David Lister in yesterday's Independent:

The Mercury night when I left early

PJ Harvey was the right winner of the Mercury Music Prize this week. Her album Let England Shake was almost certainly the best British album of the year. The victory on almost the 10th anniversary of 9/11 brought back memories for me of her first Mercury Prize win, which occurred on 9/11 itself. I was there, and it was a mighty strange evening with a mighty strange and subdued atmosphere. Many of us at the celebration felt odd being at a rock'n'roll party on such a night, and many, myself included, left early.

While memorably odd, it is not my most vivid Mercury memory. That is of the night that Coldplay won the album of the year award with their first album. They played their hit song "Yellow" for those of us present. I was sitting next to one of the country's leading record company executives. As Coldplay performed, he whispered to me: "One-hit wonder?"

It's good to know that it is not just hacks who can get things horribly wrong.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/co ... 52250.html

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Wiggins is so superbly unassuming, he looks like he's about to say 'Pop the gold medal in the post, I'm nipping out for some biscuits'

Mark Steel