Duffed Up

Jeff Duff is big in Australia.
He is known in Britain mainly for this album recorded back in 79.

A real hodge-podge of an album this, made up of genre subversion and genre homage, with much borrowing and intertextuality (for those with good memories, the track 'Give Me Back Me Brain' was released as a single, and did manage to penetrate the UK Top 100 for a bit).

Duff lived in London for a decade, and it obviously rubbed off.
Punk was the zeitgeist, and it suited Duff's flamboyant persona; his delivery adopted a curiously hybridized Antipodean cockney: kind of Norman Gunston meets Steve Marriott.

Described by some as the Australian Bowie - the comparison is obvious - and where Bowie drew inspiration from the Theatre of Noh, Duff was influenced by the more accessible elements of musical theatre: on occasion he allowed himself to sound more like Anthony Newley than Bowie ever dared.

For those who are interested, it features Mike Howlett on bass but not production, that was down to Duffo, and pretty damn crazy it is.
It makes you wonder while listening to this, as to whether Tim Smith (Cardiacs) had ever heard Duffo, as it's well on its way to becoming Pronk Rock.

Punk left a legacy that was soon realized, and the legion of so-called New Wave artists were inspired to forge and discover new ways of expressing themselves.
No more so than Jeff Duff.
Enjoy!

Jeff Duff - Duffo (1979)

Tower of Madness
Chelsea Cowgirls
Duff Record
Record Jerk
Guillotine Quickstep
Duffo (I'm a Genius)
Give Me Back Me Brain
(We're All) Charabancing
I'm Not Really Here
Rise in Your Levis
Duff Odyssey
Dejame Joder Tu Mente
The Final Brain

Decent vinyl rip @320kbs
Get Duffed up here