Duffy was born in
Birmingham and grew up in
Rednal in the southwest of the city, attending
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in
King's Norton, and growing up listening to
punk rock, as well as
two-tone,
the Beatles and
Led Zeppelin. Duffy joined the
indie rock band
Felt as keyboard player in 1985. and contributing keyboard parts to the band's fifth album ''
Tellin' Stories''. In 2004, Duffy was a member of "rock supergroup"
the Chavs with Tim Burgess and
Carl Barât of
the Libertines. He also contributed to recordings by
Heidi Berry,
Beth Orton,
Paul Weller,
Shack and the
Chemical Brothers, and released a solo album
Assorted Promenades in 2014. ==Personal life and death==