Paul Staveley O'Duffy
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Paul Staveley O'Duffy (born 31 December 1963,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
) is a British record producer, composer and mixer. He is best known for producing
Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop band, best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " You On My Mind", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the ...
's multi-platinum debut album '' It's Better to Travel'', for his BMI nomination as "Producer of the Year" in 1987, his work with John Barry and his work with
Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...
, which resulted in his co-writing one of the tracks on her multi-platinum album ''
Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, ...
''.


Professional life


Mixer / engineer

O'Duffy started out his music career at Marcus Music Studios London, and by the age of 17 was engineering sessions for
War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
,
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
and
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
. He moved to New York in 1984, establishing himself as a club
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
er working on remixes for artists such as
KC and the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits " Get Down Tonight", " That's the Way (I Like It)", "⁠ (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", ...
,
Man Parrish Manuel Parrish (born May 6, 1958) is an American songwriter, vocalist and producer. He, along with artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kraftwerk, Art of Noise, Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, John Robie, Jellybean Benitez, Lotti Golden, Ric ...
,
Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...
, the System,
Animotion Animotion is an American synth-pop band from Los Angeles, California, best known for the songs "Obsession (Animotion song), Obsession", "Let Him Go (song), Let him go", "I Engineer, I engineer", and "Room to Move, Room to move". Formed in 1983 ...
,
the Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including " Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) in ...
,
Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
, Ian Dury and the Blockheads and
Freeez Freeez were an English electronic music group, initially known as one of the UK's main jazz-funk bands of the early 1980s before transitioning to an electro style. Initiated by John Rocca, Freeez consisted of various musicians, originally wi ...
.


Production

O'Duffy returned to London in the late eighties where his remixing successes took him into record production. His first production success was the debut album by Scottish group
Hipsway Hipsway are a Scottish pop/ new wave band. History and description The band was formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex-Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Travers ...
which included the top twenty hit on both sides of the Atlantic, " The Honeythief". He followed this up with production on the number one platinum-selling debut album by Curiosity Killed the Cat, '' Keep Your Distance''. His BMI nomination for Producer of the Year in 1987 came from his work on the multi-platinum debut album '' It's Better to Travel'' by Manchester group
Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop band, best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " You On My Mind", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the ...
, which included the worldwide hit " Breakout". The album was also nominated in the US for a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
and led to more work for him and his distinctive retro sound with US acts. One of these was the band
Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American band founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often featuring g ...
with the resulting worldwide hits "
Walk the Dinosaur "Walk the Dinosaur" is a song by Was (Not Was), released in 1987, from their album ''What Up, Dog?'' Song info The tune features a tight, funky sound, punctuated by horns and a cowbell. When released in the UK in 1987, the song reached No. 10 on ...
", " Spy in the House of Love" and platinum-selling album ''
What Up, Dog? ''What Up, Dog?'' is the third studio album by Was (Not Was). It became the group's breakthrough album worldwide and was ranked #99 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. The cover illustration was credited ...
''. At the other end of the spectrum, O'Duffy produced one of
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...
's last chart hits, " Keep Each Other Warm" from his eponymous album ''
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...
'', in which Manilow recorded other artists' songs using a variety of top producers. O'Duffy additionally produced and mixed
Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
frontman
Tom Verlaine Thomas Joseph Miller (December 13, 1949 – January 28, 2023), known professionally as Tom Verlaine, was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was ...
's fifth solo album '' Flash Light'' in 1987. In 2009, he produced John Barry's unreleased orchestral album, ''The Seasons''.


