Woo!

I must say, bands that I've seen (or am going to see) in concert this year have done quite well for themselves. The Arctics win the Mercury, and Kasabian, whose gig I will be attending in October, currently have the #1 album in the U.K. Obviously, I am the deciding factor. Ha.

Arctic Monkeys capped a year in which they released the fastest selling debut ever, reinvigorated the music industry and lost a founder member, by winning the annual prize which is designed to reward the best release of the year regardless of genre or sales.

The Sheffield four-piece, whose mixture of classic guitar melodies and acutely observed lyrics garnered critical and commercial acclaim, won the prize for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.