JEFF DUFF/DUFFO

Geoff "Jeff" Stephen Duff, or Duffo, (born 1956) began his musical career in Melbourne in 1971 as a lead singer of the jazz-rock fusion band, Kush (1971–75). They released covers of "Peter Gunn", "MacArthur Park" and "Walk on the Wild Side", as well as originals such as "(Livin' on) Easy Street". Kush is notable for performing at the 1974 Sunbury Pop Festival. After Kush disbanded Duff relocated to London in 1978 as "the waif-like androgynous oddball Duffo" His keyboard player and arranger for most of this period was Sev Lewkowicz. Duff released four albums under the name Duffo - four between 1979–82 and a fifth, 'Ground Control to Frank Sinatra' in 2004. The beginning of the "Duffo" period saw his single, "Give Me Back Me Brain" reach No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1979. Powderworks issued Duff's 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 has headlined the Melbourne Jazz Festival, Manly Jazz Festival, Darling Harbor Jazz Festival, Casino Jazz, Thredbo Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, and the 2006 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Duff performs regularly at Sydney's live music venues. He juxtaposes his sophisticated twenty-piece big band swing repertoire with the raunchy glam rock of his Alien Sex Gods shows.

Duff's Ground control to Frank Sinatra project merges the styles of David Bowie and Frank Sinatra. The show features dancers, singers, audiovisuals and a nine-piece band. Ground control to Frank Sinatra Duff's stage show has produced two albums: 'Ground Control to Frank Sinatra' and 'Lost in the Stars'. He has paid homage to Bowie in a show called Ziggy, which is a concert production featuring members of Jimmy Barnes band, Noiseworks and Leo Sayer's band. The Ziggy show performed at the Sydney Opera House in 2010, and September 2012.

Jeff Duff's official David Bowie tribute is the Bowie Unzipped show which has been playing around Australia since 2016 and features a rotating list of Australia's top musicians including 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 on guitar, Paul Berton on guitar and Paul Mason on guitar. The Bowie Unzipped band has played to sell out shows in both Sydney and Melbourne and continues to tour around the country.

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