29-30 Nov: Duff Live@ Manchester Apollo, Manchester, UK

If you have the setlist or any reviews/pics/vids please leave a comment.

Duffy appears to have added Wonderwall to the setlist on 29th?! Check the vid:


Dantography on youtube has also put up his vid of Warwick Ave on 29th:


Sas88sas has Hanging On Too Long from 29th:


also Rockferry (29th):


and Serious (29th):


Kevins978 has Rain on Your Parade (29th):

30 Nov: Hankering after "Big Flame" and "Smoke Without Fire" on cd?

Yes? Well so was I. Then I found this random "Rain On Your Parade" cd listed on Amazon.de with a release date of 5th December (as then with no tracklisting) and I pre-ordered it anyway, hoping it would be the German maxi featuring the vinyl B-side(s).

Well now the tracklisting IS showing up and the release date is still set at 5th December. And it seems that both the vinyl B-sides ("Big Flame" from "Stepping Stone" and "Smoke Without Fire" from "Rain on Your Parade") will be on this German maxi cd!

As far as I am aware, now that the Deluxe Edition of the Rockferry album has been released, this now means that ALL of Duffy's Rockferry-related official studio releases will finally be available in cd quality. Great news for sticklers like me who only got an mp3 player as of this year and still prefer cds any day of the week... Details below:

Rain on Your Parade [Single]

(Released in Germany 5th December 2008)

Track listing:

1. Rain on your parade

2. Syrup & honey

3. Smoke without fire

4. Big flame

5. Rain on your parade (Video Data Track)

Availble from Amazon.de

28 Nov: Duffy Live@Leeds Academy, Leeds, UK

If you have the setlist or any reviews/pics/vids please leave a comment.

This article comments on Duffy's fashion sense but gets a few details of the gig wrong...

Video by Lauren:

28 Nov: Duffy adds Hong Kong and Singapore dates!

Duffy Live In The Far East

Duffy has China in her hand in March of next year with a brace of dates in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Here are the dates:

Friday, March 20, 2009 - AWE Arena, Hong Kong, China [Buy Tickets]
Sunday, March 22, 2009 - Singapore Indoor Stadiuam, Singapore [Buy Tickets]

So whether your're an ex-pat longing for some sounds from home or one of Duffy's international fans make sure you check her out.

27 Nov: Radio 2 Concert featuring Duffy

UPDATE:

Thanks to the 32min video currently on the BBC Radio 2 website we know more of the setlist at this gig:
1. Rain on Your Parade
2. Serious
3. Warwick Ave
4. Breaking My Own Heart
5. Stepping Stone
6. Stop
7. Mercy

Wonderwall was also played, but no idea where it came in the set. Watch a video of Wonderwall below:


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC Radio 2 broadcast highlights of the "Live In London" concert tonight featuring Adele, Keane, James Morrisson, The Feeling and Duffy.

Duffy was the first artist to perform.
Radio 2 Setlist:
1. Rain On Your Parade
2. Serious
3. Warwick Avenue
4. Stop
5. Mercy
Duffy also performed "...a stunning stripped down version of Oasis' Wonderwall, which she dedicated to Radio 2" but it was not broadcast on the radio and neither were a couple of other songs she did on the evening :-(

NOTE: If you want to download what Radio 2 aired of this concert please see the comments on this blogpost. :-)

Also you can watch 2 tracks from Duffy's set currently on the BBCi channel (got to BBC One on your Sky Box or Freeview then press the red button). It's being repeated over the next few days. Check here for specific times when it will be on.

Click here to watch the BBC's video interview with Duffy and also more video footage of Duffy's set.

Click the photos below to see larger images.










The 4 below are by forum user alecsp:




This is Duffy arriving:


These are from gigwise:

26 Nov: Duffy: 'I haven't hit the big time yet'

Digital Spy have the below article today:

Duffy: 'I haven't hit the big time yet'

Duffy has admitted that she still sees herself as a novice in the music industry, despite achieving international success in recent months.

The Welsh soul singer has become an international star since making her debut with Rockferry and its hit singles 'Mercy' and 'Warwick Avenue' earlier this year.

"People talk to me as if I've hit the big time, like I'm Neil Diamond or someone," Duffy told Take 5 magazine. "It's funny. It's only been this year. I hope I can carry on doing my music but I'm still finding out what it's all about."

