Antony Hegarty shocked to win the Mercury Prize
Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons was surprised to win this year's Mercury Prize, despite all the critical acclaim being heaped on his second album, I Am A Bird Now. "I was really shocked. I just thought I was going to be like a nice sorbet: my role was to be a counterpoint to the main course, which was a role I'm comfortable with. I've never been the main course before," he said. The media aren't so sure what to make of it either. There is talk of "anger" and "bafflement" at Hegarty capturing the £20,000 award.
Elsewhere, there are articles on The Weird World of Antony, helpfully guiding readers through the subcultural minefield of transvestitism, gender reassignment and radical gay performance art. In other words, his life. Regarding his sexuality, in an earlier interview, he said, "I didn't know what was going on. I thought that homosexuality was disgusting, although I knew I was a cocksucker. I didn't get over those internalized homophobic issues until much later." As for the Mercury Prize he says, "In a way, that's the magic of all this. There's probably some seven-year-old who turned on the television yesterday and saw me, squawking away, and their life has changed. That's the bottom line."
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