Bringing calm to the chaos

Hurts aim for a spirit of optimism and hope with their latest album, Desire, after the upheavals witnessed in 2016

For electro-pop duo Hurts, a chance meeting outside a Manchester nightclub in 2004 led to a chartsmashing career and global success. Stories of their early days involve singer Theo Hutchcraft, 31, and synth man Adam Anderson, 33, enjoying rock ’n’ roll excesses in foreign lands – with naked girls in hotels and mini-bars left bare. Theo even dated Miss Germany for a while.

“If you’re young, excited and travelling the world, I guess things just happen,” admits Theo.

“But I think our focus is on different things these days.”

Theo and Adam had two false starts, first forming a band called Bureau, followed by Daggers. Then under the name Hurts the pair experienced their global breakthrough with 2010 debut album Happiness.

Exile and Surrender followed, bringing us to the recently released Desire, which Hurts will perform to UK fans on tour next month.

“We just played to 12,000 people in Moscow,” Theo smiles.

“That’s the biggest show we’ve ever done on a tour. That was a really special moment for us. A huge achievement in a country which has been so supportive of us from the very beginning.”

Hurts’ music has crossed borders effortlessly. With Desire there was a conscious move to reveal themselves, and create an optimistic atmosphere at odds with events outside of the recording studio.

“A lot of the music on this