Primal Scream's Martin Duffy died penniless and abandoned by bandmates, son claims
8 June 2023, 15:52
Primal Scream's long-time keyboard player Martin Duffy died "penniless and abandoned" by his friends, an inquest has heard.
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Mr Duffy, 55, was suspended from the rock band after his bandmates told him to get help for his alcoholism.
But he began drinking heavily after the suspension and regularly drank a lot of alcohol every day.
He tripped over, fell backwards and suffered catastrophic head injuries on December 15 last year, an inquest heard on Thursday.
His son Louie found Mr Duffy at his home in Hove, East Sussex, after he went round to visit.
He had suffered several skull fractures, but told his son not to call an ambulance. Louie later took matters into his own hands and dialled 999.
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No ambulance arrived until 7am, more than two hours later, even though Louie called again.
Mr Duffy had been treated for prostate cancer, as well as suffering from alcohol addiction. He was also in debt after losing income when the band stopped touring in the pandemic.
In a statement, Louie said his father was a respected member of the band for more than 30 years.
He said: "This might lead people to believe that he was a wealthy man but this is not the case at all. My dad died in debt and I know how badly this affected him in the last year of his life.
"Anyone who knew my dad knew he was a drinker. In the band's heyday in the early 90s, Primal Scream were as famous for their excess as they were for their music.
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"Dad was a functioning alcoholic who had a professional attitude to his work. He was a 'binge drinker' when he would drink for two or three days in a row and then stop. He would also have long periods of sobriety.
"It was during lockdown when things started going wrong for dad. No gigs meant no income and he got into debt. He was also diagnosed with prostate cancer."
Mr Duffy was suspended from the band after drinking too much and "messing up" on stage, Louie said.
Louie added: "The band told him he would not be getting his job back unless he stopped drinking.
"He became very upset. He seemed completely devastated. After this he started drinking really heavily every day. I couldn't stop him.
"It was frightening. I had never seen him like this before. He stopped contacting people and I was really worried about him."
Louie added that his father had been "demoted" to the role of a session musician, and the bandmates' attitude to his alcoholism had backfired.
He said: "The band's belief in the 'tough love' they thought they were qualified to dish out to dad when he was at his most vulnerable only made things worse.
"I understand they thought they were helping him but this method backfired, it made dad become completely overwhelmed."
The inquest heard that Duffy's injuries were so "catastrophic" that he would have died even if the ambulance had arrived immediately.
Dr Karen Henderson, assistant coroner for Brighton and Hove, recorded a conclusion of accidental death through alcohol intoxication.
She said: "I am satisfied he was a gifted musician and, for almost all his adult life, he was principally associated with the band Primal Scream. He was a devoted father, partner and friend to many.
"He had a number of personal difficulties. In 2021 he underwent successful for prostate cancer, he had financial pressures from the lockdown and was distressed that he was not able to play gigs with Primal Scream, but he had a problematic relationship with alcohol.
"Advised by some members of the band to take some time off and seek help fr his alcohol dependency, he did not sustain contact with Change, Grow, Live.
"In the weeks prior to his death in light of his ongoing difficulties that were both personal, financial and work-related, his alcohol dependency spiralled out of control to the detriment of his mental and physical well being."
