Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft performing at OpenAir St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland, June 27, 2010. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Synthpop, electropop, New Wave |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Major Label (RCA) |
| Website | www.informationhurts.com |
| Members | |
| Theo Hutchcraft Adam Anderson |
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Hurts are a British synthpop duo formed in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft (born August 30, 1986 in Richmond, North Yorkshire) and synthesist Adam Anderson (born May 14, 1984 in Manchester).[1] Their debut album Happiness, which was released in September 2010, has reached the Top 10 in 12 European countries, and has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide. The band have also sold over 1 million singles worldwide.[2]
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Theo Hutchcraft, Adam Anderson and Scott Foster met outside the 42nd Street nightclub in Manchester in November 2005, whilst their friends got involved in a fight. Too drunk to join in, the trio got talking about music instead, and realising they had similar tastes, decided to start a hi-NRG electropop band. Over the next few months they exchanged music and lyrics via e-mail, before forming Bureau in March 2006 with Jamie Alsop and Flick Ward. They performed their first gig as a quintet in May at The Music Box in Manchester, and were shortly afterwards signed to independent record label High Voltage Sounds.[3] They released their first double A-side single "After Midnight" / "Dollhouse" in November, which was made Single of the Week on Xfm.[4]
In 2007, Bureau changed their name to Daggers, following Flick Ward being replaced by Sarah Beecroft. They signed to Label Fandango and in October released another double A-side single "Money" / "Magazine", which despite failing to chart, was nominated for the Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize.[5]
Throughout 2008, Daggers continued to build a following, and began working with successful producers Biff Stannard and Richard X, but after a disastrous A&R showcase in London in September, Theo and Adam returned to Manchester to reflect on the band's future. They recorded a mournful ballad called "Unspoken" together, and they immediately realised that this was the sound that they wanted to develop as a duo.
After informing the rest of the band that it was finished, they went on a short break to Verona in Italy, where they claim they discovered the genre Disco Lento.[6] In an interview with CityLife, Theo said: "A DJ asked us 'What does your music sound like?', so I said that it sounds like Alphaville. Then he explained how in the wake of Italo-disco, all those artists started to make ballads and I was like, 'that’s what we’ve just done'".[7] Daggers announced on their Myspace page on January 30, 2009 that they had split up, with a simple blog saying "It's over. Thank you for everything. You will never know what it means. Sorry. Goodbye."[8]
Now called Hurts, the duo recorded an amateur music video for a song called "Wonderful Life", with a female dancer who had responded to an advert in a shop window and was paid £20 for her time.[9] After uploading the video to their YouTube channel on April 21, 2009, it quickly went viral, and in July, they were signed to RCA imprint Major Label, run by their old friend Biff Stannard.[10] The video has since had over 21 million views on YouTube, putting it in the Top 200 Most Watched Videos in the history of the website.
Although Theo and Adam had decided to not to do any gigs until they had enough songs, they began to steadily build a fanbase throughout 2009 by uploading demos to their Myspace page, and on July 27, they were named Band of the Day by The Guardian.[11] This helped to grow a buzz around the new band, and on December 7, it was announced that they had made the longlist of the Sound Of 2010, an annual poll of music critics and industry figures conducted by the BBC.[12]
Following spot plays on BBC Radio 1 of "Wonderful Life", Hurts were invited to record at London's Maida Vale Studios on December 9 for Huw Stephens' radio show, where they performed "Illuminated" and "Silver Lining".[13]
2010 began with Hurts finishing fourth on the Sound Of 2010 poll, behind Ellie Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds, and Delphic.[14] On January 7, Zane Lowe premiered new song "Blood, Tears & Gold" as his "Hottest Record in the World",[15] and another self-made music video debuted online three days later.
Having released a limited edition 12" vinyl picture disc of the Arthur Baker remix of "Wonderful Life" on January 18, Hurts performed their first ever gig as Hurts on January 22 at the Michalsky Stylenite in Berlin. Followed on February 22 at St Phillips Church in Salford, where they performed eight songs.[16] This was quickly followed by gigs at Wiltons Music Hall, London, and in Berlin and Cologne in Germany.
