Hurts have had an enormous rise from obscurity to the dizzy heights of acclamation and stardom. In fact, it’s only been 12 months since the Manchester duo released their debut single “Better Than Love” and since then the boys have just got better and better!
The synthpop duo have gone on to break a record as the fastest selling new UK band in the world, with 1 million singles sales and 700,000 album sales. Along the way they have attracted a fair amount of attention from megastars like Kylie Minogue and The Scissor Sisters, collaborating and supporting the artists respectively.
Accolades include “New Best Band” at the NME Shockwaves Awards, beating off stiff competition from the likes of Beady Eye, Two Door Cinema Club, Everything Everything and The Drums. Further, their album has gone platinum in the likes of Germay and Switzerland as well as Gold in the UK and Eastern Europe. It is no real surprise then that the album “Happiness” was voted the NME and Popjustice’s Readers Album Of The Year. If that’s not enough to prove their worth then I don’t know what is.
Find out for yourselves when they go on a massive world tour which spans 6 countries over 3 months. They will be rocking up in Germany, Russia, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland before coming back to their hometown to play to their adoring UK fans.
Their videos have been compared to the notoriously funny Flight Of The Conchords’ Pet Shop Boys spoof ‘Inner City Pressure’ whilst maintaining a serious undertone to them. With their wet look hair and their incessant need to be suited and booted, they have an edge to them which sets them apart from the rest.
They are bringing the 80’s back with their synth-pop sounds with emotional lyrics and hooks that have you singing at the top of your lungs in a Karaoke-esque fashion. Such ballads are what makes the band different to the norm, they aren’t afraid to ressurect the somewhat cheesiness of the past decades and move away from all the indie music that is so prevalent in todays charts.
This is pop music at its best and despite the demeanour and serious manner of the boys, its music not to be taken too seriously and to put a smile on your face no matter how you feel!
Support on the tour comes from Nikki & The Dove: a band from Stockholm, Sweden with two members, Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf. Getting together in February 2010, Malin and Gustaf have spent the time since writing together, figuring out just how pop music works and then discovering new ways to break it.
As well as Jess Mills: Alternative / Pop / Psychedelic artist hailing from London and tipped for the top!!
Check them out in action at TITP 2011 here:
And head over to gigsandtours to buy tickets for their UK tour of Brighton, London and Glasgow.
A personal favourite of mine: