Martin Duffy dead: Primal Scream and Felt keyboardist dies aged 55

Primal Scream keyboardist Martin Duffy has died at the age of 55.

The Birmingham-born musician played with the Scottish rock band until his death, but previously started out in indie outfit Felt in 1985.

He also stepped in to play with The Charlatans when founder Rob Collins died in 1996.

Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess was the one who confirmed his passing when he took to social media to pay tribute to his friend who he described as a “beautiful soul”.

He wrote on Twitter: “Another tragic loss of a beautiful soul. Martin Duffy stepped in to save The Charlatans when we lost Rob – he played with us at Knebworth and was a true friend. He toured with me in my solo band too – he was a pleasure to spend time with. Safe travels Duffy.”

Duffy released a solo album, Assorted Promenades, on Burgess’s O Genesis label in 2014. The album’s release was inspired by Duffy and Burgess witnessing a car catching fire by the side of the road, Duffy told the Quietus. The pair had just been listening to the John Foxx song Burning Car: “Tim saw it as a sign.”

Another event that had a profound effect on him came in 1993 when Duffy was the victim of a near-fatal stabbing in New York City while there with Primal Scream.

Primal Scream’s most recent studio album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016. Duffy also performed on frontman Bobby Gillespie’s 2021 collaborative album Utopian Ashes.