Theo Hutchcraft | |
|---|---|
 Hutchcraft performing with Hurts in June 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 30 August 1986 Richmond, North Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | RCA |
Theo David Hutchcraft (born 30 August 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of the synthpop duo Hurts.
Theo David Hutchcraft [1] was born on 30 August 1986 in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He attended Richmond School ,_North_Yorkshire| School]] in Richmond, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington and the University of Salford.
Hutchcraft met Adam Anderson and Scott Forster in Manchester in 2004. Over the next few months, they exchanged music and lyrics via email before forming the band Bureau in March 2006, along with Flick Ward and Jamie Alsop. They performed their first gig in May at The Music Box in Manchester, and were signed to independent record label High Voltage Sounds shortly afterwards. [2] They released their first double A-side single "After Midnight / Dollhouse" in November, which was made "Single of the Week" on Xfm. [3]
Bureau disbanded in 2007, and Hutchcraft and Anderson formed the band Daggers soon after. They signed to Label Fandango and released another double A-side single, "Money / Magazine". Despite failing to chart, the single was nominated for the Popjustice £20 Music Prize. [4] Daggers continued to build a following throughout 2008, and worked with successful producers such as Biff Stannard and Richard X; however, after a disastrous showcase gig for record label representatives in London, Hutchcraft and Anderson returned to Manchester in September to reflect on the band's future. They recorded the mournful ballad "Unspoken" together and realised that this was the sound they wanted to develop. After informing the other members of Daggers that they would be leaving the band to continue as a duo, they went on a short break to Verona, where they claim to have been inspired by a little-known genre from the early 1990s called "disco lento". [5]
Now called Hurts, Hutchcraft and Anderson recorded a low-budget music video for their song "Wonderful Life" with a female dancer who had responded to an advert they placed in a shop window. [6] After they uploaded the video to their YouTube channel in April 2009, it quickly went viral, and they were signed to the RCA Records imprint Major Label three months later. [7] The music video was remade with a bigger budget and more dancers, and this version has received over 87 million views on YouTube.
Hurts finished fourth on the BBC's "Sound of 2010" poll, [8] and Zane Lowe premiered their song "Blood, Tears & Gold" as his "Hottest Record in the World" soon after. [9] They performed their first gig on 22 January at the Michalsky Stylenite in Berlin, followed by a gig on 22 February at St Phillips Church in Salford, where they performed eight songs. [10] This was quickly followed by gigs at Wiltons Music Hall in London, and more gigs in Berlin and Cologne. Following an unexpected surge in popularity after their music was played on radio stations in Greece, they were invited to perform at the MAD Video Music Awards in Athens in June. [7] That same month, it was announced that the duo would release a song featuring vocals from Kylie Minogue. The song, "Devotion", was later included on the band's debut album. Hurts recorded a performance of Minogue's 1994 hit "Confide in Me" for the website of British tabloid The Sun , and the song has since been regularly performed during their concerts. Minogue later covered "Wonderful Life" during a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge appearance.
Hurts' debut album Happiness was released in September 2010, reaching the top 10 in 12 European countries and selling over 1 million copies worldwide. They also sold more than 1 million singles worldwide. [11] Happiness debuted at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week on sale, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a band in 2010. They have since released four more albums, all of which received positive reviews: Exile (2013), Surrender (2015), Desire (2017), and Faith (2020).
Hutchcraft co-wrote the songs "Saturdays", "Silver Tongues", and "She Is Beauty We Are World Class" for Louis Tomlinson's 2022 album Faith in the Future . [12] [13]
Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenomania has written and produced for artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pet Shop Boys, The Saturdays and Sugababes. In particular, all but one of Girls Aloud's studio albums have been entirely written and produced by Xenomania. Sugababes' "Round Round" and Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" have been credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me" and Girls Aloud's "The Promise" were named Best Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008 and the 2009 BRIT Awards, respectively.
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Hadouken! were a British band formed in London in 2006 by singer, songwriter and producer James Smith and synth player Alice Spooner along with guitarist Daniel "Pilau" Rice, bassist Christopher Purcell and drummer Nick Rice. The band took its name from the special attack of the same name from the Street Fighter video game series. It was in Leeds that Hadouken! began their own record label, Surface Noise Records.