Writer/producer

In the 1990s, O'Duffy increased his songwriting credits, producing and writing on four subsequent albums for Swing Out Sister (including 1992's ''
Get in Touch with Yourself ''Get in Touch with Yourself'' is the third studio album by the British pop group Swing Out Sister. The album was released on Fontana Records in 1992 and was produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy. Lineup and musical style For the recording of ''Get ...
'') as well as production for
Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...
on her album ''
Reputation The reputation or prestige of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity – typically developed as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. ...
'', which became Springfield's best-selling new album since her 1960s-era peak. He produced the
Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: Film * ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film * ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature * ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...
' "If There Was a Man" and "Where Has Everybody Gone?", as well as
Necros Necros was an early American hardcore punk band from Maumee, Ohio, although they are usually identified with the Detroit music scene. They were the first band to record for Touch and Go Records. History Necros was formed in mid-1979 by then- ...
,
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). Johnson and Ruther ...
,
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
,
Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...
, Danny Wilson, the Beloved, John Barry, the eponymous debut album by
Lewis Taylor Lewis Taylor (born 20 January 1966) is a British multi-instrumentalist musician, born and raised in Barnet, North London, England, in the late 1960s. He started in the music business as a guitarist touring with the psychedelic rock band Edgar B ...
, and Pigeonhed. In the 2000s, O'Duffy continued to collaborate with artists and songwriters including Charlotte OC,
Låpsley Holly Lapsley Fletcher (born 7 August 1996), known by the stage name Låpsley, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Her debut album '' Long Way Home'' was released on 4 March 2016. Early life Låpsley was born in York. Her m ...
, Purple Ferdinand, Andreya Triana and
Ella Eyre Ella McMahon (born 1 April 1994), known professionally as Ella Eyre, is an English singer and songwriter. She is known for her collaborations with Rudimental on their UK number-one single " Waiting All Night" (2013), which won the 2014 Brit Aw ...
.


Hiatus and recovery

An amateur racer of both off-road and on-road motorcycles, O'Duffy was riding a road bike in London when a car cut across his lane and ran him down. His back was broken in two places, and he spent many months in traction and several years in recovery. His motorcycle, a Ducati 851 which had been given to him by his then management team, was repaired and presented back to him after a chance meeting with Federico Minoli, then head of
Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...
worldwide, at the
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
. Fully recovered after further surgery to fuse his back. During the first three years after the accident, O'Duffy worked almost exclusively out of the substantial studio he had built at his home in North London. It was here that
Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...
came to spend a month in 2006 to work on tracks for what became the ''
Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, ...
'' album, which features the O'Duffy/Winehouse song "Wake up Alone".


Film and television

O'Duffy produced the John Barry score for
007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film ''
The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The fourth film in the series to ...
'' (winner, 1988 BMI Film Music Award). Further work with Barry continued, including in 1992 the movie ''
Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...
'' starring
Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...
, for which Barry was nominated for an
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
and a
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
. O'Duffy worked with John Barry on his UK concerts at the
Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genre ...
. O'Duffy produced the
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...
score for the film ''
Days of Thunder ''Days of Thunder'' is a 1990 American sports action drama film produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The film stars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Caroline Williams, a ...
'' (winner, 1991 BMI Film Music Award) and the version of "
All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, released by Arista Records in December 1975 as the first single from Carmen's self-titled debut album. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Russ ...
" used in the film ''
Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire from a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Fielding, which was itself a loose ...
''. He also produced the Dr. Calculus track "Full of Love" for the 1988
Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...
film ''
She's Having a Baby ''She's Having a Baby'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed and written by John Hughes and starring Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern. It tells the story of a young newlywed couple who try to cope with married life and their par ...
''. O'Duffy is also a well-known composer for television, having composed the themes and incidental music for: ''The Team – A Season with Mclaren'' (BBC2 series) ''The Great Outdoors'' (Channel 4 series) ''The Big Elsewhere'' (with Swing Out Sister, NHK Japan series) ''London Bridge'' (Carlton TV drama series).


References


External links


"Distinctive yet accessible" – An interview with Paul Staveley O’Duffy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oduffy, Paul Staveley 1963 births Living people British music industry executives English record producers English male film score composers English television composers English bass guitarists English male guitarists British male bass guitarists English keyboardists English male songwriters People educated at St Ignatius' College, Enfield Musicians from London People from Enfield, London