The road to Rockferry

Telegraph Magazine: October 2010

2011-12-07T12:45:00.000-08:00

Its been a while! Thanks to everyone for their patience whilst Ive been busy. I've uploaded Duffy's interview from the Telegraph today. I don't have my scanner at the moment so I've had to resort to photos. I'll scan it in better quality as soon as I can.

Duffy & me backstage : Glasgow December 2008

2009-12-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

Also here are some photos that I took at the concert...

A look back : Duffy 'I'm no Diva'

2009-12-23T13:42:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post this article aswell. There hasn't been much recent news whilst Duffy is recuperating from the whirlwind of a year she's had touring so I thought it would be a good time to share some of the articles I've had from 2008.

Diary article, better quality scans

2009-12-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded this in 2 parts, hope the quality is better. My scanner
is on the blink at the moment so I'll need to perhaps try again once its fixed!

A look back : Duffy's Diary article from early 2008

2009-12-17T03:41:00.000-08:00

Tongue in Chic : Question and Answer

2009-09-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

I came across this Interview Duffy did with fashion news blog Tongue in Chic during her time in Portugal whilst on tour. Enjoy!

Q & A: Duffy
Singer Duffy was in Singapore recently for a concert and I was really excited to meet her! At only 24, she has produced award-winning hits (like 'Warwick Avenue' and 'Mercy') that is shown non-stop on MTV. And who can forget her chic red-carpet appearances and cute 60s-inspired concert outfits? Not me!While we thought she'd be a diva (read: 3 Brit awards, 1 Grammy), the Welsh songstress was anything but! Dressed stylishly in an embellished light grey cardigan with white capri pants, Duffy was a picture of sunshine when she arrived. She was charming, down-to-earth and very likeable!

TiC caught up with her on Sunday to find out about her time in Singapore and fashion inspirations!

You look great and we're very glad to have you here! How are you liking Singapore so far?

Thank you very much! I just got here last night and haven't had much time to look around yet. I leave the next day! I've tried to ask if the hotel can leave the pool open tonight so I can see Singapore by night! [Laughs]

I'm sure they can! What can we look forward to in your concert?

There'll be quite a few songs, you can expect that much! I was in Hong Kong yesterday and mixed a few things up, so I'll probably pull something out of the bag for Singapore as well.

You channel mini dresses and high-waisted shorts to perfection. When it comes to fashion, what or who are you inspired by?

My mom! I remember I used to work in a grocery store in a big mall or shopping place. It was a big thing in our hometown. I don't know what you call it here! I worked as a checkout girl and everyone used to say to me that I reminded them of my mom because she was so stylish in the 80s!

Wow! What was your mom like?

Yeah! I thought that was amazing! My mom was a fashion pioneer and I love that stuff! She was really curvaceous, and always smelt really good. She still does! But in her hey day, she had grand short hair, dark skin and looked very much like a siren!

So what do you think of fashion?

Whenever I think about fashion, I think about things that my mom would wear. And I know I’d probably enjoy wearing them too!

Is your mom travelling with you today?

No, she doesn’t travel much actually. It’s a shame because I’d like her to see Singapore and Hong Kong and all these amazing things which I’m getting on the plane for!

You have a fabulous voice! How do you take care of yourself?
I really don’t! That’s one thing that I think I need to establish if I’m going to make records for many, many years. [Laughs] I tried a singing lesson once in a flat in London and I walked in and said to myself, "I’m going to leave my dignity behind the door." I was just going to take and learn what I can.

Friday Night MTV Backstage : 2008

2009-08-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

I came across these backstage photos from FNMTV when Duffy was doing her showcase. Hope they help fill the gap a little until we see Duffy out and about again soon. xx

Heat Magazine June 2009

2009-08-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Duffy : Almost Famous Blender 2008

2009-08-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Duffy is having a well earned break and so I thought I'd share some more articles and photos from the past. Here is a nice little article from blender 2008.

If Aimee-Ann Duffy’s blue-eyed R&B sounds like something out of a ’60s time capsule, that’s probably because she grew up in one. The tiny singer hails from the wee Welsh coastal village of Nefyn, estimated population 2,550. “Fifty years ago, it was a booming place—hotels, restaurants, rich people on vacation,” she explains, calling Blender during her first American club tour. “Then, by the ’70s, hotels closed, people stopped coming—it just froze.”

