PJ Harvey has won the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for her album Let England Shake. The decision was announced on Tuesday evening by host Jools Holland in London’s West End, where she beat the likes of Adele, Metronomy, Tinie Tempah and Elbow to the award. This is Harvey’s second Mercury Prize, having previously won the award in 2001 for her album Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea and she becomes the first act to win the prestigious award on two occasions.
PJ Harvey said of winning the award: "First of all I’d like to say thank you very much. Thank you for the recognition of my work on this album. It's also really good to be here this evening. When I won ten years ago on September 11th 2001 I was watching the pentagon burning form my hotel window. This album took me a long time to write. I wanted to make something that was meaningful, not just for me but for other people. i wanted to make something that would last."