He was one of the early singers and lyricists for Duran Duran in their formative years, but left before they made it big.
In 1985 he had a hit single with "Kiss Me", as Stephen "Tintin" Duffy, a nickname cruelly parodied by Radio 1 DJs as 'Stephen "Duff-Duff" Tinny'. It stayed in the UK top 10 for three months.
In 1986, he began writing and recording music that would become The Lilac Time's first album, released on Swordfish Records.
more needed
In 1999, Duffy found a tape recording of early (pre-Simon Le Bon) Duran Duran music in storage; shortly after, he had a chance meeting with Nick Rhodes, Duran's keyboardist. Reminiscences led to a desire to collaborate, and they ended up re-recording the music on the tape. They did not change any of the lyrics, and used only late-70s-era instruments and equipment, but brought modern production techniques to the project. The result was the quirky album Dark Circles, released under the name The Devils.