You probably know the video even if the band's name means nothing to you. A man stands on a bridge, about to jump, and a woman stops him. Grainy black-and-white footage, European melancholy and a chorus that gets under your skin: "Wonderful Life". And one thing that makes you go wow straight away: they made this video with a dancer who replied to an ad posted at a Manchester post office, uploaded it to YouTube on 21 April 2009, it spread quickly and has since racked up over 103 million views. The Hurts Prague concert - the duo's show on 3 September 2026 at Palác Lucerna - is something of a reunion with a band you know better than you thought.
If "Wonderful Life", "Stay" or "Better Than Love" were playing on the radio for you around 2010, this piece will remind you why. And if you're hearing about Hurts for the very first time, you may well discover that you've been bumping into their music for years without knowing who was playing it.
Hurts Prague: concert at Lucerna on 3 September 2026
The Hurts Prague concert takes place on 3 September 2026 at Palác Lucerna in Prague 1. The date, address and link to official ticket sales can be found on the event page, not in snippets circulating on social media.
Lucerna is a historic hall right in the city centre where big choruses and quiet piano ballads alike have room to breathe properly, and that is exactly the space Hurts' music moves between. Verified details of the date, venue and tickets are held on the event page HURTS, from which you can click straight through to purchase. You can also browse the band in the artist profile Hurts, where any additional dates will also appear. And if you're planning your whole September schedule, it's worth checking the concerts section.
Who are Hurts: from a fight outside a club to synth-pop
Hurts are an English duo from Manchester - vocalist Theo Hutchcraft and multi-instrumentalist Adam Anderson. Their story doesn't begin with instruments but with fists outside a nightclub.
Anderson and Hutchcraft met in November 2005 outside the Manchester club 42nd Street while their friends got into a fight. They were too drunk to join in, so they started talking about music instead; when they realised they had similar taste, they decided to form a band. Before they found the sound they were after, they went through two projects. They first operated as Bureau, and after it broke up in 2007 they formed Daggers, signed a deal with Label Fandango and released the double A-side "Money"/"Magazine", but after a disastrous A&R showcase in London in autumn 2008 they returned to Manchester to rethink the band's future.
The turning point came with one song. They recorded a mournful ballad together called "Unspoken" and immediately realised that this was the sound they wanted to develop as a duo; on a short trip to Verona, Italy, they say they discovered a genre they call "Disco Lento". Daggers split up on 30 January 2009 and the rest you know under the name Hurts. That name still confuses people to this day: the band is simply called Hurts, not "The Hurts". And when it comes to their sound, no single label quite fits. Hurts make big, dramatic pop that draws from a carefully chosen mix of influences: the krautrock of the seventies, the new wave of the eighties and the R&B of the nineties.
Wonderful Life: the video from a Manchester post office
The breakthrough came before a major label deal. The amateur clip for "Wonderful Life" went viral and opened the doors to Europe for Hurts.
That something like this could come from an ad on a post office noticeboard is remarkable in itself, and yet it fits the band's whole aesthetic perfectly: cheap to shoot, expensive in emotion. The homemade video had such reach that major stations and labels soon started paying attention to Hurts. In June 2009 their starkly black-and-white video for "Wonderful Life" went viral and by July they had signed with RCA's Major Label.
There is an important distinction here that sometimes confuses readers. The viral video from 2009 was not the official single. Their first British single "Better Than Love" was premiered by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1 in March 2010, was released on 24 May and entered the UK chart at number 50. Only then, at the height of summer, did "Wonderful Life" get its official release. In Germany it came out on 6 August and debuted at number two on the singles chart; in the UK on 23 August, where it settled at number 21 and became their first British Top 40 hit.
Happiness and the European breakthrough
The debut album Happiness from 2010 set the bar very high and immediately brought a duet with a pop icon.
Happiness entered the UK albums chart at number four and, with more than 25,000 copies sold in its first week, became the fastest-selling debut album by any act in Britain that year. And it didn't stop at the home market. In Germany it eventually sold 400,000 copies and went double platinum; in the UK it sold 150,000 and spent a full year in the Top 200. Critics and audiences split into two camps over the band, which didn't bother Hurts at all. According to Hutchcraft, that divisiveness was the point: they wanted to make something that people love for the same reason others hate it, so one review gave zero stars and another gave five.
The best story from that era is called Kylie Minogue. In June 2010 the Australian star sang a verse and backing vocals for the song "Devotion", which was set to appear on their album. And it didn't stop at the recording. Kylie returned the favour by recording her own version of "Wonderful Life" for the Radio 1 Live Lounge. The peak of this mutual admiration came live: on 4 November 2011 Hurts played the final concert of their Happiness tour at Brixton Academy in London, where Kylie joined them on stage and sang "Devotion" and "Confide in Me".
