British singer Duffy a promising newcomer

By Ray Bennett

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Aimee Anne Duffy, who goes by just her last name, is the latest hot young British singer-songwriter with a shot at building a lasting career.

Petite but powerful of voice, Duffy sang most of the songs from her debut album "Rockferry" during a sold-out first gig Wednesday at the Shepherds Bush Empire. The disc debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 last month and this week ousted Madonna from the top of the European album chart.

If the 70-odd-minute set, covering 15 numbers, did not set the place on fire, it was a rock-solid performance that left the impression that her best is still to come. Pacing had something to do with it since the singer was content to propel a slow burn rather than offer a musical explosion.

The mark of a performer of genuine promise is that the singer remains interesting even when the song is not, and Duffy showed that in abundance. Getting to grips with such class material as her album's title song along with "Serious," "Stepping Stone" and "Warwick Avenue" allowed her to demonstrate terrific range.

The music was an insistent pleasure with a slick six-piece band made up of two on guitar, two on percussion and one each on bass and keyboard and Duffy's cracked and bluesy voice soaring into sweet heights of melody.

Relaxed and poised, she used her considerable sex appeal intelligently, matching her shaggy-haired blond looks with just enough insolence diluted by ingratiating charm and pleasing humility. "It would be rude not to introduce myself," she said after her first number. "I'm Duffy, by the way."

Around the 10th song, she raised the temperature for the clearly delighted audience with "Breaking My Own Heart" and cranked it up further with a rousing "Tomorrow." But then she elected to slow it down with Burt Bacharach's engaging but lightweight "Please Stay" before going out with her hard-driving hit single "Mercy."

The encore sustained the high energy with "Oh Boy," the B-side of her "Rockferry" single, and a slamming closer in the anthem "Distant Dreamer." With a little adjustment in the set list, Duffy will be dreamily blowing the roof off whatever joint she chooses in the not-too-distant future.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter