Bury, Greater Manchester The 2008 Mercury Music Prize winning group "Elbow", fronted by Guy Garvey, hails from Bury and in 2009 the group was awarded the Freedom of the Borough after their 2008 classic album "Seldom Seen Kid" won several accolades including a Brit Award and Mercury Prize. Bury hosts several music festivals yearly, including the 'Glaston-Bury' festival on the August bank holiday weekend, and the Ramsbottom Music Festival, closing the festival season in mid September. While Glaston-Bury hosts mainly local/upcoming bands, Ramsbottom Music Festival hosts a wider range of talent, including bands such as "Soul 2 Soul" and "The Proclaimers". The festival
Mercury Prize Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British Association of Record Dealers in 1992 as an alternative to the Brit Awards. The prize was originally sponsored by Mercury Communications, a brand owned by Cable & Wireless, from which the prize gets its name. It was later sponsored by Technics (1998 to 2001), Panasonic (2002 and 2003), Nationwide Building Society (2004 to 2008) and Barclaycard (2009–14). The