Figgy Duff
Figgy Duff was a Canadian folk-rock band[1] from Newfoundland. They played a major role in the Newfoundland cultural renaissance of the 1970s and 80s. Formed in 1976 by Noel Dinn, who named the band after a kind of traditional pudding, Figgy Duff travelled across Newfoundland, learning traditional songs. They performed with some distinct elements of rock and roll.
Figgy Duff | |
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Origin | Newfoundland, Canada |
Genres | folk-rock |
Years active | 1976 | –1995
Labels | Amber Music (1991–1995) |
Website | Figgy Duff |
Past members | Noel Dinn Pamela Morgan Frank Maher Dave Panting Geoff Butler Philip Dinn Art Stoyles Derek Pelley Kelly Russell Sandy Morris Anita Best Jamie Snider Bruse Crummell Rob Laidlaw |
They began working with Island Records early, though the album that resulted has yet to be released. Instead, they released their independent self-titled debut album: Figgy Duff in 1980. The album was also released by Ottawa-based Posterity Records. It was followed by After the Tempest in 1982.
Throughout the next thirteen years, Figgy Duff continued touring and released three more albums: Weather Out the Storm (1989), Downstream (1993) and the compilation Retrospective (1995). The line-up changed several times, but the core of Noel Dinn and Pamela Morgan, singer-songwriter, stayed the same. Weather Out the Storm was nominated for a 1991 Juno Award. Dinn died of cancer in 1993, and Morgan disbanded Figgy Duff soon after.
The band has since reunited three times, once in 1999 for a silver anniversary tour, again in summer 2008 to celebrate the release of a cd of live recordings from the bands' previous reunion, and for the 2016 Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival, featuring Aaron Collis on accordion.
Discography
- 1980: Figgy Duff
- 1982: After the Tempest
- 1989: Weather Out the Storm
- 1993: Downstream
- 1995: Retrospective
- 2008: Figgy Duff Live Silver Reunion
References
- Hallett, Bob (2010). Writing Out the Notes. Insomniac Press. p. 20. ISBN 9781897415337.
External links
- Figgy Duff official site at Amber Music
- More Figgy Duff background
- Figgy Duff – Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, v. 2, p. 62
- Figgy Duff in The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Figgy Duff discography at Discogs