Nicholas John Duffy (born on 24 June 1956) is an English

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

, and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. Nick is the elder brother of singer/songwriter

Stephen Duffy Stephen Anthony James Duffy (born 30 May 1960 in Alum Rock, Birmingham, England) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was a founding member, vocalist, bassist and then drummer of Duran Duran. He went on to record as a solo perform ...

. They are both co-founders of the folk-pop group

The Lilac Time The Lilac Time is a British alternative folk-rock band, originally formed in Herefordshire, England by Stephen Duffy, his brother Nick Duffy and their friend Michael Weston in 1986. The band's name was taken from a line in the Nick Drake son ...

. Nick is a multi-instrumentalist, and has been a frequent contributor to Stephen's solo recordings. He also plays in other musical projects and has released solo recordings.

Artistic career

In addition to making music, Nick has long worked as an illustrator Nick Duffy's Page
and has pursued a variety of artistic endeavors. Before Stephen released his first album ''The Ups And Downs'' in 1985, the brothers formed their own design office called "DUFFY and DUFFY". For the album's preview release, they had an exhibition of about 80 paintings, drawings, photographs, and video. Duffy studied art at

Birmingham Polytechnic , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843— Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation = ...

(now

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

The Lilac Time

In 1986, Nick and Stephen formed

along with his friend, Michael Weston. Since their formation, the Lilac Time have gone through various line-up changes with the Duffy brothers as mainstays. In the band, Nick plays banjo, violin and accordion among other instruments. He also contributes songwriting and has done production work on their recordings. The band's sporadic activity and recording output have intertwined with Stephen's solo and songwriting career. Nick is featured in

documentary film "Memory & Desire" by

Douglas Arrowsmith Douglas Arrowsmith is a Canadian film director and writer. He has produced award-winning documentaries for CBC Television, music videos, and feature-length films for BBC Four, The Movie Network and HBO Canada. Personal background Arrowsmith re ...

which was slated to be released in 2009.

Other musical projects

In 1989, Nick formed Bait after The Lilac Time's idea for a double album was rejected by their label

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

. The Lilac Time ended up making ''Paradise Circus'' and the remaining material was released under "Bait." In the 1990s, Nick had made a solo recording, ''Original Super Mango'', under the name "Eagle Ombina." He later formed Zsa Zsa Zsa, who released a self-titled EP. Nick's album ''Sapphire Stylus'' was released in December 2009 on Bogus Frontage. In 2016 he formed alt-folk duo We Are Muffy, with singer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist

Angeline Morrison Angeline Morrison is a British multi-instrumentalist musician, songwriter and academic. Life Angeline Morrison was born in Birmingham to a Jamaican mother and a father from the Outer Hebrides. She attended her first folk club at the age of 17, a ...

. Their debut album 'The Charcoal Pool' was released in 2018 on Tapete Records. Each song on the album details a memory of growing up in Birmingham. Uncut Magazine awarded the album 8 stars, writing that 'They summon the dust, stillness and daydreams of Sunday afternoons in 1972'.

Personal life

He lives with his family in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

References

External links

Nick Duffy's Official SiteNick Duffy's Bandcamp PageWe Are Muffy Bandcamp PageThe Lilac Time Official SiteComprehensive discography, gallery, publications, biography, chronology, and source to this article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Nick 1956 births Living people Alumni of Birmingham City University English illustrators People from Birmingham, West Midlands