Plan B and Richard Hawley are joint favourites to win the Mercury Music Prize.

Other nominees include The Maccabees and Field Music along with Django Django and Alt-J.

Rapper Plan B is the first artist to make the list for a soundtrack album, with ill Manors, which accompanies the film of the same name he directed.

45 year old Hawley is the oldest artist on the shortlist and was previously nominated in 2006 for Coles Corner.

Related Stories:

href="http://www.newstalk.ie/2012/news/entertainment/mercury-prize-shortlist-to-be-released-this-evening/">Mercury Prize shortlist to be released this evening