In March 2008, Duffy released her debut studio album Rockferry. It would go on to become the best-selling UK album of that year and win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Now, Rockferry is set to be reissued on vinyl ahead of Duffy’s planned return to music in 2027.
Duffy announced the vinyl reissue of Rockferry with a short clip on Instagram set to the single “Warwick Avenue.” In its first week, Rockferry sold 180,000 copies in the UK and spent four consecutive weeks at number one. In addition to its Grammy, the album won Best British Album at the 2009 Brit Awards where Duffy also took home the British Female Solo Artist award.
While it was ultimately a major success, making Rockferry was a long and difficult process for Duffy and her collaborators. “The album took nearly four years to make,” she told Virgin Media. “We had to hire cheap, tiny studios and sometimes there would be three-week periods between writing and recording.”
The album produced multiple successful singles, including “Warwick Avenue,” “Rockferry,” and “Mercy,” which is now known as Duffy’s signature song. Co-written by Duffy and Steve Booker, “Mercy” peaked at number one on the UK singles chart and remained at the top of the charts for five weeks. Today, the song is certified 2x Platinum in the UK and Platinum in the US.
Explaining the inspiration behind the song, Duffy told Mojo: “The lyrics were about having a feeling towards someone, whether it’s a romantic feeling or just some chemistry that you don’t want, and you desperately want to be released from that feeling.”
Duffy stepped away from music and public life in 2011. In 2020, she explained this was due to a traumatic experience in which she was kidnapped and raped. An upcoming Disney+ documentary will share her story.
The Welsh singer is working on her first album in over a decade. In May, Duffy shared a photo from the studio on Instagram, writing: “If only I could find the right words to explain how much I’ve missed you all. Working on coming back to you.”
Shop Duffy’s Rockferry here.
