Hurts

Hurts are an electro-pop duo from Manchester, United Kingdom, made up of Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson. Active since 2009, the group works across synth-pop, synth-pop-rock, electronic, dance-pop, new wave and pop.

Formation and early years

Anderson and Hutchcraft meet outside Manchester’s 42nd Street nightclub in November 2005, where they start talking about music after a fight breaks out among their friends. They begin exchanging songs and lyrics by email and, in March 2006, form Bureau. The group plays its first gig as a quintet at The Music Box in Manchester in May 2006 and is then signed to the independent label High Voltage Sounds. Bureau releases the double A-side single “After Midnight” / “Dollhouse” later that year, and “After Midnight” is named Single of the Week on Xfm.

In 2007, Bureau splits and Hutchcraft and Anderson form Daggers. Daggers sign to Label Fandango and release the double A-side single “Money” / “Magazine” in October. Although it does not chart, it is nominated for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize. During 2008 the pair works with producers Biff Stannard and Richard X, but after an unsuccessful A&R showcase in London they return to Manchester, record the ballad “Unspoken”, and decide to continue as a duo. Daggers splits on 30 January 2009.

Breakthrough

As Hurts, the duo makes a low-budget video for “Wonderful Life” with a dancer recruited through a poster in a Manchester post office. After the video is uploaded to YouTube in April 2009, it spreads widely online. In July 2009, Hurts sign to RCA Records and RCA imprint Major Label Records. They are named Band of the Day by The Guardian later that month, and in December they appear on the BBC’s Sound of 2010 longlist before finishing fourth in the poll.

Hurts release several early recordings through BBC radio and online, including “Blood, Tears & Gold”, “Illuminated” and “Silver Lining”. Their first live appearances as Hurts begin in January 2010, first in Berlin and then in Salford, followed by further shows in the UK and Germany. “Wonderful Life” becomes their first UK top 40 hit in August 2010, and the debut album Happiness follows in September. Produced by Jonas Quant and recorded in Manchester and Gothenburg, it reaches number four in the UK Albums Chart and becomes the fastest-selling debut album by a band in 2010 in the UK. The album also reaches the top 10 in several countries.

Happiness era

During the first album cycle, Hurts tour widely across the UK and Europe and appear at festivals including V Festival, T in the Park, Pukkelpop and SWR3 New Pop Festival. The single “Better Than Love” reaches number 50 in the UK, “Stay” reaches number 50 in the UK and number three in Germany, and “Sunday” reaches number 57 in the UK. “Illuminated” is used on Sky1 trailers. The group also releases a free Christmas download, “All I Want for Christmas Is New Year’s Day”.

Hurts receive several early honours, including Best New Band at the NME Awards, Best International Newcomer at the BAMBI awards and Best International Newcomer at the ECHO Awards. “Wonderful Life” is certified platinum in Germany, while Happiness later earns double platinum status there and sells 150,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Kylie Minogue records vocals for “Devotion”, and Hurts record a version of her song “Confide in Me”, which later becomes a regular part of their live set.

Exile, Surrender and Desire

Recording for the second album begins with Jonas Quant in 2012, and Exile is released in 2013. The album enters the top 10 in ten countries, reaching number three in Germany and number nine in the UK. Its singles include “Miracle”, “Blind” and “Somebody to Die For”, and the latter is issued with a cover of “Ohne Dich” by Selig. Hurts tour Europe in support of the album in 2013 and 2014.

In 2015 the group releases “Some Kind of Heaven”, again with Jonas Quant, followed by the single “Wish” and the album Surrender. At the end of that album cycle they issue “Nothing Will Be Bigger Than Us”, built from live footage filmed in Moscow and London.

In 2017, Hurts release “Beautiful Ones”, which they link to Prince, followed by “Ready to Go” and “Hold On to Me”. The album Desire follows later that year. Touring for the album extends to Russia and then to Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and China, with the final concert taking place in Bucharest in September 2018.

Faith and later activity

In 2020, Hurts use social media puzzles to lead to the lyric video for “Voices”, whose lyrics deal with isolation, desperation and mania. The follow-up singles are “Suffer” and “Redemption”, and the fifth studio album Faith is released later that year. The duo remains active and continues as Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson.