Billy Duffy
| Billy Duffy | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Henry Duffy |
| Born |
12 May 1961 Hulme, Manchester, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Hard rock, rock, alternative rock, post-punk, heavy metal |
| Instruments | Guitarist, songwriter |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Virgin, Situation Two, Beggars Banquet, Atlantic |
| Associated acts | The Cult, Coloursound, Theatre Of Hate, The Nosebleeds |
| Website | billyduffy |
| Notable instruments | |
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Gibson Les Paul Gretsch White Falcon |
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William Henry "Billy" Duffy (born 12 May 1961, Hulme, Manchester) is an English guitarist and songwriter, He is most well known as a guitarist for The Cult.
He grew up in Manchester, where he began playing guitar at the age of fourteen. Duffy got his start playing in different punk line-ups in the late 1970s, including Studio Sweethearts with former members of Slaughter & the Dogs and Eater. But these earlier years were more notable for his introducing Johnny Marr (The Smiths) to the guitar and encouraging Morrissey to make his singing debut with Duffy in The Nosebleeds.
Following the break up of Studio Sweethearts, Duffy moved to London, working for a time at Johnsons, the iconic clothing store on the Kings Road. Duffy eventually settled as guitarist for the moodier and more arty Theatre of Hate. He eventually met Ian Astbury (the frontman for gothic rock band Southern Death Cult) who was impressed with Duffy's playing and abandoned Southern Death Cult to start a new band with him. Together, they exploited the Southern Death Cult's success by calling themselves Death Cult. Despite some initial fanfare and a couple of singles, the band chose to shed the name in 1984 in favor of the shortened The Cult, as less artistically limiting.
As early as The Cult's debut single "Spiritwalker", Duffy began establishing a distinctive flanged sound with an offbeat choice of guitar, a mid 1970s Gretsch White Falcon.
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 Jamie Stewart) turned to stadium rock and recorded Sonic Temple. The Cult reached a larger, mainstream audience, but the public's attention could not be sustained with their next album, Ceremony, at the dawn of the grunge age.
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