the Duffs (1986-91)

“Like the sea when the sand tries to suck it away, I make waves….”

the Duffs 1 the Duffs 2 the Duffs 3

(immediately above, l – r) Ian, myself, Pete & Peter

Peter Franklin: vocals, guitars
Jon Seagroatt: saxes, percussion
Ian Staples: bass
Pete Gardner: drums

Amongst all the metaphorical loose change, bus tickets, dead wasps etc. that I found down the back of the external hard-drive cushions during a recent spring-clean, I found these little gems; recordings of the Duffs, a fantastic Oxfordshire-based band that I joined in the late 1980s.

The other three members of the band lived on narrowboats on the canals around Banbury at the time. I would drive up from Southend-on-Sea for rehearsals and gigs in a wheezingly decrepit, hand-painted, long-wheelbase Transit that burned oil at such a rate that I had to stop every so often and top up the reservoir.

At some point some footage was shot on VHS of the band at a gig in Banbury. Regrettably, the sound didn’t get recorded, and the tape languished, along with sundry other flowerings of now-defunct technologies, in a box in the attic. In 2021, during a discussion with two of the other former members of the band, I suddenly remembered the tape. I retrieved it, we had it digitalised, and from the gig footage I’ve fashioned the accompanying video of ‘Presence’:

…..and ‘Waves’:

Like the soundtracks to the videos above, the recordings below were made by the legendary and greatly-missed Richard Haynes at Dungeon Studio in Ascott-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire.

‘Thin Coat’ an eleven track Duffs album is available from Bandcamp as a CD or download.

Duffs CD

14 thoughts on “the Duffs (1986-91)”

    1. Hi Liz,

      Thanks for your kind comment! There are some more Duff tracks, but I need to discuss with the others what to do with them. I’m in favour of a (pay-whatever-you-like) downloadable album on a site like Bandcamp, but we haven’t had a chance to discuss it yet……

      I must say I did enjoy hearing the songs again myself!

      I’ll keep you posted.

      Jon

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  2. A great Band.
    They did a gig at Banbury United FC to raise money to help raise money for the Seaman’s strike in the 80″s. My son who played in the backing band was a fan is still active in the Northampton music scene.

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    1. Thanks, Conrad – I remember the gig at the FC. Best regards to your son; glad to hear he’s still playing.

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    1. Hi Dave – and I remember the FOS Bros too! I think we did some gigs together, possibly also with Tin Tin Tin…(?)
      Good to see you’re still playing as a band – I’ve just been looking at the website. The Duffs imploded far too quickly, sadly, though we still meet up socially. I’ll let the others know that you got in touch.
      Your band name, by the way: there was a legend at the time that it was an acronym. Is that correct…..?

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  6. I remember the Duffs recording at my friend Steve Wilsons studio in Coventry. Amazing songs were ground out of the trusty Tascam 4 track. in charterhouse road.

    Certain lyrics still stuck in my head 35 years later….

    “Here we go, the chink, the chink, of chalk and ivory……..” a song about snooker players i seemed to recall.

    another:

    “Ive got pimples on my nose and pimples on my bum, and i havent eaten curry since ive left me my mum, and when im feeling flush i treat myself to a kebab” “I’m a fast food freak and im feeling pretty weak.” – Fast Food freak?

    Or have i got the wrong band?

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    1. Hi Craig – thanks for getting in touch. No, you haven’t got the wrong band! I played sax and percussion with the Duffs, but that was after the band did the recording at Steve’s.
      You’ve got a very good memory – spot-on with the lyrics! All of the band’s lyrics were written by our vocalist / gutiarist Pete Franklin. Pete and I are still in regular contact. I’ve sent your comment to him; he’ll be really pleased (and impressed) that his words still have a place in your memory after all this time!
      All very best wishes, and thanks again for taking the trouble to get in touch. Jon

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