Rockferry

About Rockferry

Rockferry is the debut studio album by 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 and the highest of that year in the United Kingdom. In the UK the album was still in the top five 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 the 22nd best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. 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). 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, ultimately losing to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis. A total of five singles were released from the album. The first single, "Rockferry", had little impact, whilst the second and lead single internationally, "Mercy", was an international hit, topping over twelve music charts. It was the third-best-selling single of 2008 in the UK. 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 more »