Asked about her future ambitions, she replied: "I would be thrilled to be invited to do a Bond theme. I really don't feel the need to rush into things though. Maybe a Welsh language record one day too."

The star recently vowed to raise her game after walking away empty-handed at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

25 Nov: Duffy Live@ George's Market Belfast (UK)

If you have the setlist, a review and some pics then please leave a comment.

I heard that Duffy played "Stop" at this concert but I don't know if there were anymore Deluxe tracks... Hope she plays "Fool for You" when I go to Wolverhampton. :-)

As for pics from this concert.... well the tabloid re making a big deal about Duffy showing her bra on stage. See The Sun's article about this "news" is here. I am not posting a pic of Duffy looking silly on my blog so you'll just have to visit The Sun and put up with Gordon Smart's comments about "chicken fillets". That's hopefully just a reference to the Three Non-Blondes and not a pointed reflection upon Duffy's cup size... yeah right... the sleezy Sun rag would probably prefer it if Duffy was a fake page 3 model.

But anyway - it's a nice dress. Probably designer.

Some other pics of Duffy from this gig would be much appreciated...

UPDATE: Oh No!!! It looks like Duffy's dress was half-hanging down for a while. Check this "picture special". :-(

UPDATE 2: Oh no!!!!! Now the Mail gets on the case. Not only did Duffy's dress come down exposing her bra for seemingly a large part of the Belfast concert last night but that horrible peach with sequins dress she wore at the MTV thing has come back to haunt her... so now the fashion police are after Duffy.
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/tvshowbiz/....eveal-bra.html

25 Nov: Duffy's Rockferry goes Triple Platinum in Ireland

Showbiz.ie has an article about Duffy being presented with the triple platinum discs in Dublin on Monday... (I've put it below)
Plus Duffy says she is playing on Jools Holland's 2009 Hootenanny (which will be recorded soon)!

Duffy's A Triple Platinum Blonde...

Welsh singer Aimee Ann Duffy has simplified her moniker and just calling her by her surname these days is suffice to get her attention. Duffy's 'Rockferry' album has sold off-the-shelves to such an extent that it went triple platinum in Ireland alone, she was in town yesterday to pick up the honorary disc...

Stunning blonde singer Duffy has left the Valleys behind and taken the world by storm with her unique brand of contemporary soul music. Her debut album 'Rockferry' has already sold 3.4 million copies worldwide, and there's no sign of punters tiring of the hit laden CD, especially here in Ireland.

We exclusively caught-up with Duffy in a festive themed suite in the Morrison Hotel yesterday when she was presented with a Triple Platinum Disc by Freddie Middleton, Marketing Director of Universal Music Ireland...

Duffy

Chuffed with huge success in her second favorite Celtic homeland, Duffy went off with a spring in her stride to play a sold-out concert in The Olympia Theatre. She also revealed to us that she is going to perform on this year's Later with Jools Holland New Year's Eve show 'Hootenanny' - the show which gave Duffy her first big break...

Well done Duffy for sales in Ireland, keep the hits coming!

25 Nov: Australian V Festival Tickets Pre-Sale

Spring 2009 sees Duffy jetting to Australia for all four dates of the world famous V Festival. Tickets for the dates are expected to sell out fast, so Duffy fans will be pleased to hear that there's a special pre-sale available to them, and it's open now. The pre-sale runs from today (Tuesday 25th November) and ends at 5 pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) on Thursday 27th November. The password for pre-sale orders is 'WEROCKV' and the ticket links for the four V Festival dates are as follows: March 28th V Festival Centennial Park Sydney, NSW Click here to pre-order. March 29th V Festival Avica Resort, Gold Coast Merrimac, QLD Click here to pre-order. April 4th V Festival Melbourne Showgrounds Ascot Vale, VIC Click here to pre-order. April 5th V Festival Claremont Showgrounds Claremont, WA Click here to pre-order.

24 Nov: Duffy Live@Olympia Theatre, Dublin

If you have any reviews/pics/vids or the setlist please leave a comment.

24 Nov: Duffy performs Rain On Your Parade on "This Morning"

UPDATE 28th Nov: Thanks to giraffestakeover for putting these on youtube. I'm still looking for DL links for thse in HQ so please leave a comment if you find them. Thanks!

