The Pop Corporation

The story of Martin Duffy’s death was a hard one to read when his son told of what happened and specifically the alleged treatment by bandmates and associates in Primal Scream.

What transpired was very different from what everyone initially thought, and Duffy’s son Louie told an inquest that his father had died in huge debt, with Primal Scream paying him like he was a sessionman, and neglected him while he was suffering from alcoholism. Despite his pivotal role in the group, the group sold their back catalogue for a huge sum of money, which was not divvied up evenly, despite Duffy’s considerable contributions and songwriting credits.

Primal Scream have not been vociferous in their defence of themselves since this happened, but the story isn’t over yet.

Irvine Welsh – friend of the group, collaborator and, of course, internationally famous author, has said that these claims about Duffy are “heart-breaking” and he hit out at the music industry as a whole. Irvine said: “I saw his son’s letter and it was heart-breaking, but you know you never know what goes on within bands. I miss Duffy very much and he was a great friend. He was having a tough time just before he died. He was at my wedding last August. And he was very emotional.”

Walsh added: “Anything that happens within a band or an organisation is entirely their affair. So, it wouldn’t be my business to talk about it because, you know, you’re always operating on limited knowledge.”

“But I will say this, that the music industry is one of the most horrible industries… in any creative industry, it’s almost the industry part of it is the antithesis of what the whole thing is about. You don’t know the politics of any kind of band or label or record company. It’s completely impenetrable from the outside and I mean nobody in either of these camps has talked about it to me.”

Welsh noted that he hadn’t spoken to any of the other members of Primal Scream since Martin Duffy’s death, and said: “It’s very sad, because, you know, it’s like they’re all so tight these guys, and it’s always sad when it happens to a band.”