Billy Duffy
Billy Duffy | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | William Henry Duffy |
Born | Hulme, Manchester, England | 12 May 1961
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels | |
Website | billyduffy |
William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961)[1] is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult.
Early life
Duffy was born and grew up in
After leaving school, Duffy left Manchester when the Studio Sweethearts moved to London, working as a shop assistant at
Career
Late 1980s and 1990s
Duffy helped change The Cult's sound into metal-blues for their third album, 1987's Electric.
Duffy moved to Los Angeles in 1988 with Astbury, where both remain. There, the two writing partners (with longtime bassist
Following the 'Ceremonial Stomp' tour of 1992, Astbury pressured Duffy to return to their roots, with The Cult's The Cult 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 in a project called Coloursound.
Duffy plays on the title track from Japanese musician J's 1997 debut album, Pyromania.
The Cult reformation
Duffy reformed The Cult with Astbury in 1999, which led to a new
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.
2004 onward
In early 2004, Duffy formed the covers band Cardboard Vampyres alongside
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
After the completion of the album, former Fuel member Brett Scallions was added as bassist so Morrison could focus on being the lead singer. Then Jeremy Colson, formerly with Steve Vai, 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, Mexico.
In an October 2016 interview with PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III, Duffy spoke about his favorite Cult song, saying "Jonesy [former Sex Pistols guitarist turned radio host Steve Jones] on 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!"[6]
Between 2012 and 2016, Duffy appeared with the Kings of Chaos.
Personal life
In 2020, Duffy was engaged to former glamour model Leilani Dowding.[7]
Duffy is an avid
Guitars and equipment
In January 2013, Gretsch introduced the Billy Duffy White Falcon G7593T guitar.[8]
Portrayals in media
In the feature film, England Is Mine, a biopic about the early years of Morrissey, Billy Duffy is played by Adam Lawrence. [9]
References
- ^ "Biography by Michael Sutton". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Yates, Henry (16 August 2016). "5 minutes alone: Billy Duffy". MusicRadar. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Studio Sweethearts". Punk77.co.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Jeckell, Barry A. (18 June 2004). "Jerry Cantrell Forms New Band – Cardboard Vampyres". Glide Magazine.
- ^ "Cardboard Vampyres Concert Setlists & Tour Dates". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Maçek III, J.C. (4 October 2016). "Hidden City to Hidden Cities: An Interview with the Cult's Billy Duffy". PopMatters.
- ^ Knight, Lewis (16 March 2020). "Real Housewives of Cheshire star Leilani Dowding engaged to rocker Billy Duffy". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Billy Duffy Gretsch G7593T Falcon Guitar | Gretsch® Electric Guitars". Gretschguitars.com. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "England is Mine". IMDb.