Which left Duffy, born in 1984, in a bit of a jam: “I’ve wanted to sing since I was a child, but I had to keep it to myself,” she recalls. “Nefyn was so small, so remote, everyone would have laughed at me.” That isolation, though, helped inform her musical tastes. Duffy’s first exposure to pop came in the form of her parents’ record collection—heavy on old Motown and Stax vinyl—and a Sunday-night DJ on BBC Radio 2 whose notion of a brand-new smash was the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” You can hear these vintage influences on Duffy’s debut, Rockferry, which sounds like the record Amy Winehouse might make if Norah Jones were her AA sponsor. “Warwick Avenue” is a bluesy, slow-stroked kiss-off to a no-good ex; “Mercy” is a head-over-heels crush jam perfect for twisting your hips and/or shopping for housewares.

The latter topped the U.K. singles charts for five weeks straight—but Duffy’s Brit domination took work. She pumped gas, sold used clothes and made hotel beds; at 18, when she’d scrounged together enough cash, she moved to London and cut a demo, which led to a major-label deal. “But I’m not far removed from home,” she insists. “My best friend is a blacksmith. My other friend works at the local cinema, which seats 70 people and plays six-month-old movies. If I wasn’t doing this, I’d probably be dating a fisherman. But he’d be the hottest fisherman in town!”

All About Me!

Worst job ever:
“I was an optician’s secretary. I had to sit up front and wear these giant fake glasses, pretending I had bad eyesight all day.”

Last great movie I saw:
“Control. It was unbelievable. I love Joy Division—and Sam Riley is hot.”

Favorite famous Welshman:
“David Lloyd George. He was the first and only Welsh prime minister, a real man-of-the-people type. There’s a Lloyd George statue where he lived, so you can go hang out with him there.”

As seen on Duffy : Denim Playsuit

2009-07-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Duffy was wearing a really nice denim playsuit on her recent festival stop at the 44th International Pori Jazz festival in Finland. I've done some homework and found its actually from TopShop and can be bought here for just £40! Duffy has let the tiny hem at the bottom of the shorts down, maybe to make it slightly longer, and accesorised with a belt.

The sun newspaper also picked up on her choice of clothing, you can read the full article here.

Official site Summer Photo Diary

2009-07-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Just incase anyone hasn't seen, there is an awesome photo Diary on

Duffy's Official site www.iamduffy.com that is polaroids from each date on her

tour of summer festivals.
http://www.authoritydesign.com/duffy/summerpolaroids.htm

One final Question: Duffy Radio Times

2009-07-16T01:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I will be adding some recent concert images and info over the
next few days. In the meantime here is a previous article from Radio Times
magazine from a few months back. Enjoy!

A life in the Day Article : The Times Magazine

2009-07-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

Candid Image

2009-07-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, appologies for the lack of updates over the last few days.
I'm just back home now and will update soon as Duffy has been busy
on her latest tour stops. For the moment though, here is a candid photo I
managed to dig up on the net. If anyone knows who she is pictured with or
where please let us know. I thought it looked like it might be rough trade
offices.

Business meeting photos : February 2009

2009-06-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Firstly, Happy 25th Birthday to Duffy! Hope she had a good day.

Secondly, here are some photos courtesy of Mr Paparazzi of Duffy walking home after a business meeting in February.

It says, 'Last night we caught up with triple Brit award winner Duffy leaving West Hotel in London, where she'd been having an early evening business meeting'.

A look Back : Interview Magazine 11/30/08

2009-06-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Duffy
By ANITA SARKO Photography ALASDAIR McLELLAN

Before you sigh, "Oh, no, another one?" do not confuse (Aimee Anne) Duffy with the recent glut of girl singers infiltrating our ears from across the Pond. This Welsh belter has been riding the tops of the Brit pop charts with a collection of '60s-inspired songs and a hybrid Dusty Springfield-Cilla Black-Darlene Love-Ronnie Spector voice that effortlessly drowns out any competition. We speak to her on the eve of the U.S. release of her debut, Rockferry (Mercury).