24 nov: Today the Deluxe 2cd album was released in UK

Disc: 1
1. Rockferry
2. Warwick Avenue
3. Serious
4. Stepping Stone
5. Syrup & Honey
6. Hanging On Too Long
7. Mercy
8. Delayed Devotion
9. I'm Scared
10. Distant Dreamer
Disc: 2
1. Rain On Your Parade
2. Fool For You
3. Stop
4. Oh Boy
5. Please Stay
6. Breaking My Own Heart
7. Enough Love

Buy it here if you haven't already. All the bonus tracks are worth a listen. Fool For You and Stop are brand new tracks and Please Stay is the studio version of the song that Duffy did in a few live shows a few months back... it's on the soundtrack of the new movie Telstar which I think is about to be eventually released.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think of the new tracks!

Here is Texas Tom's thoughts about the new tracks:

Fool For You - I am looking forward to finding out who she co-wrote this with, because it is very different.

I love it, it is great. I love the wispy background vocals, I am a sucker for ooh's and la-la's in songs anyway. I love how she sings "what more can I give, what more can I ZAY", with a Z. She really plays with the words, like a jazz musician. That's just another reason she is wonderful.

Stop - Also, I am looking forward to seeing who the co-writer is on this, my guess is Booker. It is ingenious how they wait sooooooooooooo long before Duffy comes in with the vocals. In the 1920's, pop songs did this all the time. The song would start with the instruments playing a chorus or two, and then the vocalist would come in. I love it, it is also great. The bass line is similar to Mary Ann by Ray Charles which is a wonderfully groovy (with a groove) song. This is one of Duffy's longest recordings, I am sure.

Please Stay - I know Burt Bacharach wrote it and the Drifters cut it, and a 60's UK group cut it for Joe Meek (forgot the group's name), and that Bernard Butler produced this. This is a sheer work of art in production and I hope Bernard never leaves Duffy's organization. The guy is brilliant. The water drops, which might have something to do with the movie Telstar, are very puzzling, intriguing, mysterious,and just a never before used sound! It is a great sound. You perk up, tilt your head, tune in, and are invited in to one of Duffy's best recorded vocals ever.

Smoke Without Fire - the sample of 1:36 does not do this song justice. This is a 4 minute track! Again, the production and co-writership of Bernard Butler. Why isn't this guy a millionaire? Why isn't he a household name? Duffy sings the daylight out of this song and when she sings in the lower register, you know she means business. The first time I heard this, I thought it was a bit slow, a bit clichéd in the words, but now, I absolutely can't wait to see her do it live and tear our hearts out. And the strings are on there too, marching right along with her, like on ROYP.

Rain On Your Parade - this is the true follow-up to Mercy. Fantastic song with thunderous strings, a better James Bond song than the real James Bond song. Booker again as the co-writer, and he is THE MAN for Duffy's up-tempo material, go-for-the-throat songs. This is tough stuff like Dylan's Positively 4th Street. This may be the best put-down song ever. At the ACL TV taping, I thought Duffy was going to march straight out into the audience and strike every male on the head! Watch out for this girl. She's tough and won't take it anymore. If this is not a monster worldwide hit, well, it's the world's loss.

23 Nov: In-Stereo (AKA "Duffettes") tell their story of how they met Duffy....

Meet the twins who became star Duffy’s doubles

Nov 23 2008 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

IDENTICAL twins Stephanie and Charlotte Walker had telly viewers seeing treble when they performed with pop star Duffy on the BBC’s Children in Need show.

The talented twosome — who bear a striking resemblance to the chart star — teamed up with the Mercy singer after she approached them in a Newcastle restaurant.

The 24-year-olds, from Lanchester, County Durham, have provided backing vocals for the Welsh songstress at several events since first meeting last May, and now they are on the verge of launching their own career, as electro pop act In-Stereo.

It’s not the first time the twins have enjoyed being in the limelight . . . they starred in the Sunday Sun when they were born, on different days. Charlotte entered the world at 11.52pm on Tuesday, May 22, 1984, but sister Stephanie didn’t arrive for another 13 minutes, at 12.05am on Wednesday, May 23.

Charlotte told how the collaboration with Duffy came about.

She said: “It’s been a brilliant experience and we’re hoping to do some more work with her in the future, too.

“We went to the Evolution festival in Newcastle in May and were having some food in Gusto, when Duffy came in. She saw us and started talking to us.

“Duffy is also a twin, so she thought it was really exciting that we were twins too and that we had something in common.

“We gave her one of our demos and she said she would listen to it . . . and we heard from her record company Rough Trade about a week later.”

