Attacks keep PJ Harvey from awards

LONDON, England -- The attacks in New York and Washington prevented British singer PJ Harvey from flying to London to collect her Mercury Music award.

Harvey, the first female artist to win the prestigious prize in its 10-year history, could not fly to the ceremony because she was stranded in the United States.

The singer spoke to hosts of the awards via a telephone link. "It has been a very surreal day. All I can say is thank you very much. I am absolutely stunned," she said.

Harvey received the Mercury prize for her album "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea," beating other acts including Zero 7, Turin Brakes, Elbow and Radiohead who were all competing.

Gorillaz, the band fronted by Blur singer Damon Albarn, were nominated for an award this year but refused to be considered for the prize.

The Mercury awards are known for rewarding originality rather than commercial success. However, the publicity involved with winning a Mercury award can mean a sales boost of between 20 and 100 percent.

Other major award ceremonies, such as the Latin Grammy awards and the Emmys that were due to take place in America on Tuesday night, were rescheduled for Sunday night after the attacks.