Antony and The Johnsons

Bio

Antony and the Johnsons is a Mercury Prize-winning music act from New York City. The band is essentially a vehicle for singer Antony Hegarty. Producer Hal Willner heard the EP and played it to Lou Reed, who immediately recruited him for his project The Raven. Now gaining more attention, Antony signed to US-based record label Secretly Canadian, and released another EP, The Lake, with Lou Reed guest-performing on one of the tracks. Secretly Canadian also re-released Antony's debut album in the United States to wider distribution in 2004. Antony's second full-length album, 2005's I am a Bird Now, was greeted with positive reviews and significantly more mainstream attention, winning the Mercury Music Prize for the best album of 2005. Rival Mercury nominees, and favorites for the prize, the Kaiser Chiefs suggested that Antony got in on a technicality; despite the fact he was born in the United Kingdom he spent much of his time in the US -although they later apologized for the suggestion that he wasn't a deserving winner. -wikipedia-