Duffy loved her lookalikes so much they went down to London to rehearse with her and the band, then performed as backing singers for a BBC One Live Session with the star, which was screened last month.

Next came BBC’s live Children in Need show on November 14, in which they provided vocals for Duffy’s performance of Mercy, in front of millions of viewers.

Stephanie said: “It was brilliant fun, and made us more determined than ever to get into the music business. Duffy has been really nice, and she’s an amazing singer.”

The twins,both Geminis, may not share the same birthday but they are identical in almost every other way, including their choice of career.

They went to the same university to study the same degree — Westminster University, to study commercial music — and shared the same London halls of residence and flats as students before returning to Durham, where they work for the same temping agency.

Living back home with mum Pauline and dad Stuart, the pair have turned one room into a recording studio, where they can write, perform and produce all their own music.

Stephanie said: “This is what we’ve wanted to do since we were little and we work very well together. We both play the piano and clarinet, and we sang in a gospel choir when we were at university.

“We’ve been recording at Loft Studios in Newcastle, so hopefully our first EP will be released in the new year.”

23 Nov: Duffy Interview featured in Sunday Times Mag

Duffy was featured in the mag that comes with the Sunday times. They used the same photo as was seen on the Daily Mail's You mag.

Duffy: Determined to keep a level head in New York

This has been the Welsh girl-next-door’s year — and an emotional rollercoaster

The singer on stage at New York’s Webster Hall sounds like Duffy, but looks like Jessica Rabbit. Poured into a short scarlet dress that boosts her boobs and hugs her wiggling hips, and balancing on a single patent stiletto (the other hovers in midair behind her), with platinum curls cascading down her back, Duffy appears to have crossed the Atlantic and become a cartoon.

“Hello, Noo Yawk,” she purrs, midway through the first song. “How ya doin’?”

A front row of men old enough to be her dad are practically drooling. On the balcony, there are audible gasps from a British contingent who have come to witness Duffy’s American invasion. The managing director of her UK record label, Simon Gavin, proclaims her graduation from girl to woman, while even her mentor and manager, Jeannette Lee, admits she has never seen the singer so confident. Twenty minutes later, however, Duffy bursts into tears and has to pause to apologise.

As 2008’s bestselling British act, the 24-year-old from Nefyn, in north Wales, clearly has a lot to cope with. After the show, she politely endures a meet-and-greet with several dozen men in suits and their spouses. The following morning, in the bar of her swanky hotel, she is fresh-faced for a photo shoot, but at a loss to explain her emotional outburst. “I don’t know why that happened,” she says in a singsong voice yet to lose any of its accent. “I wish I could explain it. Maybe one in every 15 gigs, I get teary. Really, it’s not nice. The lights are so bright, I can’t hide. I feel very exposed.”

The tears aren’t all Duffy can’t clarify. Less than six months ago, on her last UK tour, she was still the good-time girl-next-door, telling tales of a teenage wannabe from Wales and peppering her performance with mechanical moves stolen from the 1960s television series Ready, Steady, Go!, an old VHS of which she wore out watching as a child. When, exactly, did Duffy ditch the knee bends, wrist flicks and hip swivels, and become a slinky seductress?

“Gosh, I didn’t know I had,” she says, with such wide-eyed wonder, you want to believe her. “Actually, I didn’t know I ever used those moves. When you sing six nights a week, you don’t get the chance to analyse what you’re doing. What is weird — oh, I hate the word weird, it’s so non-specific. . . What is unusual is that people constantly tell me how much I’ve improved when the last concert they came to was three weeks ago.

“Last night, someone said I’ve suddenly got style. I mean, thanks! How bad did I dress before? You know what I wish? That I could wake up tomorrow the way I’m going to turn out in 10 years’ time. At the moment, I’m growing up under a microscope. All I can do is go on stage and enjoy myself. Everything else, I try to ignore.”

Duffy’s ignorance extends to her own press, which she stopped reading in March, after an American journalist visited her in Wales and, according to the singer, described her like a character from The Wind in the Willows. “That was the moment I realised that how other people see me has nothing to do with how I see myself,” she says. “I know who I am and what I’ve done. I don’t need reassurance from anyone else. To not care what folk think of you feels wonderful. It’s like putting your feet in the water without any shoes on. To me, if you’re a good bird, not causing trouble, not hurting anyone, you should just do what you need to do to be happy.”