ANITA SARKO: How tall are you?

DUFFY: I'm 5-foot-3. How tall are you?

AS: I'm 5-foot-3½. [laughs]

D: Really? Well, a lot of people think that I'm taller than I am. About two weeks ago, this girl came over to me and said, "Wow, you're so beautiful." And she looked at me, she sort of looked at my body, and went, "But you're not skinny, are you?" [laughs] I was devastated! I was like, okay. Well, you know, I'm quite a meaty little thing.

D: [laughs] I do write songs about love, but, 'cause I'm 24, I don't really know love that well.

AS: Ah, you know love.

D: Well, I now disappointment.

AS: [laughs] That's love-

D: And regret. I got to a point in my life when I'd done loads of things I regretted. I made all the wrong decisions.

AS: Oh, like what?

D: I was trying to fill my life with all these projects, hoping that one of them would succeed. I was like a cheating girlfriend. I was cheating on all the bands with other bands, and I was trying to manage everything.

AS: Yeah, but that's the old story about, you know, you throw shit against the wall and see what sticks.

D: Yeah, to a point where you need to know what you're not good at to eliminate the bad things in your life.

AS: What did you originally think that you would be good at that you eliminated?

D: Well, I mean, I wanted to be an artist, even at the age of 15, and people used to laugh at me. It was the late '90s, the time of pop stars and navel-dancing, where you were showing your midriff. I wanted to be a real singer. I was always working with older men, and, uh-

AS: Whoops.

D: That was really hard, because I just felt like I didn't have enough strength, and I was really weak-willed and my skin wasn't that thick. So I just kept getting confused, and let down, and I was always running away from something.

AS: Did you find that older men would offer to help you, and then realize that, in fact, all they were doing was trying to exploit you?

D: Yeah, sometimes. And there'd be conspiracies going on behind my back. They were trying to sell me onto somebody or they were making a deal behind my back. It was just awful. My teens were really horrible in that way. And I didn't include my family. I still don't include them. They're really proud of me but I distanced myself. The only person I have in this is my manager [Jeanette Lee, co-owner of Rough Trade Records].

AS: So why did you feel the need to distance yourself from your family?

D: When I was 15, everyone told me not to [pursue my music career], to the point where I had a lot of silence in my life in terms of who I talked to about anything. So I moved away from my mum's house, where I had a full family of sisters and stepsisters, and I went to go live with my dad, because with my dad, I could actually get a little bit of peace and quiet.

AS: So you were waitressing at that point?

D: Yeah. And I was in college, as well.

AS: Really? What were you studying?

D: Culture. There was one woman who kept picking on me at the college, and she'd call me into her office. I was waitressing; I was trying to keep my college studies going. So I was so tired, and she'd call me in the office and reprimand me, and sometimes I would cry because I just didn't have the energy to battle, you know?

AS: Well, there's the old saying, you know: Those that do, do. Those that can't, teach.

D: She was an actress. She was teaching drama, so she hated the fact that I was a singer.

AS: She hated the fact that you were doing what you wanted to do.

D: Yeah, and it was horrible. I don't want to get all feminist and say, "You know, we should be supporting each other," but that woman asked me, "Do you find that there's a lot of competition between women in the music industry?" She's so lucky there were a couple of other people around. I really would have embarrassed her and said, "Excuse me, you're a woman, and you're asking me if women find it difficult because we are arguing in the music industry." I felt like this was an insane lack of support.

Secret Formula 1 Gig : June 17th

2009-06-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

18 JUNE 2009 - Hello Magazine Article Online
Welsh songbird Duffy took time out of her European tour this week to entertain Formula One supremos – including Grand Prix champ Lewis Hamilton and boss Bernie Ecclestone – at a charity event at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The Bangor-born beauty performed some of her hits at the party, which raised funds for a new heart and lung centre for London children's hospital Great Ormand Street as well as celebrating the launch of this weekend's British Grand Prix. There to support their dad were Bernie's daughters Petra, 21, and 24-year-old Tamara, who were accompanied by their mother Slavica. The former Armani model and the racing mogul were granted a divorce in March after 25 years of marriage. According to 78-year-old Bernie it was an "amicable split", and judging by Slavica's move of attending her ex-husband's party, they remain on good terms. The bash was also a family affair for Stevenage-born driver Lewis, who brought along his father Anthony and brother Nick. Famous faces at the event included The Forsyte Saga actor Damian Lewis – enjoying a night out with his actress wife Helen McCrory.

