Duffy

At 40 years old, Duffy has this physical status:

Aimee Anne Duffy (born 23 June 1984), also known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer, songwriter, and actress.

Born in Bangor, Wales, she was introduced to Jeannette Lee of Rough Trade Records, which culminated in her signing a recording deal with A&M Records in 2007. Duffy's debut album Rockferry was released in 2008, following the success of singles "Rockferry" (2006) and "Mercy" (2008), the latter's highest singles chart worldwide.

With 1.68 million copies sold, the album debuted at number one on the UK Album Chart and became the country's best-selling album of the year.

The album was certified Platinum multiple times and has sold over 7 million copies around the world, inciting further hit singles.

Duffy's "Mercy" became the first Welsh woman to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart since 1983, while Rockferry was named for Best Pop Vocal Album amongst other nominations at the 51st Grammy Awards.

In 2009, Duffy won three British Breakthrough, Best British Female, and Best British Album.

Following her relative flop in February 2011, Duffy revealed that she would take a break from music before starting work on her new album and making her acting debut in the film Patagonia.

She has since appeared in and performed songs in the film Legend (2015), portraying American singer Timi Yuro.

Early life

Duffy was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, and was brought up by her parents; John Duffy and Joyce Smith (née Williams) in Nefyn, near Pwllheli. Kate has a twin sister and Kelly Ann, who was born in 1980, and she has an older sister, Kelly Ann. When Duffy was ten, she and her mother and sisters moved to Letterston, Pembrokeshire, where they lived.

As a child, she attended Ysgol Nefyn (Nefyn School), Gwynedd, and Sir Thomas Picton School in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. She attended Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor's campus to study for A-levels at the age of 17. She went to the University of Chester and studied Commercial Music Production on the Warrington campus. She studied Performing Arts at the Parkgate University from 2004 to 2007.

When investigators discovered a scheme by her stepfather's ex-wife to pay a hitman £3,000 to murder her stepfather, Philip Smith, Duffy was briefly put in a police safe house in September 1998. Dawn Watson, Smith's ex-wife, was sentenced to 31 years in prison for soliciting to murder. "I was so afraid." In 2008, Duffy recalled feeling sick, as reported by the NME. Duffy likes living in the secure house as a dog-eat-dog, claustrophobic, and isolating experience. She escaped in Nefyn at the age of 15. "It was a horrible thing to do," Duffy said in retrospect. Her mother and her siblings didn't speak to her for about a year after she died. Her next three years were a turbulent period that included binge drinking and stealing a rowing boat in reaction to her parents' breakup.

Personal life

Duffy dated Cheshire-born Mark Durston for more than five years before he died in November 2006. They lived in Abersoch.

Duffy said in September 2008 that she was "on the brink of a nervous breakdown" because of the pressure that fame had put on her. She said she had considered becoming a recluse but later decided against it for the sake of her fans. Though acknowledging that most people do mean well, she talked of finding it "scary" when people recognized her on the street, and was concerned about her appearance as she is a changeable being.

Duffy's estimated fortune of £4 million in 2009 placed her 16th in the country's richest young artists list.

Mike Phillips, the Welsh international rugby player, appeared on a variety of television shows from September 2009 to May 2011.

Duffy escaped from a fire in the rented penthouse apartment in which she was living, Abbots House in Kensington, London, on October 3, 2012.

On July 10, 2011, Bangor University announced an Honorary Fellowship.

Duffy had been "raped and heroinged, and detained hostage for several days" on her official website on February 25, 2020. She claimed she had withdrawn from the spotlight so she could recover, adding that she was now doing well, but it took her time to recover. She did not identify her attacker(s) nor say when or where the assault took place.

In a longer article, Duffy wrote that she was drugged at a restaurant on her birthday, taken to a foreign country on a plane, and was later arrested in a hotel room and assaulted. Since the ordeal, Duffy spent "mostly naked" and said she now feels she could "leave this decade behind," but she continued to fear she would never be the person people once knew."

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Career

After finishing her GCSEs in Pefyn, Duffy returned to Nefyn, to live with her father when she was 15 years old, and began performing in various local bands. Duffy spent six weeks in Switzerland (before she started college), collaborating with writer-producer Soren Mounir under the name Soulego. A Chester University lecturer had advised her to "Go on the dole, love, and become a singer." Lucia Cordaro, a local jazz and blues club in Chester, where she performed with guitarist David Burton from The Invisible Wires, developed a following, and she continued to perform and record one of her songs (I Melt). In 2003, Duffy returned to Wales and was invited to appear on Wawffactor, a Welsh television talent competition. She had been expected to win but came in second, behind winner Lisa Pedrick.

