Duffy to play New York’s Apollo Theatre

By M&C News Apr 15, 2008, 17:50 GMT

On May 12th, the Monday night before her ‘Rockferry’ is released, Duffy will make her historic New York City theatrical premiere at the world-famous Apollo.  The show climaxes a day of morning and evening TV spots on ABC’s Live with Regis & Kelly and NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien, respectively. 

Prior to this, Duffy will appear April 28th on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, one day after she performs at the giant Coachella Festival in the California desert, kicking off a week of U.S. promotional appear­ances.   Duffy’s North American summer and fall tour schedule will be announced in the months ahead.

With her first U.S. single “Mercy” bulleting inside the Top 30 this week at Hot AC and Triple-A/New & Active radio formats – on its way to an explosive Billboard Hot 100 debut next week – and the “Mercy” video collecting plays on VH1, VH1 Soul, FUSE, MTV Hits, and mtvU (after premiering on VH1.com and MTV.com) and currently a You Oughta Know and Discover & Download artist, young Welsh singer Duffy has her sights set on the U.S. release of ‘Rockferry,’ her debut album which arrives in stores May 13th on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label. 

In addition to being available online and in traditional retail stores, ‘Rockferry’ will be available at Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Last month, after a whirlwind weekend at the SXSW Music & Film Conference in Austin, Texas, Duffy made her U.S. nightclub premiere at New York’s swank Hiro Ballroom on St. Patrick’s Day. 

‘Rockferry,’ which shipped near-platinum in the UK the week before, entering the national chart at #1.  The album’s first week UK sales were the highest first week album sales of the year there – six times as much as the #2 album, nearly as much as the rest of the top 10 albums in total.  

Duffy’s set culminated with “Mercy,” which spent five weeks at #1 on the UK and Ireland national charts. In addition to the UK and Ireland, and the Eurochart Hot 100, “Mercy” also went to #1 in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Turkey; #2 in Denmark, Greece, Spain, Norway, Bulgaria, and Germany; and Top 10 on the United World Chart.

Guileless and beguiling, and blessed with effortless Motown and Stax chops, 23-year old Duffy has blown away London’s hype-driven music machinery like a gust of fresh air.  She was born and raised in the tiny Welsh village of Nefyn (population 2,550 at last census), a place so remote that the nearest record store was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40. 

Isolated, her muse was immaculately conceived and soulfully nurtured.  Duffy worked as a waitress, sang in a bar, and cobbled out demo recordings that found their way to Jeanette Lee, noted founder and partner of the Rough Trade record label and management company.  She encouraged Duffy to write her own material, put her in the studio with like-minded co-writers/producers.  She signed to A&M/Polydor UK and Mercury Records in the U.S.

‘Rockferry’ was recorded in England with ex-Suede guitarist turned record producer Bernard Butler, Jimmy Hogarth and Steve Booker. 

“It’s hard for cynical music industry types to get their heads around just how far removed she was from our world,” said Butler, “geographically and in every other way. What you’ve got as a result is someone who acts and sings utterly unselfconsciously and from the heart, a most rare and magical thing.”