For Duffy, maintaining a sheen — however superficial — that she remains an ordinary girl seems key to coping with fame. Ask when her success started to sink in and she insists that it still hasn’t, and that she hopes it never will. Remind her of the five weeks her single Mercy spent at No 1 in the spring, or of the 3.5m worldwide sales of the album Rockferry, and her tiny hand tries to shoo you away.

“Ooh, that stuff is so foreign to me,” she insists. “It’s so. . . external. It’s news and sales figures, nothing you can get your hands on. When you make music, you create something from nothing. If people connect with my music, even if it just cheers them up while they’re doing the dishes, that’s important to me. Everything else is a by-product, nothing to do with me, really. I didn’t buy all those albums. In fact, I don’t even own a copy of Rockferry. I never thought I’d get the chance to make an album. Now that I have, I’m focused on the next music I’m going to make.”

In recent months, in between touring the world, Duffy has been stealing occasional days in the studio, recording new songs for a deluxe version of Rockferry, released tomorrow. Among seven additional tracks is the new single, Rain on Your Parade, which bolts dramatic strings to Duffy’s ballsy, Motown-style soul and would have been a much better Bond theme than Jack White and Alicia Keys’s current effort. (For the record, despite the rumours, Duffy was never asked.) There are also two songs written with Rockferry’s co-producer, Bernard Butler, and a cover of the Drifters’ Burt Bacharach-penned Please Stay, which features in the forthcoming Joe Meek biopic, Telstar.

I ask Duffy for her highlight of the year and she eventually plumps for recording Please Stay, though only after she has pondered the question, passed on it and returned to it 10 minutes later.

“I can’t think of this year in terms of highlights,” she says, shaking her head and closing her eyes, as though recalling her achievements might permit the scale of her success to hit home. “Maybe I’ll look back and know. But getting into the studio, proving I can still make music among all this mayhem, felt so good.”

Ask Duffy for a low, though, and she responds straightaway. “It was an incident with Johnny Rotten. He went for me at an awards ceremony. I walked past him, said ‘Hi, you all right?’, and next thing I was literally slammed against the wall, pinned by his arm at my throat. He called me a c***. The violence was awful. A minute later, I had to go with the winners for a photo call. Then I left, in a right mess. The next day, I had to get on a plane. Some of the crew wanted to have their picture taken with me, but I couldn’t even smile. I’d been crying all night and my face was all swollen up. I looked like I’d been in an accident.

“I blame myself for what happened. Why? I dunno. I was so happy that night, I didn’t think things through. I probably shouldn’t have said hello. I’m an idiot. If I hadn’t opened my mouth, I would have been fine. I woke up every day for a week feeling awful.”

That Duffy displays no trace of a pop-star ego may be endearing, but you wonder if it won’t hinder her progress in America. Although Rockferry peaked at No 4 in the Billboard charts in May, and has sold more than 500,000 copies to date, she is still not a household name. She has done the chat-show circuit, though singing, rather than sitting on sofas, but attempts to associate her with more established stars don’t seem to be going down well with the singer. Last month, she played alongside Mariah Carey, Michael McDonald and Rihanna at a charity concert in LA, but spent most of the time in her dressing room.

“There were superstars everywhere, but I don’t get that stuff,” she sighs. “I don’t like how big American stars consider themselves an exception from humanity. But there are some nice ones. I met Stevie Nicks, a wonderful woman who knows all about Welsh myths. She was educating me with tales about dragons. I’ve met Beyoncé, too, and she was lovely. Some of the others were a bit sad, really. They had entourages, pushing here and pushing there. It was embarrassing.”

The night before the New York show, Duffy was in Cleveland, supporting Coldplay. “I love those boys, but I’m not sure about supporting,” she says. “I only want to be on stage when I’m welcome, and I don’t know if I am in a support slot.

“When we were kids, we went to the pier in Llandudno and there was a band. My sister was egging me on to get up and do a song. I didn’t want to, because it wasn’t my gig. Music is precious and, whether it’s played on a pier in Wales or in an arena in Ohio, I’d hate to impose myself. I prefer people to choose to hear my songs.”

So, how desperately does Duffy want to conquer America? “I don’t even know what that means,” she laughs. “But there’s nothing I really want out of this any more. I got it all when we released Rockferry. I spent three and a half years making that record, and it was hardest thing I ever had to do. I’ve been making music for a decade now, so it’s not as though suddenly someone gave me this great big package and I was struggling down the street with it. I was more prepared for this than for anything I’ve ever done. Of course, it still takes my breath away at times.”

