page_title: Rockferry
section_title: Release and artwork
hierarchical_section_title: Rockferry / Release and artwork
caption_attribution_description: Aimee Anne Duffy (*1984), professionally as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter of soul music, performing at South by Southwest 2008.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: The album art and video for the title track were shot on and around the Ffestiniog Railway in Porthmadog, which was renamed 'Rockferry' for the occasion. The timing of the photoshoot was somewhat before the release of the album, when Duffy was still a relatively unknown performer.
  Her first American performances took place at the SXSW conference, and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was her first festival gig. The Coachella performance delighted the crowd with 'Rockferry', 'Serious', 'Warwick Avenue' and 'Mercy'. To coincide with the release of Rockferry, Duffy performed at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Duffy received the honour of performing at the Royal Variety Performance 2008. In 2008, Duffy played many festivals in Europe. This included visits to French, Swedish and Irish summer festivals, amongst others. In the United Kingdom, Duffy visited venues such as Glastonbury and the Evolution Festival. She also toured the American summer festivals in 2008, such as a visit to Lollapalooza in Chicago.
  Duffy toured the United Kingdom and Ireland during November and December 2008.
  To promote Rockferry, Duffy made many visits to American television, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Saturday Night Live. Duffy played a fourteen-city North American tour. Plans had called for her to open for Coldplay on six of the dates. During a concert in Cleveland, Duffy accidentally set the left side of her hair on fire. In New York, Duffy was left apologising to an audience after briefly crying. She explained to the audience that this happens in one out of every 15 of her shows when she feels exposed for reasons she does not fully understand. Duffy also made a recording for British broadcaster BBC, performing at the LSO St. Luke's. The performance was televised in 2009 on the British television station BBC One.
caption: Duffy singing at SXSW, 15 March 2008
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