It’s been 15 years since Hurts released their debut album Happiness, a record which has since cast a towering influence over the subsequent alt-pop world with its contrast of affecting emotional intensity and glacial synth-pop tones. Now the duo celebrate its 15th anniversary with a new expanded limited edition double-vinyl picture which will be released on 23rd May. Hurts will also play the album in full at a run of headline shows, including the O2 Academy Brixton on 22nd May and Berlin’s Tempodrom on 24th May.
Hurts
Happiness is an album that seemingly hasn’t aged a day. The duo’s breakthrough singles naturally stand-out, from the rebirthed ‘80s pop of Better Than Love to the gospel majesty to Stay through to the instant classic Wonderful Life. But it’s also undeniably an album that engages you on a journey, flowing from highlight-to-highlight such as the drama of opener Silver Lining, the bombastic Devotion complete with guest vocals from Kylie Minogue, and regular live highlights such as Sunday and Illuminated.
The original album is expanded upon with bonus material from the era on side-D. It adds Affair, Mother Nature and Happiness from the Deluxe Edition, all of which now make their vinyl debut. It’s completed by the anti-festive anthem All I Want for Christmas Is New Year’s Day and a Wonderful Life remix courtesy of the legendary Arthur Baker.
Happiness set the foundations for Hurts’ subsequent career. It reached #4 in the UK, earning Gold certification in recognition of 100,000+ domestic sales It also achieved an array of Top 10 chart positions across Europe as well as 2 x Platinum certifications in both Germany and Poland, with 17 platinum certifications around the world. Happiness: 15 Year Anniversary is now available to pre-order HERE.
Hurts followed Happiness with four more acclaimed albums, the most recent of which was 2020’s Faith. They have won two NME Awards and an ECHO Award, and were also nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award. Recent years have seen Theo Hutchcraft collaborate as a songwriter for artists such as Calvin Harris, Måneskin, CIan Ducrot and Louis Tomlinson.
Hurts’ upcoming tour mixes Happiness: 15 Year Anniversary album headline shows with a select summer festival dates. The shows are listed below, please see HERE for ticket details.
Happiness: 15 Year Anniversary shows:
MAY
22nd – O2 Academy Brixton, London UK (SOLD OUT)
24th – Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany (SOLD OUT)
JUNE
19th – Klosterhof Wiblingen, Ulm, Germany
21st – Rhur Congress, Bochum, Germany
22nd – Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Summer festival shows:
JUNE
13th – Helsinki City Festival, Helsinki, Finland
JULY
12th – EXIT Festival, Serbia
19th – ETKO Cyprus, Cyprus
AUGUST
4th – Arena Chisinau, Moldova
9th – Tampere City Festival, Finland
14th – Sigulda Medieval Castle, Latvia
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