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 Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

. He went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for

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 ...

with his older brother

Nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

. He has also co-written with

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

and

Steven Page Steven Jay Page (born June 22, 1970) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was a founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and a primary songwriter of the music group Barenaked Ladies. Page left the band in Februar ...

Duran Duran and other early work

While attending the School of Foundation Studies & Experimental Workshop 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 ...

) Duffy met John Taylor. Together they formed the group

, along with Taylor's childhood friend,

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...

. While Taylor was the guitarist (later switching to bass) and Rhodes played the synthesizer, Duffy was the band's vocalist/lyricist and bassist. When bass player Simon Colley joined, Duffy moved to drums. He left both the school and the band in 1979, before Duran Duran signed with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in 1980.Strong, Martin C. (1999) ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate, He went on to form Obviously Five Believers, sometimes known as The Subterranean Hawks or The Hawks, and he made his first four-track recordings. The Hawks' only single, "Words of Hope", was released in 1981.

Tin Tin

In 1982, he created the band Tin Tin, with John Mulligan and

Dik Davis Dik Davis (also called Dik Davies) was a drummer who played with English new wave bands like Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, life ...

(both then of

Fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

Andy "Stoker" Growcott Andrew Growcott (a.k.a. Stoker) is a former member of the pop rock band Dexys Midnight Runners. After the Dexys broke up, he and another bandmate, Mickey Billingham, joined new wave band General Public. Growcott also played with Stephen Tin Ti ...

(of

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

) and

Bob Lamb ''Any Road Up'' is the debut studio album by The Steve Gibbons Band. The band were under The Who's management stable and recording this album was released by Polydor in 1976. This was followed by a tour with The Who in the UK, Europe and the Uni ...

(original producer of Birmingham band

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

). Originally called Holy Tin Tin before being shortened, the band was signed with

WEA The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

Records in the UK, and released the single "Kiss Me" in 1982 but was unsuccessful. By 1983, Tin Tin had signed with

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

in the US, and "Kiss Me" hit the dance charts there. Another single, "Hold It", was also released in 1983 which peaked at no.55 in the UK. After a stint of working in the US, Duffy returned to England and signed a deal as a solo artist with Virgin 10. Now working under the name Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy, he recorded a new version of "Kiss Me" which was released in 1984, this time only in the local

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

area, followed by a nationwide release of "She Makes Me Quiver" which peaked at no.88 in September 1984. At the end of 1984, Duffy recorded a third version of " Kiss Me", produced by

J.J. Jeczalik Jonathan Edward Stephen "J. J." Jeczalik () is an English electronic musician/record producer, co-founder of the electronic music group the Art of Noise. He taught Information technology, IT at Oxford High School, Oxford, Oxford High School unt ...

and Nicholas Froome, which was released in February 1985. It debuted at no. 22 and peaked at no. 4 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the UK Top 10 for five weeks altogether. Duffy followed this with the single "Icing on the Cake", which peaked at no.14 in June 1985. Duffy's first full album, '' The Ups and Downs'' (produced by Duffy, Froome, Jeczalik,

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

, and

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths, The Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album ''Viva Hate'' following the spl ...

), reached number 35 in the UK. Prior to the release of ''The Ups And Downs'', Stephen Duffy and his brother Nick 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. A new single, "Unkiss That Kiss", was released in September 1985 and peaked at no. 77 in the UK. For this single, Duffy had become known as Stephen A.J. Duffy after dropping the "Tin Tin" reference from his stage name. The single was the first to be taken from the album ''Because We Love You'', released in early 1986, for which he was credited simply as Stephen Duffy. Additional singles from the album were "I Love You" (which peaked at no. 86) and "Something Special" which was a collaboration with Sandii (of

Sandii & the Sunsetz Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provid ...

), however this single (and the album itself) failed to chart.

Dr. Calculus

Duffy also recorded a non-stop forty-minute early chill-out / house album in 1986 called ''Designer Beatnik'' with Roger Freeman of

Pigbag Pigbag were a British post-punk band, best known for their instrumentals, active between 1980 and 1983. Origin and formation Pigbag were formed in Cheltenham in late 1980 by Chris Hamlin, a fashion student at Cheltenham Art College. Hamlin ...

, released under the name Dr. Calculus mdma. The cover photo shows the "

Spirit of Ecstasy ''The Spirit of Ecstasy'' is the bonnet ornament sculpture on Rolls-Royce cars. It is in the form of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her. Billowing cloth runs from her arms to her back, resembling wings. ...

" Rolls-Royce car mascot and the album's two singles were "Programme 7" and "Perfume from Spain".

