Figgy Duff was a Canadian
folk-rock band
from
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Canada.
They played a major role in the Newfoundland cultural renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s. Formed in 1976 by Noel Dinn, who named the band after a traditional
pudding
Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal.
In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, ins ...
, Figgy Duff travelled across Newfoundland, learning traditional songs and performing them with distinct elements of
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
.
They began working with
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
early, though the album that resulted has yet to be released. Instead, they released their independent self-titled debut album: ''Figgy Duff'' in 1980.
The album was also released by Ottawa-based
Posterity Records. It was followed by ''After the Tempest'' in 1982.
Through the next thirteen years, Figgy Duff continued touring and released three more albums: ''Weather Out the Storm'' (1989), ''Downstream'' (1993) and the compilation ''Retrospective'' (1995).
The band's line-up changed several times, but the core of Noel Dinn and
Pamela Morgan, singer-songwriter, stayed the same. ''Weather Out the Storm'' was nominated for a
1991 Juno Award. Dinn died of cancer in 1993, and Morgan disbanded Figgy Duff soon after.
The band has since reunited three times, once in 1999 for a silver anniversary tour, again in summer 2008 to celebrate the release of a CD of live recordings from the bands' previous reunion, and for the 2016 Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, featuring Aaron Collis on accordion.
Discography
*1980: ''Figgy Duff''
*1982: ''After the Tempest''
*1989: ''Weather Out the Storm''
*1993: ''Downstream''
*1995: ''Retrospective''
*2008: ''Figgy Duff Live Silver Reunion''
References
External links
Figgy Duffofficial site at Amber Music
Figgy Duff – Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, v. 2, p. 62Figgy Duff in The Canadian Encyclopedia*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Figgy Duff
Musical groups established in 1976
Musical groups disestablished in 1995
Musical groups from Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian folk rock groups
Celtic fusion groups
1976 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador
1995 disestablishments in Canada
Canadian Celtic music groups