Rockferry

Rockferry
Standard edition cover. The Deluxe edition features Duffy leaning out of a window on the train.
Studio album by
Released3 March 2008 (2008-03-03)
Recorded2004–2008
StudioHome & Maiko's; Bookerland Studios; West Heath Studios; RAK Studios
Genre
Length37:50
LabelA&M
Producer
Duffy chronology
Aimée Duffy
(2004)
Rockferry
(2008)
Deluxe EP
(2009)
Singles from Rockferry
  1. "Rockferry"
    Released: 3 December 2007
  2. "Mercy"
    Released: 15 February 2008
  3. "Warwick Avenue"
    Released: 26 May 2008
  4. "Stepping Stone"
    Released: 1 September 2008
  5. "Rain on Your Parade"
    Released: 17 November 2008

Rockferry is the debut studio album by the Welsh singer Duffy, released on 3 March 2008 in the United Kingdom by A&M Records. It was released in the United States by Mercury Records. Taking four years to record the album, Duffy worked with several producers and writers including Bernard Butler, Steve Booker, Jimmy Hogarth, and Eg White. Primarily a soul recording musically, Rockferry is composed of ballads, torch songs, and up tempo songs in the style of 1960s pop music. It was well received by music critics, who praised the record's musical and lyrical depth and occasional darkness, Duffy's vocal performance, and the record's contemporary instrumentation and production which created a warm sound. Music critics favourably compared Duffy's work on Rockferry to the music of Dusty Springfield and Duffy's contemporary Amy Winehouse.

Rockferry was a commercial success, reaching number-one in several music markets. It was the fourth best-selling album of 2008 worldwide according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry[3][4] and the highest of that year in the United Kingdom.[5] The album was still in the top five of the UK Albums Chart a full year after its release, spending most of those weeks in the top ten albums, and a significant amount in the top three. In 2010, it was ranked as the 22nd best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.[6] The album has won a number of awards since its release, including the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 51st annual ceremony (2009).[7] Duffy also won three awards at the 2009 BRIT Awards for her work on Rockferry including Best British Album, whilst Butler was given the Producer's Award. It was also among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the previous 30 years by the Brit Awards in 2010.[8]

A total of five singles were released from the album. The first single, "Rockferry", introduced Duffy's music to European music industries, whilst the second and lead single internationally, "Mercy", was an international hit, topping over twelve music charts and becoming the third-best-selling single of 2008 in the UK.[5] Follow-up single "Warwick Avenue" was another successful single, whilst "Stepping Stone" did not replicate this earlier success. Rockferry was re-released as a deluxe edition on 24 November 2008, preceded by the lead single "Rain on Your Parade" which became the fifth overall single from the album.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cairns, Dan (1 February 2009). "Blue-eyed soul: Encyclopedia of Modern Music". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011.
  3. ^ 16 February 2009, 18:08 GMT (16 February 2009). "Music – News – Coldplay 'had best selling LP of 2008'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Biggest Selling albums of 2008 (Worldwide) Archived 24 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine IFPI
  5. ^ a b "UK Year End Chart 2008" (PDF). The Official Charts Company / British Phonographic Industry. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  6. ^ "Radio 1 to reveal best-selling singles and albums of the Noughties". Press Office. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Music – New Music News, Reviews, Pictures, and Videos". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008.
  8. ^ Wilkinson, Matt (16 February 2010). "Liam Gallagher snubs Noel as Oasis win Brit Album Of 30 Years award". NME. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.