Elbow, the journeymen of British Indie music, showed that perseverance can pay off last night, as they scooped the Nationwide Mercury Prize, the nation’s foremost music award.

The Bury-based five-piece, who were first nominated for the prize in 2001, were rewarded for their fourth album, The Seldom Seen Kid, which the judges said was “an epic rock record – triumphant, heartbreaking, unerringly melodic and life affirming”.

The group, who have been together for 18 years, suffered the setback of being dropped from their record label before releasing their first album. They were the final act on stage at the awards, held at the Grosvenor Hotel, in West London, wowing the crowds with a heartfelt performance.

Guy Garvey, the group’s bearded singer, said afterwards: “This is quite literally the best thing that’s ever happened to us.” He added: “We really wanted it. I’m just so very proud that me and my mates have been working together for this end.”

Elbow saw off hot favourite Burial, a south London-based producer who revels in his own anonymity and refuses to partake in interviews or be photographed. Radiohead also went home unlucky for the fourth time, and there was no award for Estelle, whose single American Boy, a collaboration with Kanye West, has dominated the charts on both side of the Atlantic. Former Led Zepplin singer Robert Plant, whose collaboration with Alison Krauss had been tipped as an outside chance, also went unrecognized.

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