Following the success on Wawffactor, Duffy performed Aimée Duffy, a three-song Welsh extended play, while working part-time in two separate jobs as waitress and fishmongers. In 2008, it achieved success in Wales, ranking at number one on the "Siart C2" music chart, debuting at number one. Duffy, who is now in high demand, appeared on Mint Royale's See You in the Morning as a back-up singer. After singing Richard Parfitt's "Oh Boy," Duffy was introduced to Jeanette Lee of Rough Trade Records in August 2004. Lee moved Duffy from London to Crouch End, London, where he was arranging a meeting with Duffy and Suede's ex-guitar player Bernard Butler. Duffy will be managed by Lee, who works at Rough Trade. Butler co-wrote with her and produced a new retro sound after Watson gave Duffy a soul music "education" by downloading tracks on her iPod that she could listen to while walking around London or returning to Wales. The album featured tracks by Al Green, Bettye Swann, Ann Peebles, Doris Duke, Scott Walker, Phil Spector, and Burt Bacharach. Bettye Swann was one of her biggest influences, particularly her song "Cover Me."

On November 23, 2007, Duffy was signed to A&M Records (UK). Later in this series, she appeared on BBC Two television show Later with Jools Holland, resulting in a second appearance on Hootenanny, where Duffy appeared with Eddie Floyd. She appeared on Later with Jools Holland for the third time on Tuesday, "Rockferry," "Mercy," and "Stepping Stone." On February 23, 2008, Duffy appeared on the BBC Two television show "Mercy" and appeared "Mercy." In January 2008, Duffy came in second second second to Adele in the annual BBC News Online poll of industry experts Sound of 2008, with acts set to debut in the coming year. Aimée Duffy, the Welsh musician, debuted No. 1 on the "Siart C2" music charts after Duffy's latest promotion of her music. Duffy's debut album effort, "Rockferry," was released by 2007, after her grandmother's home in Rock Ferry. She landed a US label deal with Mercury Records, a newly revived imprint of Island Def Jam Music Group. The album's first single, also named "Rockferry," was highly regarded by fans, with Allmusic comparing it to a "grand, sweeping ballad."

Butler's debut album, Rockferry, was released on A&M Records on March 3, 2008. He and his musical partner David McAlmont, as well as a number of other musicians, formed the backbone of Duffy's band's debut album, Rockferry. Director Luke Seomore and Joseph Bull shot the title track's black-and-white album art and video on and around the Ffestiniog Railway in Porthmadog, which was renamed 'Rockferry' for the occasion. "The album took almost four years to produce," Duffy says. We had to recruit cheap, tiny studios, and there were times when writing and recording would be interrupted for three weeks." Bernard Butler, a non-paying musician, recorded four songs on the album, including the single "Rockferry." Steve Booker co-written and produced the singles "Mercy" and "Stepping Stone," as well as Jimmy Hogarth and Eg White's second single "Warwick Avenue." In November 2007, Duffy's debut limited-edition single "Rockferry" was released; it was followed by "Mercy," which was written and co-written by Steve Booker, who went straight to number one. The album's last song, "Mercy," was written. On February 25, 2008, the single was first published on television. Both "Mercy" and "Stepping Stone" are autobiographical; "Mercy" is about "sexual liberty" and "not doing something someone else does," and "Stepping Stone" is about not expressing her emotions to a person she fell in love with. "Warwick Avenue" was the album's second single. Duffy, who was 19 years old at the time, was familiarizing herself with the London Underground and accidentally found herself at the Warwick Avenue station. The song "just sort of came out" the following day. The song's video was supposed to be intricate, but it ended up a tearful head shot in a taxi taxi with Duffy's mascara smudging. "That's as close as I'm ever going to do a show in a video," Duffy said.

"Mercy" had become a staple on VH1 and a hot Adult Contemporary radio hit by May, and had been included in the season finale of Grey's Anatomy's American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, as well as being on the soundtrack album for Sex and the City: The Movie. On May 10, a remix of "Mercy" starring rap artist The Game was released. Rockferry was released in the United States on May 13 with rave reviews. Duffy received significant financial savings as a result of the album's low cost of production. Despite her album's success in the United States, she was quoted as saying, "I don't like how major American stars treat themselves as an exception from humanity." The single "Rain on Your Parade," written by Steve Booker and released in November 2008, was released in November 2008. The song was first released on download sales on November 10, 2008, before being released physically on November 17th. "A big, disco-y dance song," Duffy describes it as. It hit number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart before gaining to a high of fifteen the following week. On the deluxe version of Rockferry, the track was included. Duffy received the "Song of the Year" award for "Mercy" at the 2008 MOJO Awards, as well as "Album of the Year" and "Breakthrough Act." These three nominations were the most in number for any one act. She also received a 2008 Q Award in the category of Breakthrough Act, as well as a nomination for Best Track for "Mercy" in the Music of Black Origin Award category, which is also named for Best UK Female. She received awards for Best Album of the Year, Most Addictive Track, and New Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. She appeared at the EMA show.