The Lilac Time

In 1986, Duffy began writing and recording music that would become The Lilac Time's first album, released on Swordfish Records. The album, entitled ''

'', came out in November 1987, and was subsequently reissued in remixed form by

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 * ...

on 8 February 1988. The Lilac Time have gone through various line-up changes with the Duffy brothers as mainstays. The group originally consisted of Stephen Duffy, his elder brother

Nick Duffy Nicholas John Duffy (born on 24 June 1956) is an English musician, artist, illustrator, and filmmaker. Nick is the elder brother of singer/songwriter Stephen Duffy. They are both co-founders of the folk-pop group The Lilac Time. Nick is a ...

, and friend Michael Weston, who recorded the first album together; Michael Giri and Fraser Kent joined when the band was ready to go on tour. The Lilac Time put out the albums '' Paradise Circus'' in 1989 and ''& Love For All'' in 1990 for Fontana before being dropped. The group were then briefly signed to

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

, and were subsequently managed by label head,

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

. Their sole release on Creation was ''Astronauts'' in 1991. In 1991, the band split up (temporarily, as it turned out) and Duffy subsequently pursued a solo career.

Solo

The 1993 Stephen Duffy album ''Music in Colors'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

) was recorded with

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, and featured the singles "Natalie" and "Holte End Hotel". The next album was called simply ''Duffy'', released in August 1995 on

Indolent Records Indolent Records was a British record label established up in 1993 as a subsidiary of RCA Records and BMG. The label roster included Sleeper, The Wannadies, Stephen Duffy and 60ft Dolls. The label was folded into RCA Records in 1998. See also ...

. "London Girls" and "Sugar High" went to the top 10 on the UK indie chart. ("Starfit" was also released as a single in the US.) The album was reissued on CD in 2000 by BMG Fun House. He participated in a temporary

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

called Me Me Me, consisting of Duffy, Alex James of Blur,

Justin Welch Justin Steven Welch (born 4 December 1972) is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Elastica, Suede, and later the drummer in Lush. Biography Welch moved to London in his late teens and studied at London's Drumtech drum school. H ...

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex-Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times, w ...

and Charlie Bloor. The one-off single, "Hanging Around", was released 5 August 1996, and reached Number 19 on the UK chart. ''I Love My Friends'' was released in 1998 by

Cooking Vinyl Records Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman, ...

, who also released the singles "17" and "You Are". Virgin released a compilation album entitled ''They Called Him Tin Tin'' in 1999.

The Devils

In 1999, Duffy found a tape recording of 1978–1979 Duran Duran music that was in storage. Shortly afterwards, he had a chance meeting with

. Reminiscences led to a desire to collaborate, and they ended up re-recording the music on the tape. They did not change any of the lyrics, and used only late-70s-era instrumentation with modern recording techniques. The result was the album ''

Dark Circles Periorbital dark circles are dark blemishes around the eyes. There are many causes of this symptom, including heredity and bruising. Causes Anatomical factors Bony structure and prominence of the orbicularis oculi muscle can contribute to infra ...

'', released under the name The Devils.

Return to The Lilac Time

Duffy reformed The Lilac Time with brother Nick and Michael Giri, along with new members Claire Worrall and Melvin Duffy (no relation). They released ''Looking for a Day in the Night'' in 1999 on

spinART Records SpinART Records was a New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black, and Michael Penn. The label was started by Joel Morowitz and Jeff Price in 1991. SpinART filed for bankr ...

, and ''lilac6'' on

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England, founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner and chairman ...

in 2001. ''Compendium – The Fontana Trinity'', a collection of tracks from their singles and first three albums was also released in 2001. The album ''Keep Going'' was released in 2003 on Folk Modern records under the name 'Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time'. In 2007, Duffy released a new album and limited edition (2000 copies) book called ''Runout Groove'' and held a few rare performances with the full Lilac Time ensemble, notably headlining the

Green Man Festival The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...

Work with Robbie Williams and Steven Page

In 1987, Duffy was contacted by

, then of the band Scary Movie Breakfast, and was impressed by his writing and demo tape. Duffy and Page began co-writing songs. Their work together produced popular

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

songs like "

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

", "

Alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

" and "

Call and Answer "Call and Answer" is a song by the Canadian group Barenaked Ladies. It was the third single from their highly successful 1998 album ''Stunt'' (the song "Alcohol" had been previously released to radio stations, but was not sold commercially as a ...

"; the final two included on the platinum-selling album ''

Stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

'', as well as material on Page's solo album ''The Vanity Project''. Duffy's songwriting ability earned him his first Number 1 in October 2004, as the co-writer of the

single "

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

", one of two new tracks recorded for Williams' ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album. In October 2005, Robbie Williams released ''

Intensive Care Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes pro ...

'', fully co-written and co-produced by Stephen Duffy. The album gained him a great deal of exposure, critical acclaim and went on to sell over eight million copies becoming Williams' best selling studio album around the world. Duffy then went on to work as the musical director for Williams' Close Encounters World Tour.

