Becoming the first band from outside London since 2014 to win the Mercury Music Award, we pay tribute to Leeds-based English Teacher and their northern roots; the flourishing Leeds music scene and how Ilkley’s most famous landmark became the artwork on their album cover.

There aren’t too many albums that feature the iconic Cow and Calf rocks of Ilkley Moor on their cover.

So, when Leeds band English Teacher picked up the coveted Mercury Music Award in October for their debut album This Could Be Texas, the famous Yorkshire landmark was suddenly a hot topic of conversation.

Having become the first band outside of London since 2014 to finish top of the class at this year’s prestigious awards, English Teacher dedicated their success to their northern roots, the Leeds music scene and the woman who painted the picture used on their album cover.

Cow and Calf album artwork

That woman is Gilly Fontaine-Grist – the mother of lead singer Lily Fontaine – who perfectly captured the rugged rock formation which the band says is a visual representation of their all-consuming artistry and a nod to the places that made them.

And Lily was quick to sing the praises of her talented mum whose work brought a sense of stability to her daughter in what was often a chaotic childhood growing up in Yorkshire.

Lily said: “Our album cover is a painting that my mum drew in Ilkley in the 80s and it was so nice to keep our fingers on the artwork a little, especially given the themes of this album.

“My mum’s work was a foundation of consistency throughout a childhood of relative displacement, and it made sense to use her work of the West Yorkshire countryside.

Picture by: Owen Richards

“It’s dedicated to the north, to all its hills and valleys, to Mum, to my best three boys and to music.”

As for the artist herself, Gilly says it represents the separation of a mother and her child over time. She explained: “It was a painting I did in the late 80s and although it represents a beautiful area in Ilkley it also represents the natural separation of a mother and her young as they grow and make their own way in the world.

“I’m not sure if the calf has moved further down the hill over time but I like to think that it has, whilst at the same time maintaining its undying connection to its mother.”

A beautiful simile and one that is reflected in a groundbreaking new album which left judges praising its “originality and character” and one that “revealed new depths on every listen and the mark of a future classic”.

Following in the footsteps of singer songwriter Jake Thackray, Corrine Bailey Rae and jazz rock trio Roller Trio, the four-piece met at Leeds Conservatoire (previously Leeds Music College) before playing their first gig as English Teacher in 2020.

Made up of Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums), Nicholas Eden (bass) and Lewis Whiting (lead guitar, synth), the band hope their victory will be an inspiration to other UK artists and proof you don’t have to be from the capital to succeed.

Picture by: Owen Richards

Following their award, Whiting said: “To be honest it is insane that 10 years have passed since a band from outside of London has won.

“There’s so much good music out there, not just in Leeds but plenty of places that don’t get a look in from a music industry that is very much centred around London.

“How many classic albums and how many bands have come from other places, yet it’s a novelty that a band from the north would win the Mercury Prize – it really is kind of insane.”

He said representing the north as part of their win was “so important because otherwise the music industry becomes really homogenous and really boring”.

Along the way, the band have been supported by talent development organisation Music:Leeds, whose Launchpad programme distributed their first two self-released singles including The World’s Biggest Paving Slab, a song they re-recorded for the winning album and which Fontaine first wrote in her bedroom six years ago.

She draws much of her lyrical inspiration from growing up in the north, and cites: “being born in Huddersfield, living in Colne, moving to Leeds, moving between races and even sexualities, and not really having a sense of home” as factors which shape her writing.

Picture by: Denmarc Creary

The act scooped a career changing £25,000 at the awards with an ecstatic Fontaine adding the band also owed their success to the encouragement they’d received from local venues like the Hyde Park Book Club and the Brudenell Social Club, whose owner Nathan Clark was thanked in the band’s acceptance speech.

“There’s real support for musicians in Leeds at the moment,” Fontaine said: “And I hope our win can show other people in communities outside London that you can have a voice.”

“Venues are willing to take on new artists and I think that’s integral to the health of the music scene and without the support of those people we wouldn’t be here.”

Here’s hoping English Teacher have taught the music industry a valuable lesson and we’re not waiting another 10 years to see the next northern band taste Mercury success.