Suddenly, Duffy hoists her 5ft 2in frame from the sofa and points to a decoration in the corner of the bar. “I tell you what this year has been like,” she announces. “That little tree over there. Except it isn’t a tree. I thought it was, but then I went to look and it’s actually five sticks in a vase with a twirly thing round it. It’s like the closer you get, the more the picture changes.”

The deluxe edition of Rockferry is released tomorrow; Duffy’s UK tour begins tomorrow night in Dublin

23 Nov: Rain On Your Parade is no15 in the UK charts.

The lyrics of "Smoke Without Fire" (Rain on Your Parade vinyl B side)

Smoke Without Fire
by Duffy

If I'd known you were cheating me,
I would have saved myself and set you free.
If I learned you weren't the loving kind,
I would have saved some peace of mind.

My friends told me you would break my heart,
And never last, we would surely part.

There's no smoke without fire,
Baby, baby you're a liar.

People talk in this little town,
Rumours keep spreading all around.
And now word has it you've been foolin' me,
I'm so blind that I cannot see.

My friends told me never to believe in you,
You never loved me you were never true.

There's no smoke without fire,
Baby, baby you're a liar.

No there's no smoke without fire.
Baby, baby you're a liar.
You're a liar
You're a liar
You're a liar
Baby you're a liar.

There's no light without a flame,
There's no use in having you to blame.

No
There's no smoke without fire.
Baby, baby you're a liar.
You're a liar

21 Nov: Japanese Interview with Duffy

The below article appeared on the website of The Daily Yomiuri today. It's an interview and a giveaway for Japanese fans and also news that the Deluxe Ed of the album will be released in spring 2009... I'm hoping they stick in some bonus content. ;-) Anyway here's the interview.... Don't forget that they are airing the Liquid Room concert in Japan on

Small town girl out to conquer the world

Stephen Taylor / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

"The truth is the only thing that makes me feel successful is writing a song that people connect to, whether it's two people in Nefyn or 10,000 people in Tokyo."

As Welsh singer Duffy recently told The Daily Yomiuri about her musical driving force in a five-star Tokyo hotel, she revealed the importance of her small town roots.

"I always take Nefyn with me, in a weird way...I know it sounds like a bit of a cliche, but I feel like I'm still the girl from Nefyn," she says.

Yet a year ago, the North Wales coastal town was best known as an unassuming holiday resort. That all changed once Duffy's debut album, Rockferry, was released in Britain in March this year.

By the time the album came out in Japan at the end of September, sales had hit 3 million and it had topped the charts in numerous countries. The world had been introduced to Duffy--who goes by her family name, having dropped her first name (Aimee) in her teens--and her hometown.

From producer Bernard Butler's booming piano intro on the title track opener to the emotionally charged Phil Spectoresque passion of "Distant Dreamer," Rockferry is a powerful record that appears to be locked in the 1960s, yet manages to sound fresh and vital.

Two days before our interview, Duffy had wowed a satisfied audience packed into Tokyo's Liquid Room for her first concert in Japan.

Wearing a short white dress, she cut a striking figure on stage as she ran through all 10 tracks off Rockferry, a couple of B-sides and a new song, "Rain On Your Parade."

She was interviewed on stage after the show. In an exchange that seemed to be preoccupied with her love life, the 24-year-old cheekily revealed that she likes men "who are good with their hands."

While the single version of "Rain On Your Parade" was released in Britain on Monday, a deluxe version of Rockferry will hit the record shops there on Nov. 24. The record is slated to be released in Japan in March, just ahead of shows in Tokyo and Osaka.

"I feel that 10 songs just isn't enough, so I've been given the opportunity to release an extended version of the album where there's a few new songs. There's seven new songs, so it's like another album," she explains.

Duffy sees the repackaged album's bonus tracks as a chance to find an outlet for songs that might otherwise have been lost.

"It's a really great opportunity to not let those songs die, because that's what will happen. They'll die and they'll get forgotten about, they'll just be plastic things lined up in the Rough Trade [record label] office, named 'Duffy Songs,' you know," she says bluntly.

When I ask Duffy how her songwriting is progressing, she responds in a very down-to-earth manner.

"Really good. It's like asking me what my sex life is like, I suppose," she says with a chuckle, before adding in a mock doctoral tone: "Good. Strong, strong."