Film documentary

The

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 ...

documentary ''Memory & Desire: 30 Years in the Wilderness with Stephen Duffy & the Lilac Time'' was filmed over six years and includes vintage footage of the band. The film was released at the London Raindance Film Festival in October 2009, accompanied by a

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

album of the same name, bringing together songs from Duffy's thirty years of music making.It was not picked up for general distribution however and was withdrawn to be re-edited to include live footage. As of 2022, it is no longer titled Memory & Desire and it is described as an ongoing project. Duffy agreed to a request to sit by sculptor

Jon Edgar Jon Edgar is a British sculptor of the Frink School. Improvisation is an important part of his reductive working process and developed from the additive working process of Alan Thornhill. Final works are often autobiographical, perhaps referenc ...

in London in 2008. The terracotta work was coincidentally documented during the filming of the

documentary ''Memory and Desire''. An image appears on the CD cover for the ''Memory and Desire'' (2009) album.

Later work

In 2021, an album by The Hawks called ''Obviously 5 Believers'' arrived more than 40 years after their single "Words Of Hope", with the project overseen by Duffy, drummer Dave Twist and producer John Paterno. The album came about after Duffy got heckled by the band's guitarist Dave Kusworth (also formally of

The Dogs D'Amour The Dogs D'Amour are an English bluesey hard rock band formed in London in 1983. Over the years the band has had various line-ups, the only constant being vocalist Tyla. Their music has been described as a mixture of the Rolling Stones, the ...

and

Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...

) at an event at Birmingham's Glee Club in 2019, with the album being released by Easy Action Records, almost a year after the death of Kusworth.

Discography

The Hawks

Albums

*''Obviously 5 Believers'' (2021), Seventeen Records/Easy Action

Singles

*"Words of Hope"/"Sense of Ending" 7" (1981), Five Believers

Tin Tin

*" Kiss Me (US Remix)" (October 1982),

*"Hold It" (July 1983), WEA - UK No. 55

Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy

Albums

*'' The Ups and Downs'' (1985), 10 Records - UK No. 35, CAN No. 83 *''Because We Love You'' (1986), 10 Records *''They Called Him Tin Tin'' (1998), Virgin-VIP

Singles

*" Kiss Me" (1982), WEA Records *"She Makes Me Quiver" (1984), 10 Records - UK No. 88 *"Kiss Me" (1985), 10 Records - UK No. 4, AUS No. 16, CAN No. 89 *"Icing on the Cake" (1985), 10 Records - UK No. 14, AUS No. 46 *"Unkiss That Kiss" (1985), 10 Records - UK No. 77 *"I Love You" (1986), 10 Records - UK No. 86 *"Something Special" (1986), 10 Records (Stephen Duffy & Sandii) *"I Love You" / "Wednesday Jones" (1986), 10 Records (double-7") *"Kiss Me" (1989) (re-issue on Old Gold)

Dr. Calculus

Albums

*''Designer Beatnik'' (1986), 10 Records

Singles

*"Programme" 7" (1985), 10 *"Perfume from Spain" (1986), 10

The Lilac Time

Stephen Duffy

Albums

*''Music in Colors'' (1993), Parlophone

Singles

*"Natalie" (1993), Parlophone

Duffy

Albums

*''Duffy'' (1995), Indolent - UK No. 121 *''I Love My Friends'' (1998), Cooking Vinyl - UK No. 155

Singles

*"London Girls" (1995), Indolent - UK #180 *"Sugar High" (1995), Indolent - UK #83 *"Starfit" (1996), Summershine *"Needle Mythology" (1996), Indolent - UK #131 *"17" (1997), Indolent *"17" (1998),

*"You Are" (1998), Cooking Vinyl

Me Me Me

*"Hanging Around" (1996), Indolent - UK No. 19

The Devils

*''

'' (2002), Tape Modern

References

External links

Official Lilac Time/Stephen Duffy siteDuffypedia
– official online archive at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Stephen Duffy's biography
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

Stephen Duffy
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Dr Calculus
at Discogs {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Stephen 1960 births English male singers English new wave musicians English pop singers English songwriters English rock guitarists English pop guitarists English male guitarists Duran Duran members Living people Sire Records artists Alumni of Birmingham City University Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Male new wave singers Robbie Williams Band members Me Me Me (band) members Ministry of Sound artists

Duran Duran and other early work

Tin Tin

Dr. Calculus

The Lilac Time

Solo

The Devils

Return to The Lilac Time

Work with Robbie Williams and Steven Page

Film documentary

Later work

Discography

The Hawks

Albums

Singles

Tin Tin

Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy

Albums

Singles

Dr. Calculus

Albums

Singles

The Lilac Time

Stephen Duffy

Albums

Singles

Duffy

Albums

Singles

Me Me Me

The Devils

References

Further reading

External links