LONDON — Plan B and Richard Hawley are among the favourites to win the Mercury Prize for the year?s best British album Thursday.
Bookmakers William Hill tip electronic quartet Alt-J as the leading contenders at 6-5 for their album "An Awesome Wave", with Hawley at 4-1 for "Standing At the Sky's Edge" and Plan B 8-1 for "Ill Manors".
The winner of the award, which is in its 20th year, will be announced at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London, on Thursday night.
"The sheer range of music here celebrates the abiding ability of British musicians to find new ways to explore traditional themes of love and loss while making an exhilarating soundtrack for life in 2012," said Simon Frith, the chair of the judging panel.
UK and Irish acts who have released albums in the past year are eligible for the Mercury Prize, with the winner usually getting a big boost in sales.
Hawley, 45, was favourite to win the award in 2006 with album "Coles Corner", but lost to Arctic Monkeys.
When frontman Alex Turner accepted the 2006 prize he said: "Someone call 999 - Richard Hawley's been robbed."
Last year PJ Harvey became the first artist to take home the award twice, and other past winners include Dizzee Rascal, Pulp and Klaxons.
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