It was in 1978 that Duffy helped form Duran Duran with college friends Nick Rhodes and John Taylor. After recording demos and playing local gigs Duffy left the band to form Only Five Believers. This latter band evolved into The Hawks who released their sole single Words of Hope in 1980, beating his first band Duran Duran by a year.
The Hawks eventually dissolved and Duffy formed Tin Tin, a four-piece synth-led band who recorded Kiss Me (1983). This was picked up by WEA and became a major club hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Financed by Warners, Duffy moved to America for 1 year to write songs but was eventually dropped and returned to England to be signed by Virgin/10. In the meantime, he had relaunched himself as a solo artist called Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy. A re-recording of Kiss Me was reissued in 1985 and became a major hit followed by Icing on the Cake and the album The Ups And Downs. After this period, he dropped the Tin Tin from his name and proceeded to record as Stephen AJ Duffy. He released 3 more singles and 1 more album called Because We Love You. This marked the end of his pop phase.
Following an experimental dance album, Designer Beatnik under the alias Dr Calculus, Duffy was dropped by Virgin/10 and he returned to his folk roots and formed The Lilac Time with his brother, Nick. The band evolved into a four-piece and were picked up by Fontana. They recorded three albums and released 9 singles before they were dropped and signed to Alan McGee's Creation label. The resulting album, 1991's Astronauts was another critically acclaimed LP but also another commercial disaster. They were dropped by Creation and The Lilac Time split.
In 1993, after signing with EMI, the album Music in Colors was released. It was a collaborative effort with violinist Nigel Kennedy and featured 9 songs of Duffy and 9 instrumentals of Kennedy. It was credited to Stephen Duffy feat. Dr. Nigel Kennedy. Again, it was a commercial flop and the inevitable happened - Duffy was dropped. In 1994, he moved to Alaska and then to USA to start a record with R.E.M. and Velvet Crush producer, Mitch Easter. During this time, Duffy also started to regularly co-write songs with Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies and their songs can be heard on various BL albums from 1994 onwards.
After reading about the Britpop boom that was occurring in Britain in late '94, he managed to secure a deal with BMG subsidary Indolent and a new album simply called Duffy was released in 1995. By this time, he had dropped the Stephen from his name and rather Morrissey-like, he was simply known as Duffy. Even though the album was mostly recorded in the US, Duffy found himself wrapped up in the Britpop wave and he recorded a one-off single called Hanging Around as Me Me Me with Alex James of Blur in 1996. Reaching the lofty heights of #17, this was the first chart action Duffy had experienced in 11 years. He started to record his 2nd album as Duffy but shortly before it was to be released, he got dropped. Again.
Major indie Cooking Vinyl picked the album up (called I Love My Friends) and released it in 1998. After this, Duffy reformed The Lilac Time with his brother Nick and original drummer Michael Giri and also added the girl, who in 2008 would become Mrs. Stephen Duffy, Claire Worrall as backing vocalist. Worrall had been working as the touring keyboardist/backing singer/guitarist for Robbie Williams live band. The resulting album Looking for a Day in the Night was released in 1999. Somehow managing to keep a deal with Cooking Vinyl, the band released the follow-up Lilac6 in 2001. Three successive albums on the same label was a major feat but inevitably he was dropped in 2002.
Following a chance meeting with old Duran Duran bandmate, Nick Rhodes, the duo started to re-record old demos Duffy had found on a cassette in the back of a drawer. After 6 weeks of recording, the album Dark Circles credited to The Devils was released on their own label, Tape Modern. Featuring old Duran songs and brand new songs written by the duo, Rhodes commented that this is how the debut Duran LP would have sounded had Duffy stayed on with them.
His next project was a new Lilac Time album and this was released on his own label, Folk Modern, in 2003 and credited to Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time. The album wryly called Keep Going was again critically acclaimed but had little commercial success. Later that year, it was announced that Duffy was going to be new co-writer of Robbie Williams.
The following year, Duffy scored a #1 hit with the song Radio performed by Williams and produced & co-written by Duffy. The eventual fruits of their labour were realised in 2005 when the album Intensive Care was released. Duffy had major input in the album as sole producer, co-writer and multi-instrumentalist (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, programming). Also during this year a self-titled album by The Vanity Project was released. This was an alias for Steven Page of Barenaked Ladiesand the album featured 12 songs co-written by Duffy.
