1998. Gomez, 'Bring It On'
Who were they? Bluesy troupe Gomez, notable for having three singers and four songwriters, released debut album 'Bring It On' in the wake of Britpop's death. The three singles released failed to make the Top 30, but this didn't sway the Mercury panel from awarding the band the prize.
Was it an entirely outrageous choice? 'Bring It On' is a great album, but did it really do anything unique? It showed solid songwriting would always be relevant in rock despite changing tides, but then so did 'Urban Hymns', by the Verve; likewise, it pushed boundaries of cohesion and expectancy like Massive Attack's 'Mezzanine'. Perhaps it was important though for an underdog to win the prize again, to keep the unpredictability of the Mercury's, and to hopefully kickstart the next big thing to follow Britpop.
What have they done since? Well they weren't the next big thing to follow Britpop. 'Liquid Skin' was a reasonably popular 'Bring It On: Part II', but the band have found themselves mostly supporting other acts, seven albums into their career. Singles haven't fared all that well in the charts and critics remain reasonably quiet on Gomez.