William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist in the band
the Cult
The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...
.
Early life
Duffy was born and grew up in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the guitar at the age of fourteen, being influenced by the music of
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
,
Thin Lizzy,
the Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
,
Blue Öyster Cult, and the early work of
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
. In the late 1970s he became involved in the punk movement, influenced by the
New York Dolls
New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
,
the Stooges
The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...
,
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
,
the Sex Pistols, and
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
. He started playing lead guitar with a number of different punk rock acts whilst still in school in the late 1970s, including the Studio Sweethearts.
Career
Formation of the Cult
After leaving school, Duffy left Manchester when the Studio Sweethearts moved to London, working as a shop assistant at
Johnsons in the
King's Road. The Studio Sweethearts subsequently broke up and Duffy began playing lead guitar part-time with the band
Theatre of Hate. Shortly after he met
Ian Astbury, then frontman/lead vocalist with the
Southern Death Cult, who was sufficiently impressed with Duffy's talents that he quit the Southern Death Cult to start a new band with him called Death Cult. After releasing two singles, the band shortened its name to the Cult. In the Cult's debut single "Spiritwalker", Duffy created a distinctive
flanged sound using an then-unfashionable guitar: a mid-1970s
Gretsch White Falcon, which later became Duffy's main instrument. The Cult's debut album, ''
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
'', was released in 1984, followed in 1985 by ''
Love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'', which featured the hit "She Sells Sanctuary".
Late 1980s and 1990s
For the Cult's third album, 1987's ''
Electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
'', Duffy helped change the sound into metal-blues. In 1988, Duffy moved to Los Angeles with Astbury, where they both still reside. There, the two writing partners (with longtime bassist
Jamie Stewart) turned to
stadium rock and recorded ''
Sonic Temple
''Sonic Temple'' is the fourth studio album by British Rock music, rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. Produced by Bob Rock, the album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". De ...
''. The Cult reached a larger, mainstream audience, but the public's attention could not be sustained with their next album, ''
Ceremony
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin .
Religious and civil ...
'', at the dawn of the
grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
age.
Following the 'Ceremonial Stomp' tour of 1992, Astbury pressured Duffy to return to their roots, with the Cult's
self-titled album. This would ultimately lead to Astbury's departure from Duffy and the Cult in 1995.
During the Cult's four-year hiatus, Duffy played with
Mike Peters of
The Alarm
The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977 under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the group soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language ...
in a project called Coloursound. Duffy also played on the title track from Japanese musician
J's 1997 debut album, ''Pyromania''.
The Cult reformation and hiatus
Duffy reformed the Cult with Astbury in 1999, which led to a new recording contract with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. This was capped off by a show at
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
's Music Midtown Festival in May 2001, where over 60,000 people watched them perform, leading up to the release of ''
Beyond Good and Evil
''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' () is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' but with a more polemical approach. It was first published in 1886 ...
''.
Their single to promote it, "Rise", which reached No. 125 in the US and No. 3 for 6 weeks on the mainstream rock chart, was removed from radio rotation a week after the album's release. Disappointing sales, reviews, and tour attendance ensued. In 2002, Astbury sent the Cult onto a hiatus once more, when he accepted an offer to sing with
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
.
2004 and onward

In early 2004, Duffy formed the covers band Cardboard Vampyres alongside
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
guitarist/vocalist
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...
. Also in the band were
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
and
Ratt
Ratt (stylized as RATT) was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. ...
vocalist
John Corabi, the Cult bassist
Chris Wyse and drummer Josh Howser. The band played at various venues in the United States between 2004 and 2005. They predominantly played along the
West Coast. No albums were released by the band.
The Cult reformed in early 2006 and after playing several US concerts toured Europe. Duffy appeared in Ethan Dettenmaier's film, ''
Sin-Jin Smyth'', which was filmed in 2006, but remains unreleased.
In early 2006 Duffy recorded a debut album with his new band,
Circus Diablo: Duffy played lead guitar, with former Cult touring bass player Billy Morrison on lead vocals and bass guitar,
Ricky Warwick playing rhythm guitar, and
Matt Sorum playing drums.
After the completion of the album, former
Fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...
member
Brett Scallions was added as bassist so Morrison could focus on being the lead singer. Then Jeremy Colson, formerly with
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...
, was brought in to be the full-time drummer for the band. Duffy's involvement ended in 2007.
In 2007, he was a judge on Bodog Music's Battle of the Bands.
In 2010, Duffy appeared on the TV series, ''
Married to Rock'', which starred his girlfriend AJ Celi. In October 2012, he performed with
Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony at the Cabo Wabo Cantina for Sammy Hagar's Birthday Bash in
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...
, Mexico.
In an October 2016 interview with ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' journalist J.C. Maçek III, Duffy spoke about his favorite Cult song, saying "Jonesy
ormer Sex Pistols guitarist turned radio host Steve Jones">Sex_Pistols.html" ;"title="ormer Sex Pistols">ormer Sex Pistols guitarist turned radio host Steve Joneson Jonesy's Jukebox just played 'Love' from the Love album and that's my favorite Cult song," he tells me proudly. "I actually got, I have to admit, a teeny bit of a goose bump because it just captured exactly what I wanted to say with that kind of haunting rock. Kind of
swaggery but not heavy, it's got ... Duffy searches for the right words to express his emotion at hearing the song from the outside, "I mean nobody ... I don't know who makes music like that!"
Between 2012 and 2016, Duffy appeared with the
Kings of Chaos.
Personal life
In 2020, Duffy became engaged to former glamour model
Kings of Chaos (band)">Kings of Chaos.
Personal life
In 2020, Duffy became engaged to former glamour model Leilani Dowding. Duffy is an avid Manchester City Football Club">Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Assoc ...
fan.
Guitars and equipment
Duffy is known for playing
Gretsch White Falcon and Gibson Les Paul Custom guitars throughout his career. In January 2013, Gretsch introduced the Billy Duffy White Falcon G7593T guitar.
Portrayals in media
In the 2017 feature film ''England Is Mine'', a biopic about the early years of
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
, Duffy is portrayed by Adam Lawrence.
Discography
The Cult
* ''
Dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
'' (1984)
* ''
Love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'' (1985)
* ''
Electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
'' (1987)
* ''
Sonic Temple
''Sonic Temple'' is the fourth studio album by British Rock music, rock band The Cult, released on 10 April 1989. Produced by Bob Rock, the album features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Fire Woman" and "Edie (Ciao Baby)". De ...
'' (1989)
* ''
Ceremony
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin .
Religious and civil ...
'' (1991)
* ''
The Cult
The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...
'' (1994)
* ''
Beyond Good and Evil
''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' () is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' but with a more polemical approach. It was first published in 1886 ...
'' (2001)
* ''
Born into This'' (2007)
* ''
Choice of Weapon
A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models.
Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or artificially restricted choice c ...
'' (2012)
* ''
Hidden City'' (2016)
* ''
Under the Midnight Sun'' (2022)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Billy
1961 births
Living people
English rock guitarists
English heavy metal guitarists
English male songwriters
English lead guitarists
Hollywood United F.C. players
Musicians from Manchester
People from Hulme
The Cult members
Theatre of Hate members
Men's association football players not categorized by position
Dead Men Walking members
Association football players not categorized by nationality
English people of Jewish descent
English people of Irish descent
Circus Diablo members
Kings of Chaos (band) members