Martin Duffy of Primal Scream, The Charlatans and Felt dies aged 55

Martin Duffy, keyboardist for Primal Scream and Felt, has died aged 55, his former Charlatans bandmate Tim Burgess has confirmed today (December 20th).

The news was confirmed on Twitter by Tim Burgess, Duffy’s previous bandmate in The Charlatans, who wrote: “Another tragic loss of a beautiful soul.”

Duffy was born in Birmingham on 18 May 1967 and grew up in Rednal. He joined the indie band Felt in 1985 after frontman Lawrence Hayward put up a notice in the Birmingham branch of Virgin records advertising for a guitarist that read: “Do You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star?” and a man recommended Duffy.

Duffy’s sound became central to the band in the mid-80s as they signed to Creation Records, for 1986’s The Seventeenth Century, and embarked on what fans consider their imperial phase. The second side of their 1988 album The Pictorial Jackson Review features two Duffy instrumentals.

Burgess previously cited the album as proof that Duffy was “actually the only musical genius I have ever met … me and [My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields sat up all night once with open mouths praising his natural ability,” he told the Quietus.

Another tragic loss of a beautiful soul. Martin Duffy 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. Safe travels Duffy 💔 pic.twitter.com/cvuEvvqYGa

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) December 20, 2022

Duffy remained a member of the band until their split in 1989 – when Lawrence said he had fulfilled his aim of releasing 10 singles and 10 albums in 10 years.

Duffy had played on Primal Scream’s first two albums, 1987’s Sonic Flower Groove and 1989’s self-titled. He then joined the band full-time at the end of that year, and remained with them for three decades.

The keyboardist also notoriously stepped in at the last minute to play with The Charlatans when they supported Oasis at Knebworth after the death of founding member Rob Collins in 1996.

“Martin Duffy stepped in to save The Charlatans when we lost Rob – he played with us at Knebworth and was a true friend,” Burgess’ statement added. He also contributed to their 1997 album Tellin’ Stories.

“He toured with me in my solo band too – he was a pleasure to spend time with. Safe travels Duffy.”

Mojo’s Tim Tooher described Duffy as “probably the purest musician in the band, bringing in echoes of Thelonious Monk, Johnnie Johnson, Jerry Lee and Cecil Taylor. His voice sounds like his throat was pickled in whisky before he was even born. Martin brings the blues to Primal Scream.”

Duffy would also collaborate with artists including Beth Orton, Steve Mason, the Pop Group’s Mark Stewart, Chemical Brothers, Paul Weller, Vic Godard and Subway Sect and Jessie Buckley, on the soundtrack to the 2018 film Wild Rose.

In 1993, Duffy was the victim of a near-fatal stabbing in New York City while there with the band.

Duffy released a solo album, Assorted Promenades, on Burgess’s O Genesis label in 2014, which included music dating back to 1997. The album’s release was inspired by Duffy and Burgess witnessing a car catching fire by the side of the road, Duffy told the Quietus. The pair had just been listening to the John Foxx song Burning Car: “Tim saw it as a sign.”

Primal Scream’s most recent studio album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016. Duffy also performed on frontman Bobby Gillespie’s 2021 collaborative album Utopian Ashes.

No official statement has yet been made by Duffy’s family or Primal Scream.

Oh no, Martin. He played with me, toured with me, what a lovely man, lovely memories, so funny. And a beautiful musician. It's rotten, so sad. #Duffy. - Edwyn

— Edwyn Collins (@EdwynCollins) December 20, 2022

RIP Martin Duffy. Felt's Forever Breathes The Lonely Word is one of my very favourite albums, and Martin's organ is the thing that gives it its celestial, timeless, placeless flavour. An incredible contribution to a lovely thing. pic.twitter.com/OFFJbztxGt

— Danny Kelly (@dannykellywords) December 20, 2022

Waking up to the news about Terry Hall and Martin Duffy.The cycle of life and death is cruel at times and these two had so much more to give to the world. Thank you for the music,memories and the inspiration that will live on long after all faulty and fallible flesh fails. X

— Justin Robertson (@robertsonjustin) December 20, 2022

Christ, Martin Duffy too. Barely a week goes by without me listening to his electrifying playing on this tune. Still a teenager at this point. What a brutal 24 hours this is turning out to be. https://t.co/9rt07525Ve

— Pete Paphides (@petepaphides) December 20, 2022

A sad week for music. Now we say farewell to Martin Duffy. If you’ve ever sung or danced to Loaded, Moving On Up, Rocks et al… raise a glass to the powerhouse behind the keyboards for Primal Scream. 💔 pic.twitter.com/ei9SYcM6qk

— Sue Charles (@Sue_Charles) December 20, 2022

Oh god. What a tragic morning. Martin Duffy RIP. I remember when he joined Felt and seemed so young and so cool, bringing another dimension to their sound. And then being so pleased when Primal Scream gave him new opportunities to shine. Gone way too youngpic.twitter.com/YHKvbhEoXC

— Birmingham 81 (@Birmingham_81) December 20, 2022

All of us at On-U Sound are very sad to hear the news that Martin Duffy of Primal Scream has passed away at the age of 55. An incredibly gifted musician, he worked with Sherwood on a number of records including Echo Dek of course, and the Jeb Loy LP from this year. Gone too soon. pic.twitter.com/MV15zywJCq

— On-U Sound (@onusound) December 20, 2022