Defying the bookies' odds - which had dubstep producer Burial tipped to win - Mancunian rockers Elbow walked away with this year's £20,000 Mercury Prize, awarded for their fourth studio album, The Seldom Seen Kid. Formed 18 years ago, the band were first nominated for the Mercury in 2001. Delighted frontman Guy Garvey (second from right) told the audience: "This is quite literally the best thing that's ever happened to us". The judging panel described the band's winning album as "triumphant, heartbreaking, unerringly melodic and life-affirming".