I don't know about everyone else but I really like Duffy's new hairstyle!
It seems to be dyed blonder and her fringe has been grown out and swept
to the side more.

9 and 1/2 things you didn't know about Duffy

2009-06-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

As seen on Duffy

2009-06-15T01:12:00.000-07:00

Was available from www.motelrocks.com for £29 last summer
and is likely to be brought in again this year according to the
email I reply I received.

Diet coke Photoshoot

2009-06-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Photo that has emerged from Diet Coke endorsements.

Favourite Things article

2009-06-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, I uploaded this article on Duffy's favourite things.
Unfortunetely I can't remember which magazine it came from. I usually write it
on the back and I've missed this one for some reason. Anyways, enjoy!

Duffy Interview myspace, Australia.

2009-06-01T04:57:00.000-07:00

Duffy performing at Chester University 2004

2009-05-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Warwick Avenue video shoot

2009-05-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

I recently came across these photos from the video shoot that I

hadn't seen before and thought I'd post them incase anyone else

had missed them too!

54th Ivor Novello Awards

2009-05-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

BBC News 21May09

'Duffy has won an award at the 54th Ivor Novello awards in London.
She picked up the prize for the most performed work with her track Mercy,
while Coldplay won best-selling British song for Viva La Vida.

It's the latest success for Duffy, who earlier this year won three Brit awards.
Receiving her award, she said: "I was a girl from Wales. I did not know what music was.
"I knew I had a set of pipes and that would get me a long way."'
BBC news

Images Copyright www.gettyimages.com

Kent Tv Interview from 2008

2009-05-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

Kent Tv have just added Duffy interview from Radio 1st Big Weekend
in Maidstone to youtube. Click on the link below to view.

'Before they were famous' Magazine Photo

2009-05-19T01:59:00.001-07:00

Daily Mirror Article from April 10th

2009-05-13T02:11:00.001-07:00

Hair and Beauty Magazine Article

2009-05-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Duffy is on the cover of the April/May Issue of Hair & Beauty Magazine, Available in WH Smith as well as other newsagents.There are articles inside on how to copy Duffy's eye makeup and hair that I've scanned in below.

A look back : Duffy's 24th Birthday

2009-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Duffy's birthday, June 23rd, is fast approaching so I thought it was a good

time to look back at her 24th birthday last year. She hired 'Lucky 7 Events'
to organise the party for her.

Luck 7 have said that,
'One of the most enjoyable events we have had the pleasure to organise was a birthday party for the singer Duffy and her twin sister. She wanted a simple, fun, but private party for around 100 guests. It was held in an exclusive private members' club. The party was filled with all her favourite things, masses of balloons, friends, music and really tasty cake!'

Below are photos of the party courtesy of the events organiser:

And there was plenty newspaper coverage the following day:

Click on the images for bigger photos.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2009

2009-05-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Duffy is named number 86 on the British rich list of 2009 with and estimated fortune of 4million.

As seen on Duffy : Brit Awards 2009

2009-05-01T15:28:00.001-07:00

Duffy was wearing gorgeous cream and black shoes at

the Brit Awards by Rupert Sanderson which I managed

to find exact copies of by chance in the Los Angeles
Maceys store. They are from Nine West Winter Collection

and cost around $100s. They are still available at the moment.

Visit the Nine West online store here.
There have been a number of articles about the shoes being

right on trend, I have uploaded one below including some

photos from the Awards red carpet.

Welcome!

2009-04-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well it’s my first post, I hope everyone will enjoy keeping up-to-date with the latest Duffy news as much as I will.
After a hectic year since her albums first release Duffy has said in a few interviews that she will be taking it easy for a little while and having a holiday. However, so far there isn’t much sign of this happening! Although she does have a break from her tour which saw her last perform on Apr 15th in the Caprices Festival, Crans-Montana. Her next concert date after this is May 1st in Murcia, Spain.