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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

Hurts - Wonderful Life

Hurts. English electro duo born out of the heart of Manchester. Haven’t officially released a single. Gigs are hard to come by. Hyped up by the likes of The Guardian and BBC. Interested? Hard not to be, really.

One track that has caught our eye is Wonderful Life. It begins with a sombre organ intro, which is soon pushed into a more upbeat verse, with a whole host of drum beats you could conjure up on your old Casio keyboard. This is where we discover the eighties feel of the track, and the big vocals certainly amplify it’s retro character.

If you weren’t paying close attention to who you were listening to, you might be convinced that Hurts were a bona-fide 80s band. Theo Hutchcraft (good name) has a certain Simon Le Bon tone about him, a richness and cleanness to his voice which is the real showcase of the band.

The verse introduces some bigger beats, steering away from those feeble thuds in the early sections. This in turn gives the song a more direct and sharp sound, growing in tension as the lyrics unfold a somewhat clichéd tale of lost love.

The song is about Susie. Who’s Susie? We don’t really care, but this is how it worked in the eighties. Perhaps then Hurts are simply following eighties cheesy conventions, or they aren’t brave enough to be more inventive.

The chorus sees the coming together of a load of techno bleeps, electronic flaunting and a smooth vocal harmony. Basically, its retro as f***. We’re smashed round the face with nifty synth scales, big drums and guitar riffs straight out of 1984. When you thought it couldn’t feel anymore retro, they throw in a little sax. Good move.

Hurts have either been locked away in a studio cupboard for the last 25 years, or they are doing some serious doffing of caps to the world of eighties electro.

If you have that little space at the back of your wardrobe which is occupied by shoulder-pad-clad jackets you will love Hurts. Or even if you simply look back at the eighties with envy and think “Why couldn’t I have been born ten years earliar?” To put it simply, Hurts are bringing back eighties music as it left us. Lets hope they don’t fade away.

Hurts have a couple of gigs in the UK this February, before moving onto Germany later in the year. Something tells me the Germans are going to love them just as much as we do.