London women and Kasabian shortlisted for Mercury music prize

Three female south London artists are in the running for the most prestigious award in British rock and pop.

Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine, La Roux fronted by the spikily androgynous Elly Jackson and hip hop MC Speech Debelle have been shortlisted for the £20,000 Barclaycard Mercury Prize.

Previous nominee Bat for Lashes - Natasha Khan from Brighton - and Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan complete the list of female contenders whose albums are in the running to be named best of the year.

But the boys fight their corner with nominations for the St Albans trio Friendly Fires, The Horrors from Southend, Glasgow's Glasvegas - admittedly with a woman on drums - and London trio The Invisible, whose members have played in several other bands including Hot Chip.

Kasabian, the four-piece rock band from Leicester, are the most established performers in this year's line-up of 12. Their third album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, was hailed by the judges as having "explosive songs that fill epic rock spaces with absolute authority".

They were named co-favourites to win by bookmakers William Hill, sharing 5/1 odds with Florence and The Machine's debut, Lungs. Welch picked up the critics' choice award at this year's Brits.

La Roux, who reached No 2 in the charts with their single In For The Kill, were in a three-way tie with Glasvegas and Bat for Lashes at 6/1.

Simon Frith, chairman of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize judges, said: "This has been a rich and creative year for British and Irish music. There are seven fine debut albums on the list and five outstanding records from more established acts, all marking out new ground. What most impresses is the imaginative verve with which British and Irish musicians continue to explore musical possibilities, push musical boundaries and refuse to be pinned down by genre".

Graham Sharpe of William Hill hailed it a year of such quality that the odds were "the closest ever".

The prize can give a massive boost to an artist or group - Elbow's sales soared after they won last year with The Seldom Seen Kid.

The 2009 shortlist was chosen from more than 260 submissions. This year's nod to jazz comes in the quintet Led Bib, part of London's revitalised modern scene. The line-up is completed with Sweet Billy Pilgrim, a Buckinghamshire trio named after a character in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 whose albums are recorded in a garden shed because of a lack of cash.

Noah and the Whale, Doves and Paolo Nutini were tipped for inclusion but none of them made it onto the shortlist.

This year's winner will be announced live on BBC2 on 8 September in an awards show hosted by Jools Holland.

Mercury 2009 shortlist
Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
The Horrors - Primary Colours
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
Glasvegas - Glasvegas
La Roux - La Roux
Florence And The Machine - Lungs
Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew
The Invisible - The Invisible
Led Bib - Sensible Shoes
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice Born Men
Speech Debelle - Speech Therapy