He went on to record as a solo performer under several different names, and is the singer and songwriter for The Lilac Time with his elder brother Nick.
While Taylor was the guitarist (later switching to bass) and Rhodes played the synthesizer, Duffy was the band's vocalist/lyricist and bassist.
[4] After a stint of working in the US, Duffy returned to England and signed a deal as a solo artist with Virgin 10.
At the end of 1984, Duffy recorded a third version of "Kiss Me", produced by J.J. Jeczalik and Nicholas Froome, which was released in February 1985.
Duffy also recorded a non-stop forty-minute early chill-out / house album in 1986 called Designer Beatnik with Roger Freeman of Pigbag, released under the name Dr. Calculus mdma.
The cover photo shows the "Spirit of Ecstasy" Rolls-Royce car mascot and the album's two singles were "Programme 7" and "Perfume from Spain".
The album, entitled The Lilac Time, came out in November 1987, and was subsequently reissued in remixed form by Fontana on 8 February 1988.
The group were then briefly signed to Creation Records, and were subsequently managed by label head, Alan McGee.
In 1991, the band split up (temporarily, as it turned out) and Duffy subsequently pursued a solo career.
The 1993 Stephen Duffy album Music in Colors (Parlophone) was recorded with Nigel Kennedy, and featured the singles "Natalie" and "Holte End Hotel".
He participated in a temporary supergroup called Me Me Me, consisting of Duffy, Alex James of Blur, Justin Welch of Elastica, and Charlie Bloor.
In 2007, Duffy released a new album and limited edition (2000 copies) book called Runout Groove and held a few rare performances with the full Lilac Time ensemble, notably headlining the Green Man Festival.
In 1987, Duffy was contacted by Steven Page, then of the band Scary Movie Breakfast, and was impressed by his writing and demo tape.
[7] In October 2005, Robbie Williams released Intensive Care, fully co-written and co-produced by Stephen Duffy.
The film[9] was released at the London Raindance Film Festival in October 2009, accompanied by a Universal Records album of the same name, bringing together songs from Duffy's thirty years of music making.It was not picked up for general distribution however and was withdrawn to be re-edited to include live footage.
In 2021, an album by The Hawks called Obviously 5 Believers arrived more than 40 years after their single "Words Of Hope",[11] with the project overseen by Duffy, drummer Dave Twist and producer John Paterno.