Duffy has appeared at festivals and festival gigs around the world. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was her first festival appearance at the SXSW conference, and her first American performances took place at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Duffy appeared at the Apollo Theater in New York City as part of the Rockferry's debut. Duffy was honoured to appear at the Royal Variety Performance in 2008. Duffy appeared at numerous festivals in Europe in 2008. Among other things, there were visits to French, Swedish, and Irish summer festivals. Duffy performed at Glastonbury and the Evolution Festival in the United Kingdom. In 2008, she toured the American summer festivals, including a visit to Lollapalooza in Chicago. Between November and December 2008, she toured the United Kingdom and Ireland. Duffy, the promoter of Rockferry, made several trips to American television, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Saturday Night Live. Duffy appeared on a fourteen-city North American tour. On six of the dates, plans had called for her to open for Coldplay. Duffy mistakenly set the left side of her hair on fire during a Cleveland concert. After briefly bursting into tears, Duffy was left apologizing to an audience in New York. When she feels exposed for reasons she does not fully comprehend, she told the audience that this occurs in one out of every 15 of her shows. Duffy performed at the LSO St. Luke's, making a recording for British broadcaster BBC. The appearance was broadcast on BBC One in 2009, one of the British television stations.

Duffy received a Grammy Award in the category of Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry at the 51st Grammy Awards in February 2009. "Mercy" had been nominated for prizes in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, so she had been nominated earlier this year. Duffy received four 2009 British Awards nominations, compared to Coldplay. She went on to win three awards, including Best Album for Rockferry, one behind the record for the most votes in a single night set by Blur. After five years of hard work, Duffy said, "I can't tell you what this means." She performed "Warwick Avenue" at the awards ceremony. Steve Booker and Bernard Butler, two recording engineers and songwriters, received awards for their contribution to the Rockferry project. With Steve Booker's work on Mercy, she shared an Ivor Novello Award in the category "Most Performed Work" in 2009. In part for Warwick Avenue, which he co-wrote with Duffy, songwriter Eg White received the award for "Songwriter of the Year." "Mercy" was featured on radio and television more than three million times, earning Duffy a 2009 Broadcast Music Incorporated award. At the 2010 British Academy Awards, the album was nominated and shortlisted for the Album of 30 Years category.

The album's success culminated in a period of confusion regarding her role in the music industry that almost led her to her abandoning music. Duffy has stated that she did not object to people illegally downloading her music because she believes that most people who do not have money and will buy them when they get older. "Live and Let Die" by Duffy, Paul McCartney and Wings' song "Live and Let Die" by the singer and Wings. It was used on the War Child charity album titled War Child Heroes, Volume I, where Paul McCartney said that Duffy's version "is amazing – I was really impressed." The song "Smoke Without Fire," written by Duffy and Bernard Butler, appeared on the soundtrack to the film An Education. Duffy sang Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me Baby" in the UK and "Pirate Radio" in North America for the 2009 film "The Boat That Rocked."

In order to publish her second album, Duffy said she had to slow the pace of her life. Rough Trade Management, who had been with Jeanette Lee, reported that they and the singer had parted amicably in January 2010. "The collaborative relationship between Duffy and Rough Trade administration has continued to develop," Duffy's new chief said. Duffy's second album, Endlessly, was released on September 16, 2010. In the year leading up to the album's release, it was recorded in New York, London, and Spain. For the record, Duffy formed a song-writing partnership with Albert Hammond. Endlessly was released in the United Kingdom on November 29th, 2010 and ranked number 9 in the album charts of 5 December. On November 21, the album's first single struggled to be as popular as previous singles, peaking at number 41 in the UK charts. The single, "Well, Well, Well," features a rhythm section from United States hip hop band The Roots.

Following the debut of Endlessly, it was announced that no more singles would be released from the album, and that Duffy would take a two-year break from music before beginning work on her third studio album in February 2011. Angela Becker, the manager she had recruited in 2010 to replace her former boss Jeanette Lee, was sued in July 2011. Becker said she was hired in March 2010 and was dismissed in December 2010, but she was supposed to remain Duffy's boss until the end of the promotion of Endlessly or alternatively four months after its inception.

Duffy had intended to appear in Monaco for the Sporting Summer Festival in August 2011, but she had to cancel and Melody Gardot was brought to replace her. Duffy had been announced as a performer for the Atelier Festival in Dubai in October 2012, but the Dubai media had no presence and was called a "no show."

In October 2011, producer and rapper David Banner announced that he and Duffy would be in the studio for two weeks. Albert Hammond revealed in 2012 that he was working with Duffy. During a tribute to Edith Piaf in New York City in September 2013, Duffy gave her first live performance in three years.

It was announced at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival that Duffy would return to acting in a film called Secret Love, which had never been announced. Duffy plays American singer Timi Yuro and contributes three songs to its soundtrack, including a new original song, "Whole Lot of Love" in the 2015 crime thriller film Legend. On September 11, 2015, this album, as well as new song "Dear Heart," was released as a digital download and streaming single.

In March 2020, Duffy performed "Something Beautiful" for the first time on her BBC Radio 2 show, Jo Whiley received an unreleased song, "Something Beautiful." In June 2020, Duffy also debuted "River in the Sky" on her Instagram account.

Duffy was the featured artist in an episode of the Live @ Home music collection in April 2021.

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