In March, "Wonderful Life" was released to radio in various European territories; as manager Matt Vines explained to Music Week, the aim was to launch the band simultaneously across Europe and Asia. "It's an internationally focused campaign. We're looking at tours across Europe to back up the work we are doing in the UK." The single became a big radio hit in countries such as Denmark, Cyprus and Russia throughout the spring.
On March 10, their first UK single "Better Than Love" was premiered on Huw Stephens' show on BBC Radio 1.[17] After a nationwide tour with the NME Radar tour, the song was released on digital download, CD and vinyl formats on May 24, and debuted at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.
Following massive success on Greek radio, Hurts were invited to perform at the MAD Video Music Awards ceremony in Athens in front of 11,000 people on June 15.[10] Also in June, it was announced that Kylie Minogue was recording with the band. She recorded a verse and backing vocals for the song "Devotion", which was to be included on the band's album. Hurts recorded a performance of Kylie's 1994 hit "Confide In Me" for newspaper The Sun's website,[18] and has since been a regular inclusion on their gig setlists. Kylie later returned the compliment by recording a performance of "Wonderful Life" in Radio 1's Live Lounge.
Throughout the summer, Hurts performed at several music festivals including V Festival and T in the Park in the UK, Pukkelpop in Belgium, and SWR3 New Pop Festival in Germany.
"Wonderful Life" was released in Germany on August 6 and it debuted at number two on the German Singles Chart. It was released in the UK on August 23, where it debuted at number 21, becoming their first UK top 40 hit.
The album Happiness, which had been recorded at Sunshine Dance Studios in Manchester and Pellerin in Gothenburg with producer Jonas Quant, was released on September 6. It debuted at number four in the UK Albums Chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week on sale, which made it the fastest selling debut album by a band in 2010.[19]
In October, Hurts embarked on their first full headline UK tour, performing in Brighton, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London.
Their third UK single "Stay" was released in November, reaching number 50 in the chart. Meanwhile in Germany, "Wonderful Life" was certified platinum for sales in excess of 500,000 copies, and they were awarded the BAMBI award for Best International Newcomer. They were also nominated at the MTV Europe Music Awards in the Best Push Artist category.
Hurts ended 2010 by supporting Scissor Sisters on their UK arena tour in December, and released a Christmas single called "All I Want for Christmas Is New Year's Day" for free download on iTunes.
Happiness climbed back into the UK Top 30 albums chart in February 2011 following a second nationwide headline tour, several TV appearances including on The Graham Norton Show, and winning Best New Band at the NME Awards on February 23, where they also performed "Wonderful Life". A fourth single from the album, "Sunday", was released in the UK on February 27 and it debuted at number 57, whilst the second single in Germany, "Stay", reached number three.
In March, Hurts were awarded Best International Newcomer at the ECHO Awards in Germany. A fifth single, "Illuminated" was released in the UK on May 9, entering the chart at number 159, though it had already reached number 68 in September 2010, following its use on trailers for television channel Sky1.
On June 26, Theo and Adam performed on the John Peel stage at the Glastonbury Festival, and their full set was broadcast on a loop on the BBC Red Button channel. Readers of music magazine NME voted their performance as the best of the festival, putting them ahead of headliners U2, Coldplay and Beyoncé.[20] They were later voted "Band of the Summer" by the same magazine.
As of September 2011, Happiness has sold 150,000 copies in the United Kingdom, having spent an entire year on the UK Top 200 albums chart. A limited edition CD/DVD will be released on October 31. It has sold 300,000 copies in Germany, earning it three gold discs.[21] "Blood, Tears & Gold" will be released as the third single in Germany on October 7.
Hurts will embark on their first full European tour in October and November 2011, performing in Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and UK.[22]
Theo and Adam have said in interviews that they plan to start writing and recording for their second album after they have completed the tour, but that they might find it more difficult than their first. Theo said to NME: "We've got to get depressed again! And that doesn't really happen when you go around playing festivals. We have to engineer some sort of catastrophe to make us feel miserable again. We're trying to work it out at the moment, actually. Some sort of accident, maybe."[23]
On November 4 2011, Hurts played their last show on the Happiness tour at Brixton Academy where Kylie Minogue joined them on stage to perform Devotion and Confide in Me.[24]
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