stage sets and powerful sound. Despite regularly being compared to musical greats including Joy Division and The Cure, the band's commercial success has been average at best, 'Do You Like Rock Music?'. Their third album has been their most successful work to date, reaching number 10 on the UK Album chart in January this year.

Elbow's inclusion in the shortlist comes seven years after they were first nominated for the prize. Back in 2001, their debut offering 'Asleep At The Back' losing out to PJ Harvey's 'Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea'. This time around the five-piece will hope 'The Seldom Seen Kid' - their fourth studio effort - won't leave them walking home empty-handed.

With such strong contenders in the list, the winner of this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize is hard to predict. Although there can only be one winner on the night, past years have proven that ultimately, everyone's a winner - nominees tend to receive a noticeable boost in sales following the ceremony, in particular for the lesser known artists in contention.