Courteeners are an English band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester, in 2006 by Liam Fray, Michael Campbell, Daniel "Conan" Moores and Mark Cuppello (bass); the last was replaced by the band's producer Joe Cross in 2015. They previously toured with pianist Adam Payne, who has been featured on every album, but in 2019 was replaced with Elina Lin. In December 2012, the band dropped "The" from their name, continuing simply as "Courteeners".
The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo from Salford, Greater Manchester formed in 2007. The band consists of Katie White and Jules De Martino.
Hurts are an English musical duo formed in Manchester in 2009, consisting of singer Theo Hutchcraft and multi-instrumentalist Adam Anderson. They have released five studio albums: Happiness (2010), Exile (2013), Surrender (2015), Desire (2017) and Faith (2020). Their first two albums both reached the top 10 in several countries.
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"Better Than Love" is the debut single by British musical duo Hurts from their debut album, Happiness. It was released on 23 May 2010 in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted in Belgium and the Netherlands. It was originally performed by Daggers, Theo and Adam's band before Hurts.
Happiness is the debut studio album by English musical duo Hurts. It was released on 27 August 2010 by RCA Records. It was preceded by the release of the singles "Better Than Love" on 23 May 2010 and "Wonderful Life" on 22 August 2010. Collaborators include Jonas Quant and production team The Nexus, as well as a duet with Australian singer Kylie Minogue on the song "Devotion". To promote the release of the album, the track "Happiness" was made available as a free download via Amazon.co.uk on 1 August 2010.
Monarchy were a British-based Australian electronic music duo consisting of Andrew Armstrong and Ra Black. Based in London, the duo was previously known as Milke. They have released four studio albums and two extended plays.
Chapel Club were an English indie-synthpop band from London, consisting of singer Lewis Bowman, drummer Rich Mitchell, bassist Liam Arklie and keyboardists/guitarists Michael Hibbert and Alex Parry.
"Stay" is a song by English musical duo Hurts from their debut album, Happiness. It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010. The song is the soundtrack to the German film Kokowääh, and was included in the Les Mills International BodyBalance fitness program as Track 8 - Twists for Release 53.
Clare Rita Mary Maguire is an English singer-songwriter. She was signed to Universal Music Group, Polydor Records in 2009. She was rated in fifth place in the BBC Sound of 2011 list of the top 15 most promising new artists. Maguire was also singled out as one of MTV's Brand New: For 2011 Acts. Her voice has been compared to Stevie Nicks and Annie Lennox. Maguire's debut album, Light After Dark, was released on 25 February 2011 peaking at number seven in the Official UK Top 40, and achieving the BPI Silver Sales Award in the UK.
WU LYF were a band from Manchester, England that originally became known for creating a mystery about themselves by declining requests for interviews and not releasing much information to the press. The band described their music as "heavy pop".
Exile is the second studio album by English synth-pop duo Hurts. It was released on 8 March 2013 by Major Label. The album was produced by Hurts, along with Jonas Quant—with whom the duo worked on their debut album, Happiness (2010)—and Dan Grech-Marguerat. "Miracle" was released on 11 January 2013 as the lead single from the album, followed by "Blind" on 10 May 2013 and "Somebody to Die For" on 21 July 2013. Upon release, Exile debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, while charting inside the top 10 in eight other countries.
Louis William Tomlinson is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson auditioned on the British music competition series The X Factor in 2010. After being eliminated as a solo performer, he was placed into a group with four other contestants which went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
The Happiness Tour is the first concert tour by British band Hurts in support of their debut album Happiness. At the end of February 2010 Hurts played four concerts in the UK and Germany, and in April and May they joined the NME Radar tour, then they resumed their recitals and played at the festivals in Europe and Asia, including a debut performance at the festival in Japan. Since October, a variety of solo artists and groups increasingly began to play as the opening acts at Hurts' gigs, and by the end of 2010 Hurts themselves supported Scissor Sisters in their UK arena tour. In April 2011, Hurts held their debut performance in the US at the festival Coachella, and in May 2011 Hurts made an Asian tour, which was followed by a series of European summer festivals. 4 November 2011 was the final performance of a two-year Happiness Tour, in London Kylie Minogue joined the group to perform a duet of two songs. In 2012, the band played at a few summer music festivals.
"Ready to Go" is a song by English musical duo Hurts from their fourth studio album, Desire (2017). It was released on 1 September 2017 as the second single from the album. An accompanying music video premiered on the same day.
"Silver Tongues" is a song by English singer-songwriter Louis Tomlinson. It was released on 9 November 2022, as the third single from his second studio album, Faith in the Future via BMG.
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