In 2006, Duffy embarked on a major world tour with Robbie Williams as live on-stage guitarist and "musical director". Following this recent rise in his profile, much of his back catalogue has now been reissued by all his former labels. The latest Stephen Duffy & The Lilac Time album Runout Groove was released in October 2007.
In September 2009, Duffy released his first major career retrospective, Memory & Desire - 30 Years in the Wilderness, covering both his work as a solo artist and as The Lilac Time.
Push It
Stephen Duffy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A ring down a drain
With no-one to blame
For only I came
Why, oh, why did I ever ask you why?
Why, oh, why
I guess you have to find what you can't do
And push it
Come on, catch me if you can
You push it
Come on, catch me if you can
You push it
Catch me if you can
It's always the same
It starts as a game
Ends in a scream
Of love's academe
Why, oh, why can't you help yourself
And try to understand yourself?
Your love is always engineered
Your soft spots never volunteered
Our courtship lovingly oblique
Like "On The Road" meets "Holy Week"
Prostrate on a hotel bed
We talked about the books we've read
In Stephen Duffy's song "Push It," he sings about his inward journey of reflection and acceptance after a tumultuous romantic relationship. The first verse sets a somber tone as Duffy describes a "break in the chain," symbolizing a disruption in the relationship. The next line, "a ring down a drain with no one to blame, for only I came," depicts a sense of loss, regret, and a feeling of only looking out for oneself. In the chorus, Duffy reflects, "Why, oh why did I ever ask you why? Do you know why you couldn't see it through? I guess you have to find what you can't do." He's questioning his decision to ask why the relationship didn't succeed and coming to the realization that some things are not meant to be. The line "Catch me if you can" is an impulsive challenge to whoever decides to try and pursue a relationship with him next.
The second verse is just as melancholic, with Duffy using emotive phrases like "ends in a scream, of love's academe," to describe the passion that characterized the relationship initially. The lines "Why, oh why can't you help yourself and try to understand yourself?" is Duffy's way of introspecting and wondering if the relationship ended because they weren't in tune with themselves. He then goes on to reflect that "your love is always engineered, your soft spots never volunteered," perhaps referring to the fact that the other person was always strategic in expressing their love, and it never felt authentic. Finally, the song closes with a vivid image of "prostrate on a hotel bed," where both parties talk about the books they've read, representing the intellectual connection they shared but failed to keep up with in the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
A break in the chain
A disruption in the pattern, a discontinuity.
A ring down a drain
Something was lost, that was once valuable or important.
With no-one to blame
No one is responsible for what happened.
For only I came
I am the only one who is affected by what happened.
Why, oh, why did I ever ask you why?
Regretting ever having asked this question.
Do you know why you couldn't see it through?
Asking if you understand why you couldn't follow through with it.
I guess you have to find what you can't do
Implies that you have to look for your own limits and know what is beyond your capability.
And push it
An invitation to try different things and go beyond one's limits.
Come on, catch me if you can
Encouragement to chase and overtake creativity and growth, to try and match the pace of the singer.
Catch me if you can
The challenge to match the pace of the performer and follow their creativity.
It's always the same
The same pattern repeats over and over again.
It starts as a game
The starting point is always a game or a playful interaction.
Ends in a scream
The outcome is always violent or dramatic.
Of love's academe
Referring to the 'higher learning' informed by deep, lifelong experiences of love.
Why, oh, why can't you help yourself
Questioning why you can't manage yourself.
And try to understand yourself?
An invitation to try and discover deeper truths about yourself.
Your love is always engineered
Your relationships and your love is not natural, it is forced or fabricated.
Your soft spots never volunteered
Your vulnerabilities or weaknesses are never shared voluntarily.
Our courtship lovingly oblique
The romantic relationship is vague, ambiguous, and thinly veiled.
Like "On The Road" meets "Holy Week"
A comparison between two literary works (On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Holy Week in Seville), a metaphor for life's journey and the messianic ideal.
Prostrate on a hotel bed
We talked about the books we've read
Intimate moments spent discussing intellectual pursuits.
Contributed by Audrey M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.