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Elbow were named the winners of the Nationwide Mercury Prize 2008 for their album ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ during the ceremony held September 9

They won the revered prize ahead of a shortlist of 11 other acts including Radiohead, Adele and The Last Shadow Puppets at the ceremony in central London and their victory sees them follow in the footsteps of acts such as last year's winner Klaxons.

The band had been nominated for their first album ‘Asleep In The Back’ in 2001, but they lost out to PJ Harvey for ‘Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea’. ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ is the band's fourth album.

Collecting the prize, singer Guy Garvey said: "This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us. I know I'm supposed to say something cool, but it's literally the best thing that has happened."

The Mercury prize is designed to champion the best UK album releases of the past 12 months.  Winning the prize brings a guaranteed sales boost and kudos for the winning act thanks to the increased exposure from their win. Past winners include Arctic Monkeys, Pulp and Badly Drawn Boy.

Full list of other 2008 nominees
Adele - 19
British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?
Burial - Untrue
Estelle - Shine
Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
Portico Quartet - Knee Deep in the North Sea
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset - The Bairns
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement

Watch the video for ‘Grounds for Divorce’ from ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ below

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