Debelle Quits Record Label

The 26 year old won this year's (09) coveted Mercury Prize and demand for her first CD, Speech Therapy, sky-rocketed.

But Debelle has revealed Big Dada Records label couldn't keep up with requests for the album and many fans were left disappointed when they couldn't get hold of a copy.

The London-born star - real name Corynne Elliot - is furious the situation wasn't better handled and she's currently in negotiations to find a new label to look after her second record.

She tells British radio station BBC 6 Music, "The Mercury Prize was on Tuesday, and on Friday there were no more physical albums in the shops. So, on the Mercury weekend, which would have been my biggest selling weekend, people couldn't get it.

"I wasn't disappointed that it didn't sell well, I was disappointed in the people I was working with. I wasn't on a big label and the machine wasn't there. So even though the album won the Mercury, it was still only able to do what the label was capable of doing, which just means that I'm more prepared for next time.

"One thing I've learnt is that having bargaining power is important. It's important to walk into a record label and say 'This is what I have, and these are the kind of terms I want.'"