Duffy

For all the many recordings of Duffy Power in the 1960s and the '70s that eventually found release, his 1973 album on the GSF label (sometimes reported to have come out in 1972) was the only full-length Power LP that came out shortly after the material it contained was recorded. Confusingly, another album titled Duffy Power came out around the same time on the Spark label, though that LP contained tracks recorded in the late '60s. The Duffy Power album on the GSF label was entirely different, and has received relatively little attention even among his cult followers, in part because so much other Power material was reissued on CD prior to the record finally coming out in the compact disc format in 2007.

Duffy Power (1941-2014) was among Britain’s first wave of late 50s rock’n’rollers, a protégé of impresario Larry Parnes alongside Billy Fury, Marty Wilde and Georgie Fame. In 1963, a musical epiphany saw him become one of Britain’s greatest bluesmen – an intensely soulful singer, songwriter and harmonica virtuoso whose career thereafter would be a rollercoaster of amazing recordings, off/on record deals, and periods of withdrawal before bowing out of music-making in 1973. In the mid-60s, Duffy recorded with future members of Cream, Pentangle and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He never had any problem impressing fellow musicians, but a wider appreciation of his work would only come in the CD era.

The great unsung British Blues hero recorded live at the BBC together with previously unreleased studio tracks. The most comprehensive collection of Duffy Power’s BBC recordings available with sound restoration by Eroc. Showcases Duffy in a variety styles and line-ups with backing by the Graham Bond Quartet, the Fentones and CWT. Disc Three comprises unreleased studio recordings from the 90s/00s which cement his reputation as a Bluesman.

One of Britain's pioneering rock'n'rollers, Duffy Power emerged from the Larry Parnes stable to become a revered purveyor of blistering R&B, folk-blues and soul in the 60s, creating a now legendary body of work. His only 'album proper' was made at the end of his 1959-73 tenure as a pro musician - a self-titled LP produced by Adrian Miller and a clutch of rare singles mixes and unreleased tracks. This work is collected here in full for the first time, with splendid new mastering from Cormac O'Kane.