Backstage chat at the Mercury Prize

It was the serious musos' award ceremony last night *scratches beard, puts on some ambient dubstep* and we were there to get all the backstage gossip from the Barclaycard Mercury Prize at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.
Alex Turner (and the rest of the Arctic Monkeys) looked pretty dapper, with Alex wearing an Americana-style gingham suit with his trademark quiff and Matt Helders sporting trousers with little dancing tribal African men on them. But adorning Alex's hand we spied a signet ring saying Death Ramps on it. He told us the story behind it: "Well, we do some B-sides and have a guest singer come and sing, and the band becomes "So and so and the Death Ramps" and they'll get a Death Ramps ring. It's sort of like our version of a Blue Peter badge." Just no sticky-backed plastic required. While the Arctics performed a blistering live version of Do I Wanna Know on the night, Alex also admitted he's currently got writers block: "I've got no ideas for album six. I'm barren! I haven't got an idea in my head." Yikes.

Also scrubbing up well for the night were Guy and Howard Lawrence, better known as the purveyors of bangers, Disclosure. And while, being brothers, they do share a similar sort of look, spare a though for an embarrassed fan who clearly could do with some new contact lenses. Guy told us: "Yeah, sometimes people do confuse us. The other day there was a girl at the front row of a show shouting "Howard" at me and I was like "Er, he's over there". Embarrassing. Still, at least it wasn't one of their girlfriends.

Jake Bugg looked a little uneasy at the event at first - he's only 19, people - but it turned out he was just knackered. He told us: "I'm tired. We came from Birmingham yesterday, it's a long bus journey." If you're on the Megabus, maybe. But Jake perked up when we quizzed him about his new found fame with the ladies. He confirmed he was single and said: "I haven't got time to date anyone at the moment. It's been known through the history of music that artists and musicians receive female attention. I sign autographs and stuff now, but if you want to bring some cookies, feel free, I like a good cookie". Duly noted - any Marylands knocking around?

And finally, to the winner, James Blake - not James Blunt, as presenter Lauren Laverne accidently called him on stage, whoops - who was the surprise moody electronica act to take the prize and the  impressive additional bonus of the £20,000 cheque too. He laughed off being dismissed as "depressing" and told us how he's planning to spend the money: "I'll buy a crazy golf course for my front garden. The obstacles will be all the other artists who were nominated in the competition in miniature gnome portrayals holding miniature golf clubs." Okaaay, then…