R.I.P. Duffy Power. Heard from Peter Muir that Duffy passed away on Wednesday (19th February). No further details at this time. It's particularly sad to lose him now, just when he had re-started his career, recently releasing his first CD for 40 years.
Following the comment from Peter Muir of Market Records a while back (see below), I thought I'd give him a call to find out when Duffy's new album would be out and the good news is...it's already available online and should also be obtainable from Proper Music as of the 26th June.
It's new title, as Peter mentioned is "TIGERS" and the tracks are:
1. Sweet Again. Tigers 3. Johnny Too Bad. 4. Whenever. 5. Let's Go Home. 6. To My Guitar 7. Big Legged Rosie 8. Spaces 9. Camping With Billie 10. Nine Lives Gone. 11. Now And Then. 12. Once Upon A Time. 13. Secret Love. 14. 'Til We Meet Again
For more details, here's the link to the online shop:
http://www.themusicindex.com/store/duskfire/duffy_power.htm
Priced at a very reasonable £7.99 (+ p&p) if you ever appreciated Duffy's much under-rated talent, you should waste no time it getting this new album.
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EARLIER UPDATE:
Responding to a 'comment' posted today, claiming that Duffy had 'died in a car crash in 1976', I carried out some further research and this is what I found out.
Duffy is still very much alive and is even working on a new album. He re-surfaced in the late '90s and certainly recorded a track called "Sweet again" in 2003 for a compilation CD... "The Wildlife Album", which will also be included on his own album "True", to be released on Market Square in the near (ish) future.
All I can say is...WELCOME BACK, DUFFY and may you now enjoy the success and recognition you always deserved, but never really got.
Original post:
For those of you that haven't heard of Duffy Power, he was one of Larry Parnes' 'proteges' in the early '60s along with Billy Fury, Marty Wilde etc. (Parnes 'christened' all his boys with similar 'impact' names). Duffy, however, was a little different to the other 'pop' singers, in that he had a much jazzier delivery (when allowed!), one example of this is his very competent and bluesy version of "It ain't necessarily so",which I heard on the BBC recently. He never did have much popular success, maybe for that reason, but later worked (and recorded with) with quite a few jazz/blues heavyweights of the time..like Graham Bond (with Dick Heckstall-Smith), Alexis Korner, Bert Jansch/Danny Thompson. He also sang, on just one occasion, with the New Jazz Orchestra (as I mention in my 'Hobo' interview: ). Quite how this came about, I can't recall, but it was at a concert in Bromley, Kent in March 1964. It was only the second live appearance of the NJO...a fund-raising concert for the local branch of the "Freedom from Hunger Campaign". Duffy sang just one number..."Summertime", I seem to recall. After that...well, nothing. He didn't sing with them again, which is not any reflection on his ability, or suitability...more likely that he went back to trying to be a 'pop star'.
Duffy with Vince Eager, Larry Parnes, Billy Fury etc.
He had a great voice and was good-looking enough to make it..but, it seems he didn't get the breaks that his stable-mates did. So, after recording two albums "Innovations" for Transatlantic in 1969 and the eponymous Duffy Power in 1973, he 'retired', somewhat embittered and disillusioned, from the scene.
So....Duffy, where are you now? Does anybody have any idea?