UK Rock band Elbow have won the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize for the best album by artists from the UK and Ireland. Elbow were tipped before Radiohead but well behind bookie’s favourite Burial.

The band won the £20,000 prize for ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’, their fourth album in a 17-year career, at the awards ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 9th September. Elbow were previously nominated for the Mercury in 2001 but were pipped to the post by PJ Harvey.

Watch Elbow’s Mercury Prize Performance On The BBC

The win comes as a bit of a surprise, as Elbow play a fairly conservative style of rock that doesn’t really deserve the label ‘alternative’ that was bestowed on the band during the awards ceremony.

The Mercury shortlist was certainly neither particularly daring nor revolutionary this year, yet Elbow come across as situated on the more conventional end of the spectrum. Listen to the nominated artists below and judge for yourself.

Nationwide Mercury Music Prize 2008 - Nominations
Adele ‘19′
British Sea Power ‘Do You Like Rock Music?’
Burial ‘Untrue’
Elbow ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’
Estelle ‘Shine’
Laura Marling ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’
Neon Neon ‘Stainless Style’
Portico Quartet ‘Knee-Deep in the North Sea’
Rachel Unthank & The Winterset ‘The Bairns’
Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss ‘Raising Sand’
The Last Shadow Puppets ‘The Age of the Understatement’

Bookie favourite Burial at 4/6 had the most striking album to offer with ‘Untrue’, a fresh breeze in an otherwise tame line-up.

With songs as anthemic as ‘Archangel’ and ‘Etched Headplate’, Burial’s second album has become a landmark for the relatively new Dubstep genre. ‘Untrue’ has the deep sub bass and edgy beats typical for Dubstep. But with its use of heavily treated vocals and cut up melodies, ‘Untrue’ goes far beyond any genre.

Radiohead came away empty handed for the fourth time to date. Despite their considerable popularity and positive critical reception, the band has not yet won a Mercury: 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008 - Will they get another go?

Listen To ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ Here -Buy DRM-free MP3s For $0.99!