Why Duffy wasn't in public eye for 10 years as she performs first concert since kidnapping
Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual assault, rape, and suicide, which some readers may find distressing.
After more than a decade away from the stage, Duffy is set to perform her first live concert in over 15 years.
The Welsh singer, 41, announced that she'll host a 'secret intimate gig' in London later this week (5 July), marking her first performance since stepping away from the music industry in 2011.
"I'm doing a secret intimate gig in London on the 5th July, next month, and I would love nothing more than for some of you to attend," she wrote earlier this month on her Instagram Stories.
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"It's only small capacity so we can only select a few, but really looking forward to it, I will sing some new songs."
Best known for smash hits including 'Mercy' and 'Warwick Avenue', Duffy became one of the UK's biggest stars after releasing her debut album Rockferry in 2008, which went on to become the UK's best-selling album that year.
She followed it up with her second album, Endlessly, in 2010 before unexpectedly disappearing from public life, leaving many fans wondering why.
It wasn't until 2020 that Duffy revealed the devastating reason behind her absence.
In a statement shared on social media at the time, she wrote: "Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to, and why."
She continued: "The truth is, and please trust me, I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course I survived. The recovery took time. There's no light way to say it."
Duffy also explained why she had stayed silent for so long, writing: "You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke."
The singer later shared a personal essay detailing the ordeal, explaining that she had been celebrating her birthday when she was abducted.
She wrote: "It was my birthday, I was drugged at a restaurant, I was drugged then for four weeks and travelled to a foreign country."
"I can’t remember getting on the plane and came round in the back of a travelling vehicle. I was put into a hotel room and the perpetrator returned and raped me. I remember the pain and trying to stay conscious in the room after it happened."
Duffy said she eventually managed to escape after returning to the UK.
She explained: "I flew back with him, I stayed calm and as normal as someone could in a situation like that, and when I got home, I sat, dazed, like a zombie."
"I knew my life was in immediate danger, he made veiled confessions of wanting to kill me. With what little strength I had, my instinct was to then run, to run and find somewhere to live that he could not find."
The singer also revealed she didn't immediately report what had happened because she feared for her safety.
"I felt if anything went wrong, I would be dead, and he would have killed me. I could not risk being mishandled or it being all over the news during my danger," she wrote.
Duffy said that 'utterly no-one' knew what had happened to her at the time and that the experience left her feeling suicidal.
"In the aftermath I would not see someone, a physical soul, for sometimes weeks and weeks and weeks at a time, remaining alone," she shared.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
You can also contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Rhiannon Ingle