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 May 23rd. Hurts will also play the album in full at a run of headline shows, including the O2 Academy Brixton on May 22nd and Berlin’s Tempodrom on May 24th.
‘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.
Praised upon release by NME for “the genius of its construction, its glinting formal perfection,” ‘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:
22nd May – O2 Academy Brixton, London UK (SOLD OUT)
24th May – Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany (SOLD OUT)
19th June – Klosterhof Wiblingen, Ulm, Germany
21st June – Rhur Congress, Bochum, Germany
22nd June – Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Summer festival shows:
13th June – Helsinki City Festival, Helsinki, Finland
12th July – EXIT Festival, Serbia
19th July – ETKO Cyprus, Cyprus
4th August – Arena Chisinau, Moldova
9th August – Tampere City Festival, Finland
14th August – Sigulda Medieval Castle, Latvia
‘Happiness’ tracklist:
Side A
