British rockers Wolf Alice win Mercury Prize

London: Rockers Wolf Alice defied the odds to win Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize on Thursday for their second album “Visions of a Life”, beating off competition from heavyweights Arctic Monkeys and Noel Gallagher.

“This means so much,” said emotional frontwoman Ellie Rowsell as she picked up the £25,000 (Dh122,000) prize, which is presented annually for the best album released by a British or Irish artist, according to a panel of judges.

The north London four-piece, who released their debut album in 2015, join past winners including Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, PJ Harvey, The xx and grime star Skepta.

The band, whose critically-acclaimed album charted at number two in Britain on its release in September, closed out the show with a celebratory performance of album track “Don’t Delete the Kisses”.