Martin Duffy: Primal Scream and Felt keyboardist dies aged 55

Martin Duffy, who played keyboards for Primal Scream and Felt, has died aged 55.

The musician’s death was confirmed by former bandmate Tim Burgess on Tuesday.

Born in Birmingham on May 18, 1967, Duffy joined the indie band Felt in 1985 where he remained a member until the group’s split in 1989.

Duffy played on Primal Scream’s first two albums, 1987’s Sonic Flower Groove and 1989’s self-titled, and joined the band full time at the end of that year. He later joined The Charlatans in 1996 following the death of original keyboard player Rob Collins.

Duffy also contributed keys to songs by Oasis, The Chemical Brothers and Beth Orton. No cause of death was given.

The Charlatans frontman paid tribute to Duffy on social media, describing him as a “beautiful soul”.

He wrote: "Another tragic loss of a beautiful soul. Martin Duffy stepped in to save The Charlatans when we lost Rob – he played with us at Knebworth and was a true friend. He toured with me in my solo band too – he was a pleasure to spend time with. Safe travels Duffy."

Happy Mondays singer Rowetta shared a series of heartbreak emojis, while former Oasis guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs tweeted: “Sad, sad news Tim.”

(L to R) Mani Mountfield, Bobby Gillespie and Martin Duffy of Primal Scream. Martin Duffy has died at the age of 55 (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)

Duffy joined Felt, pioneers of the so-called jangle pop genre, aged 16 after answering an advertisement placed by the group’s frontman Lawrence that read: “Do You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star?”

He was also a member of rock supergroup The Chavs, formed in 2004 by former Libertines guitarist Carl Barat and Burgess alongside drummer Andy Burrows from Razorlight.

In 2012 he performed as part of another supergroup at a fundraising concert at Manchester Cathedral, this time featuring Burgess and Mark Collins of The Charlatans with Peter Hook of New Order.

In recent years, Duffy also toured as part of Burgess’s live band, playing music from the singer’s solo albums.

Duffy released a solo album, Assorted Promenades, on Burgess’s O Genesis label in 2014, which included music dating back to 1997.

Primal Scream’s most recent studio album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016. Duffy also performed on frontman Bobby Gillespie’s 2021 collaborative album Utopian Ashes.