Hurts

Hailing from Manchester, Hurts are a synthesizer-based duo featuring vocalist Theo Hutchcraft and keyboardist/guitarist Adam Anderson. Known for their arty and striking self-produced videos, Hurts make epic, dramatic pop music that takes inspiration from a finely curated mix of influences including '70s Krautrock, '80s new wave, and '90s R&B. After meeting in 2005, Hutchcraft and Anderson formed several bands including Bureau and Daggers, the latter of which signed to Label Fandango in 2007. With their high-energy electro-pop sound, Daggers released the single "Money/Magazine." However, Hutchcraft and Anderson grew increasingly unhappy with the direction the band was taking and after a particularly disastrous A&R showcase performance in London, they decided to disband Daggers. Holing up in a basement studio, with the duo now going by the name Hurts, they began focusing on a more streamlined, moody, and emotional sound that traded Daggers' edgy pop confrontation for a sustained synth pop drama. Working via internet with Swedish producer Jonas Quant, Hurts recorded three initial songs, "Wonderful Life," "Evelyn," and "Unspoken." In June of 2009, Hurts' self-produced, stark, black-and-white video for the song "Wonderful Life" went viral, and by July they had signed with the RCA imprint Major Label. Throughout the rest of 2009 and 2010, the band's fan base grew even larger with the release of more songs posted to their MySpace page, as well as videos for "Blood, Tears & Gold" and "Better Than Love," and increasing radio play of "Wonderful Life."

Having held off performing live as they built up their song list, Hurts made their concert debut in Berlin in January of 2010. Shows across the U.K. and Europe followed and helped build the band's following. In March of 2010, the single "Better Than Love" debuted at number 50 on the U.K. singles chart. Also around this time, as if to mark how popular the band had become, Hurts recorded the song "Devotion" with backing vocals from pop superstar Kylie Minogue. Hurts then released a live in-studio performance of a cover of Minogue's 1994 hit single, "Confide in Me" for the website The Sun.

In August of 2010, Hurts' debut full-length album, Happiness, debuted at number four on the U.K. albums chart, selling over 25,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest selling album by a band in the U.K. that year. Featuring the singles "Better Than Love," "Wonderful Life," and "Stay," among others, the album was huge success across Europe and Hurts' profile rose exponentially. Several accolades followed in 2010 including topping the BBC's Sound of 2010 poll, winning a German BAMBI award, and garnering an MTV Europe Music Award nomination. The following year, Hurts earned more public support after a playing a high-profile slot at the Glastonbury Festival. The performance was well-received and was even voted best of the festival by NME readers. Also that year, the band headlined their first European tour which culminated with a concert at London's Brixton Academy with special guest Kylie Minogue.

In December of 2012, in anticipation of the band's next album and in keeping with the band’s tradition of releasing stylish, immaculately directed videos, Hurts released a long-form promotional video for the song "The Road," which itself was inspired by Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name and J.G. Ballard's novel Crash. Hurts followed up in 2013 by releasing their sophomore album, Exile. Featuring production from Hutchcraft and Anderson, along with Quant and Dan Grech-Marguerat, Exile showcased a nuanced, somewhat more contemporary sound that incorporated more orchestral and rock instrumentation, yet retained all of Hurts' core new wave and Krautrock influences.