JEFF DUFF/DUFFO

Geoff "Jeff" Stephen Duff, known as Duffo, was born in 1950 and kicked off his musical journey in Melbourne in 1971 as the lead singer of the jazz-rock fusion band Kush (1971–75). The group put out covers like "Peter Gunn," "MacArthur Park," and "Walk on the Wild Side," along with originals such as "(Livin’ on) Easy Street." Kush is remembered for their performance at the 1974 Sunbury Pop Festival. After the band split, Duff moved to London in 1978, embracing the persona of the “waif-like androgynous oddball Duffo.” During most of this time, his keyboard player and arranger was Sev Lewkowicz. Duffo released four albums between 1979 and 1982, and later a fifth, 'Ground Control to Frank Sinatra', in 2004. His 1979 single ''Give Me Back Me Brain'' reached #60 on the UK Singles Chart, and Powderworks released his third album, 'Bob the Birdman', in Australia.

His 1999 compilation, 'Martian Girls Are Easy', is a 40-track, double CD anthology covering Duff's solo career from 1978, described by music historian, Ian McFarlane as showing "the satirical, new wave origins of 'Give Me Back Me Brain', through the soulful classical arrangement of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side', dipping into funk on the way and then back to his glam roots" Jeff Duff appears as 'Secta' in the Australian science fiction movie, Sons of Steel, released in 1989, featuring Duff's single, "Here Come the Freaks".

Duff has performed on Australian television and headlined major events like the Melbourne Jazz Festival, Manly Jazz Festival, Darling Harbour Jazz Festival, Casino Jazz, Thredbo Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, and the 2006 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. A regular at Sydney’s live music spots, he blends a sophisticated twenty-piece big band swing repertoire with the edgy glam rock of his Alien Sex Gods shows.

His Ground Control to Frank Sinatra project fuses the styles of David Bowie and Frank Sinatra, featuring dancers, singers, audiovisuals, and a nine-piece band. This stage show led to two albums: 'Ground Control to Frank Sinatra' and 'Lost in the Stars'. He also honored Bowie with Ziggy, a concert production with members of Jimmy Barnes’ band, Noiseworks, and Leo Sayer’s band, which played at the Sydney Opera House in 2010 and again in September 2012.

Jeff Duff’s official David Bowie tribute, Bowie Unzipped, has been touring Australia since 2016, showcasing a rotating lineup of some of the country’s top musicians. The band has featured Glenn Rhodes on keyboards, bass, and vocals; Jak Housden on guitar and vocals; Jess Ciampa on drums, percussion, and vocals; Gordon Rytmeister on drums; Rex Goh, Paul Berton, and Paul Mason all on guitar. With sell-out shows in both Sydney and Melbourne, Bowie Unzipped continues to delight audiences across the nation.

Duff released his tell-all memoir This Will Explain Everything through Melbourne Books in 2016. After reading the book Alan Howe in The Australian newspaper, said that 'Duff was a musical pioneer and perhaps the most fearless artist in the country.'

SINGLES 
''Temptation's 'Bout To Get Me (#73) / Where Will I Be? (Tomorrow)'' 1977 Mushroom 
''Walk On The Wildside / Killing This Affair'' 1987 Powderworks 
''Venice / New Boy'' 1989 Captain Vimto 
''Walk On The Wildside (Radio Mix) / Nastassia'' Captain Vimto 
''Never Too Late / Never Too Late (Instrumental)'' Captain Vimto 

ALBUMS 

'Duffo' 1979 Beggars Banquet
'The Disappearing Boy' 1980 PVK Records
'Bob The Birdman' 1981 PVK Records
'Angels & Rascals' 1994
'Live' [with Ed Wilson's Wacky Big Band] 2002
'So Quiet' Steve Morrison Featuring Jeff Duff 2007
'Cooler Than Cool... Hotter Than Hell' [with The Ed Wilson Big Band] 2010
'Fragile Spaceman' 2011 Yowza! Yowza! Records
'Walking On Eggshells' 2014 Yowza! Yowza! Records
'Bowie Unzipped Live' 2017

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Duff