Antony and The Johnsons won the Mercury Prize tonight for their album I Am A Bird Now.
The Leeds outfit Kaiser Chiefs were 6/4 favourites to win the £20,000 prize, which leads to increased album sales for both winners and nominees, for their debut album 'Employment'.
The other artists shortlisted for the award were: Bloc Party, Coldplay, The Go! Team, Hard-Fi, Seth Lakeman, The Magic Numbers, Maximo Park, MIA, Polar Bear and KT Tunstall.
The award immediately provoked controversy.
The band are American but qualify for the Brits-only prize because singer Antony Hegarty was born in the UK.
