Duffy and Butler

Welsh songstress to work with former Suede guitarist again on album No.2?

19 February 2009 - Duffy scored a hat-trick of Brit Awards last night for her debut Rockferry and says a follow-up is currently in-the-making.

Meanwhile Bernard Butler has told 6 Music he could take up production duties again, if she says so, because they’re still working together.

The 24 year-old scooped Best Album (Rockferry), Best British Female Solo Artist and Best Breakthrough Act at the ceremony last night (18 Feb).

Speaking on the red carpet at London’s Earl’s Court, Duffy told 6 Music: “I’ve not stopped writing since the first record was released, so it’s not like a new beginning. It’s just like a continuation.

“When I feel ready that I’ve got my house built on solid ground I suppose, I’ll let you in.”

The pair also received the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award in recent weeks and Bernard Butler was awarded his Brit statue, for Producer of the Year, for Rockferry.

The award’s been revived for the first time in ten years and was presented at the first ever Music Producers Guild Awards on Thursday 12 Feb February, where he pipped Brian Eno to the post for the gong, a tie-up with the Producer Of The Year award from the Guild.

When asked whether he is involved for a follow-up, Bernard replied: “I don’t know really, if she’ll have me.

"When I feel ready that I've got my house built on solid ground I suppose, I’ll let you in."
 Duffy

“We start writing and stuff like that and we see each other all the time. We’ve been doing things like, songs for films, and little things like that we’ve been keeping doing over the time - so I see her all the time and I’m working on her things because of that.

“There’s some songs that we’ve got knocking around that we’re gonna work on and see how it goes from there.”

In terms of their attitude to making music, Bernard added: “The idea should always be if we’ve written something great it should be on a great record and if we don’t, we shouldn’t bother. She knows that and that’s the way we always work.”

‘I got lucky’

Duffy has fast become one of the most successful artists around, with her album taking the title of the biggest selling album in the UK in 2008.

“I don’t really dwell on it,” she said, “But if we’re gonna go into it, I suppose the odds are slim for it happening to somebody and hey, I got lucky.”

Speaking to APTN she explained the awards won’t be going in her house, but the Rough Trade office.

“It's where Morrissey and The Smiths' awards are and Antony and the Johnsons for the Mercury Music Awards. So I have always wanted to have something on the shelf there, you know.

“And in such a prestigious record label, I am like the apprentice. I am somebody who is at the beginning of their career and is still to go further and further in the creative process of making great music, because that is what Rough Trade stand for.

“So I hope it takes a nice place on their shelf and that will make me feel really honoured."

Find out more about the winners of the Brit Awards 2009: Coldplay given the Elbow.

Check out more of the BBC's Brits coverage at the Radio 2 site here.

Georgie Rogers