Five albums and a return with Purple Disco Machine
Hurts didn't stick to one formula. They have five studio albums behind them and recently dusted off their biggest hit in a dancefloor version.
They have released five studio albums: Happiness (2010), Exile (2013), Surrender (2015), Desire (2017) and Faith (2020). Sonically they moved from cold synth-pop through more orchestral drama and back to rawer introspection. Faith, the fifth studio album, was released on 4 September 2020 on Lento Records and since then they have largely played live: they have not released a new record since Faith, although in 2023 they toured a number of European festivals. In the meantime fans received two interesting reminders that the old music is still very much alive. In January 2024 a rap version of "Wonderful Life", credited to 6PM Records, Luciano and SIRA, debuted at number one on the German singles chart.
And then came the dancefloor. Hurts revisited their 2010 synthpop debut to mark its fifteenth anniversary and teamed up with German producer Purple Disco Machine on a version called "Wonderful Life '25". The track was released on 23 May 2025 under Columbia. It is a celebration of the band's italo-disco roots, complete with a matching italo music video. If this melody caught you for the first time fifteen years ago, it sounds different now - and yet exactly the same.
Hurts live: what to expect in 2026
Before buying a ticket it's fair to know one thing: the person on stage today is Theo Hutchcraft, not the full duo. Otherwise expect dramatic, theatrical synth-pop built around his voice.
The reason is a sad one, but the band has communicated it openly. Adam Anderson announced on Instagram that he would not be taking part in the tour in order to focus on his mental health and wellbeing. Anderson stepped back and the summer shows were performed by Hutchcraft with Hurts' long-standing live members. The band toured in exactly this line-up this year too. In summer 2026 Hurts toured Europe and Central Asia, playing among other places Kaunas, Tallinn, Warsaw, Locarno, Almaty and Bucharest in addition to Prague, with only Theo Hutchcraft on stage because Adam Anderson withdrew from live performance in 2025 for health reasons.
What does that mean for the evening at Lucerna? A show that stands or falls on the voice and presence of the frontman. Hurts live promise a dramatic evening full of theatricality, pop and emotion, with Hutchcraft in an elegant suit and his operatic baritone over new-romantic eighties electronics. And one detail that fans will recognise immediately: Hutchcraft throws long-stemmed white roses into the audience during concerts.
Always buy tickets and get accurate information through the official sales link found directly on the HURTS event page, not through resellers. If you want to add more events to your September evening, check the events calendar or browse the other artists heading to Prague around that time.
Frequently asked questions
When and where are Hurts playing in Prague?
Hurts play on 3 September 2026 at Palác Lucerna in Prague 1. All verified details and a link to ticket sales can be found on the event page.
Who are Hurts?
Hurts are an English music duo founded in Manchester in 2009, consisting of vocalist Theo Hutchcraft and multi-instrumentalist Adam Anderson. They became known for their dramatic synth-pop and hits such as "Wonderful Life" and "Stay".
Will both members of the band perform at Lucerna?
Based on available information, no. Adam Anderson withdrew from live performance in 2025 for health reasons and in 2026 concerts only Theo Hutchcraft appeared on stage with a backing band. Check the current situation with the promoter before the concert.
What is their biggest hit?
The best-known is "Wonderful Life" from the debut album Happiness. In Germany it debuted at number two, in the UK at number twenty-one and became the band's first British Top 40 hit. In 2025 it also received a dance remix from Purple Disco Machine.
Where can I buy tickets for Hurts Prague?
Through the official sales link found directly on the HURTS concert page in our listings. Avoid resellers and unverified links from social media.
Sources
- kdykam.com - HURTS, Palác Lucerna, Prague (3 Sep 2026)
- kdykam.com - Hurts artist profile
- Wikipedia - Hurts (duo): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurts_(duo)
- Wikipedia - Faith (Hurts album): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_(Hurts_album)
- Last.fm - Hurts biography: https://www.last.fm/music/Hurts/+wiki
- IMDb - Hurts (biography): https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4128422/
- Songfacts - Devotion (feat. Kylie Minogue): https://www.songfacts.com/facts/hurts/devotion
- NME - Hurts / Adam Anderson and the 2025 tour: https://www.nme.com/
- Yorkshire Post - Adam Anderson and the anniversary tour: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/
- RetroPop / Exit Festival - Wonderful Life '25: https://retropopmagazine.com/