Martin Bernard Duffy (18 May 1967 – 18 December 2022) was an English musician who originally played keyboards with
Felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or w ...
and most famously with
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drum ...
.
Career
Duffy was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and grew up in
Rednal
Rednal is a residential suburb on the south western edge of metropolitan Birmingham, West Midlands, England, southwest of Birmingham city centre and forming part of Longbridge parish and electoral ward.
Rednal is home to approximately 2,000 res ...
King's Norton
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 mil ...
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
and
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...
.
Duffy joined the
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or w ...
as keyboard player in 1985. Felt frontman Lawrence later recalled "I put up notices in
Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
in Birmingham advertising for a guitarist saying 'Do You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star?' I'd put two up when this guy came up to me and said, 'I know this keyboard player. He's 16. He's just left school."
Duffy played keyboards on Primal Scream's first two albums, and joined the band permanently after Felt disbanded at the end of 1989.
Duffy also played with The Charlatans following the death of founding member Rob Collins, appearing with the group at
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden an ...
supporting
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment and contributing keyboard parts to the band's fifth album '' Tellin' Stories''.
In 2004 he was a member of "rock supergroup"
The Chavs
The Chavs was an English rock supergroup formed in London in 2004, by former Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Carl Barât. Alongside Barât in the band are Tim Burgess of The Charlatans and drummer Andy Burrows from Razorlight. ...
with Burgess and
Carl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and ...
of
The Libertines
The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall (m ...
. He also contributed to recordings by
Heidi Berry
Heidi Berry (born December 8, 1958) is an American musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she recorded and released four critically acclaimed solo albums on the British independent record labels Creation Records and 4AD.
Career
Her earlie ...
,
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her " folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weather ...
,
Paul Weller
Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...
,
Shack (band)
Shack are an English band formed in Liverpool, England in 1987. Originally Shack consisted of Mick Head (vocals and guitar), his brother John Head (guitar), Justin Smith (bass) and Mick Hurst (drums).
History The Pale Fountains
Before found ...
and the
Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre ...
, and released a solo album ''Assorted Promenades'' in 2014. His soundtrack work included the films ''The Laughing King'' (2016) and '' Wild Rose'' (2017).
Personal life and death
Duffy died on 18 December 2022, at age 55. The cause of death was given as a brain injury suffered after a fall at home in Brighton.
Primal Scream released a statement that included "We re all so sad ... Martin was the most musically talented of all of us. (He) could play piano to the level where he was feted not just by his peers in British music, but old school master American musicians such as James Luther Dickinson, Roger Hawkins,
David Hood
David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone. He is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
Hood was born in Sheffield, Alabama and attende ...
(and) producer
Tom Dowd
Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...
". Charlatans singer Burgess said "(he) stepped in to save the Charlatans when we lost Rob – he played with us at Knebworth and was a true friend. He toured with me in my solo band too – he was a pleasure to spend time with".