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 performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his older brother Nick.

He has also co-written with Robbie Williams and Steven Page.

While attending the School of Foundation Studies & Experimental Workshop at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) Duffy met John Taylor.

Together they formed the group Duran Duran, along with Taylor's childhood friend, Nick Rhodes.

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 in 1980.

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.

In 1982, he created the band Tin Tin, with John Mulligan and Dik Davis (both then of Fashion), Andy "Stoker" Growcott (of Dexys Midnight Runners) and Bob Lamb (original producer of Birmingham band UB40).

Originally called Holy Tin Tin before being shortened, the band was signed with WEA Records in the UK, and released the single "Kiss Me" in 1982 but was unsuccessful.

By 1983, Tin Tin had signed with Sire Records 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 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 and Nicholas Froome, which was released in February 1985.

It debuted at no. 22 and peaked at no. 4 in the UK and stayed in the Top 10 for five weeks.

Duffy followed it 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, and Stephen Street), 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), however this single (and the album itself) failed to chart.

Duffy also recorded a non-stop forty-minute early chill-out / house album in 1986 called Designer Beatnik with Roger Freeman of Pigbag, released under the name Dr. Calculus mdma.

The cover photo shows the "Spirit of Ecstasy" Rolls-Royce car mascot and the album's two singles were "Programme 7" and "Perfume from Spain".

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

The album, entitled The Lilac Time, came out in November 1987, and was subsequently reissued in remixed form by Fontana 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, 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, and were subsequently managed by label head, Alan McGee.

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.

The 1993 Stephen Duffy album Music in Colors (Parlophone) was recorded with Nigel Kennedy, and featured the singles "Natalie" and "Holte End Hotel".

The next album was called simply Duffy, released in August 1995 on Indolent Records.

"London Girls" and "Sugar High" went to the top 10 on the UK indie chart.