what about 1964,1968,1974 ? and other great years my choice would be Drums and Wires followed closely by Regatta De Blanc and Armed Forces

The Jam and Setting Sons would have been on that list, given that Weller and his boys were on a par with Sting and his boys that year for being absolutely everywhere.

Because he would have been a shoo-in two years before with My Aim Is True.

I'll go with Tubeway Army as the '79 winners, largely because I can't for the life of me remember what they sounded like.

was 1979, not the debut album, so I'm guessing some of the massive would have that.

Its perfect. And the publicity would suit them more than any other on the list.

Its no-songs-about-the-troubles theme would have met approval with the PC-brigade that the Mercury Awards attract, had either existed in 1979. Plus it is one of the best debut albums ever made.

although I would add onto your list;

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Gang of Four - Entertainment

Specials - Specials

For the winner i think i would plump for Londons Calling.

This one will run and run.
I would have thought the majority,judging by posts on this blog, would go for XTC.
For me it would be Metal Box too.Not my Favourite(London Calling) but it ticks all the right Mercury prize boxes (Geddit ?).
A question
In 1979 were there no Richard Thompson and/or Fairport albums released ?
Surely the list seems empty without them ?

or Elo greatest hits or facade by sad cafe or Euroman Cometh by Jean-Jacques Burnel or Imperial Wizard by David Essex or Street Machine by Sammy Hagar

now you are talking

Now that's my era, drop Throbbing Gristle and you've pretty much got my all time favourite albums of all time there!

Makes you realize what an absolute farce the Mercury Prize is, nothing released in the last 5 years can hold a candle to that lot.

Flicking through my collection here's some more from '79 that have not been mentioned...

Adam & The Antz "Dirk Wears White Socks"
Angelic Uptarts "Teenage Warning"
AC/DC "Highway To Hell" (do Australians qualify?)
The Damned "Machine Gun Etiquette"
Joy Division "Unknown Pleasures"
Hugh Cornwell & Robert Williams "Nosferatu"
Human League "Reproduction"
Nick Lowe "Labour Of Lust"
Japan "Quiet Life"
Roxy Music "Manifesto"
The Ruts "The Crack"
Sparks "No 1 In Heaven" (American I know but they are such Anglophiles)
The Stranglers "The Raven"
Stiff Little Fingers "Inflammable Material"
Toyah "Sheep Farming In Barnet" (errr...did I say MY collection?)
Wire "154"

Now, how can you pick a winner from that lot...?!

by an absolute fucking mile

I've always thought so.

Although 1978 was pretty special as well.

And 1980 rather tasty.

the token jazz and classical albums for 1979 then?

If it's going to be a proper Mercury list it has to include a cursory nod to music outside the mainstream.

Signing Off.

can i suggest the debut lp by Sky

They probably wouldn't have won but the following could have been shortlisted:

David Bowie 'Lodger' - the committee would have been confused by his releasing both and 'Heroes' and 'Low' in 1977, and so would have put this on the list to compensate.
Marianne Faithful - 'Broken English'. Not enough women shortlisted so far, and Ms Bush is inbetween albums this year.

I've failed to find the token Folkie. 1980 has two excellent possibles: Simpson & Tabor's 'A Cut Above' and Nic Jones' 'Penguin Eggs', but nothing for 1979 I'm afraid.

The release of 'The Wall' would have been too late for the Mercury, but might have got a nomination as "a return to form" and as a change from all this New Wave stuff!

And the Massive do not need to be told that the best-selling UK album that year was by a certain Supertramp - wouldn't have got a Mercury nomination because of its success.

were too controversial for such an 'offical' awards ceremony. Music went downhill once awards took over. Can you seriously imagine the young Costello, Lydon, Mark E Smith and Lemmy sitting around back then letting some boffins and Radio/TV presenters decided which of their offerings was most important?! No way. No way at all.

Shouldn't Pink Floyd's The Wall be in there somewhere?

I believe they were a young and upcoming group at the time :-)

for Tony Banks' "A Curious Feeling".

It would have won, underlining that Banks was the driving force in Genesis, and Phil Collins would then have stuck to his role as third banana in the band, thus ensuring the '80s were full of Genesis records of similar quality to "Wind & Wuthering". And we all lived happily ever after.

Absolutely no contest re. '79. Surely it's Japan's splendid 'Quiet Life' at a canter.

The Chieftains

Or Damn the Torpedoes - Tom Petty/Heartbreakers

London Calling is what I would have said at the time. Still would, actually.

Squeezing Out Sparks - Graham Parker and The Rumour
Cool For Cats - Squeeze...

or what I think would have won that year - because too many members of any judging panel would have been unable to bring themselves to vote for The Clash or any of their ilk - Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson.

...and you need to lay off the hindsight-burgers and get back in touch with the spirit of 1979 as it really was amongst worthy popademics at the time.

The album that had the "Dear Robins" of the pop world all a-tizz in early 1979 was "Forces Of Victory" by Jamaican born, British raised dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, and it would have won by a country mile after being chosen by a jury featuring Simon Frith and some other people in corduroy and big glasses that looked like those social-worker types that used to inhabit BIFF cartoons.

If it hadn't been that, it would have been "Broken English" by that plucky, frank, corruscating (etc) self-reinvented torch-survivestress Marianne Faithful.