And there seems to be no sign of the well running dry in the near future. "I just keep having to create, you know, otherwise I feel dead. It's the only thing that I really have. I didn't have anything before and material stuff just doesn't give me a kick. I'm that sort of person.

"I feel that with wanting to create more, it's exciting, you know. It's the one thing that I think isn't greedy," she says.

Duffy's lyrics are very personal and document the trials and tribulations of dealing with relationships. Yet in an interview on Britain's Channel 4 TV Web site in February she said, "I've never fallen in love, by the way, so I don't really know what love is." Over the intervening months had anything changed?

"I think if I had been in love, I'd still be in it, surely. I'm a bit of a skeptic, actually. My family divorced, blah, blah, blah...I think there's only one or two, maybe one real true love in your life, so...I haven't yet," she says candidly.

What makes Duffy's creativity all the more remarkable is that she grew up almost exclusively listening to the radio, for the simple reason that Nefyn didn't--and still doesn't--have a record shop.

"I think I'm gonna change that. If there's one thing I can give back to Nefyn, it's a good record shop, surely. You know, full of old great soul records and collectibles," she says.

In her youth, she didn't tune in to the staple pop and rock diet of BBC Radio 1, instead opting for the easy listening sounds (at the time) of BBC Radio 2.

"Looking back now, it's easy to go, 'Ah, we didn't have a record shop and I was listening to Radio 2 and how romantic was that,' but the truth is that as you're actually living it, it's no big deal and you don't realize the subliminal and the kind of life-changing impact it has because, of course, music was some form of escapism," she explains.

And every Sunday, there was one program she never missed--the Top 40 countdown. "Amazing. [I] recorded [it] every weekend. I'd do my own compering [deejaying] as well, which was fun. Play and record, try and stop it before the deejay comes in," she recalls.

But having made it through her teenage years without the need for vinyl or CDs, Duffy finally discovered the joy of the record decks.

"I didn't have a record collection until I was about 20--it was only four years ago--and then I would discover things like Glen Campbell, Sam Cooke, Rita Wright, all these amazing artists that now are my total treasures," she says enthusiastically.

Not that she is about to shout about her favorite artists from the rooftops just yet--not even to her closest family. "I think the things that I've discovered, I don't know if my sister would be aware of. I think it really is true that music helps form your identity."

As a twin, Duffy's relationship with her sister is very important for her.

"You know, it's a real gift to share a life with someone; it really is, you know. You're born together, you're so connected, but we don't look the same, so we're just like best friends, really," she reveals.

While both of them live in London now, this was not the case a few years ago.

"I didn't suffer fools gladly, you know, and if I wanted to do something I'd go and do it, sort of regretfully leaving her behind. At 15, I left home, constantly in different places, getting in and out of trouble, moving to London at the age of 19, and she was just kind of steadily doing her own thing. I literally just didn't hang around for anyone, not even my twin, you know," she says.

Duffy's sense of humor is infectious, and in conversation she is seemingly unaffected by her success and very unpretentious. An article in the August edition of U.S. rock magazine Spin had two references to cups of tea as she chatted to reporter Amanda Petrusich in Britain.

So when I offer her some Yorkshire tea as an alternative to the usual yellow-labeled tea bags served up in her hotel, she can't hide her pleasure.

"Amazing. Home brew. Unbelievable. You are probably one of the most popular men we've seen today now after this. Thank you very much," she gushes.

And with a trip to Osaka later that day, Duffy knew exactly what she would be doing before she left. "That is definitely a flask's worth--because we're going on the bullet train tonight--a couple of flasks of good home tea," she says.

I wonder if anyone was able to provide some scones and jam?

Duffy will play at Ax in Shibuya, Tokyo on March 17 at 7 p.m., (03) 5738-2020, and Club Quattro in Shinsaibashi, Osaka on March 18 at 7 p.m. (06) 6281-8181.

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Giveaway

The Daily Yomiuri will present a poster signed by Duffy to one lucky reader who can answer the following question:

In which month will the deluxe version of Rockferry be released in Japan?

A runner-up will receive a promotional Duffy blanket.

Send a postcard with your answer, name, address and phone number, to The Daily Yomiuri, Duffy Competition, 1-7-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo 100-8055. Alternatively, you can e-mail DYWeekend@yomiuri.com with the same details. Include "Duffy" in the subject line. Entries must be received by Nov. 28.

(Nov. 21, 2008)

20 Nov: Duffy performs Rain on Your Parade on the Paul O'Grady Show