Arctic Monkeys land Mercury prize

LONDON - The Arctic Monkeys, who shot to fame on the internet and broke all records with their debut, won the coveted Mercury Prize today for the best British album of the year.

"It's good tunes -- that's what we try to do," said frontman Alex Turner after the group accepted the £20,000 award.

The Mercury Prize judges tend to court controversy every year by picking quirky and offbeat winners rather than chart-topping blockbusters.

This year was a glaring exception with the prize going to the Arctic Monkeys who in January smashed the British record for the fastest-selling debut album.

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not sold over 363,700 copies in its first week.

Even Turner admitted to being surprised that they had won. "Normally it doesn't go to a band that has sold as many albums as we have. But we are very pleased with it," he said.

The Arctic Monkeys handed out free CDs of their music at early gigs which were in turn downloaded onto the internet by fans and sent across cyberspace.

They were surprised as anyone when crowds at concerts then began singing back the words as they performed.

For the Mercury, first awarded in 1992, the quality of the music, not the weight of album sales is normally the prime consideration.

In 1994, M People's Elegant Slumming beat competition from Blur, Pulp and the Prodigy -- much to the surprise of the music press.

Last year Antony and the Johnsons won the prize for I Am A Bird Now. Lead singer Antony Hegarty, while born in England, spent more than 20 years in the United States, raising questions about his eligibility for the award.

- REUTERS