Leftfield, Coldplay Lead Mercury Prize Nominees

LONDON--Nominees for Britain's annual Technics Mercury Music Prize competition were announced in London on Tuesday (7/25), and included dance group Leftfield, industry newcomers Coldplay and former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft. The prestigious award is given to an artist or group of any genre for producing the year's best new album. Out of this year's dozen nominees, half are for debut albums.

Indie band Coldplay, nominated for its No. 1 debut album "Parachutes," has been tipped by bookmakers as the favorite to win the award. Meanwhile, Ashcroft has been nominated for his first solo album "Alone With Everyone," and Leftfield has been given the nod for "Rhythm and Stealth."

Other contenders include Death In Vegas for "The Contino Sessions," Nitin Sawhney for "Beyond Skin" and rockers Badly Drawn Boy for "The Hour of Bewilderbeast".

The winner of the Mercury Music Prize will be announced in a ceremony in London on September 12.