Duffy has been pictured for the first time in 16 years.
The Welsh singer, 41, retreated from the spotlight in 2010 after a horrendous rape and kidnap ordeal but has since announced her musical comeback.
This week, Duffy stopped in at Welsh cafe Caffi Largo, where excited staff posed for a photograph with the singer.
Sharing a snap on social media they penned: ‘Celebrity singer from Nefyn, Amy Duffy, popped into the Caffi this morning. Always lovely to see local talent supporting local spots. ❤️’
Duffy has been seen in public for the first time in 16 years as she prepares for a comeback after leaving the spotlight amid rape and kidnap horror
born Aimée Anne Duffy, took to Instagram to reveal she will be hosting a ‘secret intimate gig’ where she will be performing new songs in London.
The event on July 5 marks the first time Duffy will have performed publicly since she abruptly disappeared following her ordeal in 2010.
The singer rose to overnight fame in 2008 with the release of her hit song Mercy and album Rockferry, which earned her three BRIT awards, a Grammy and an Ivor Novello award.
She went on to release a second album and announce a third, but then vanished from sight, leaving her fans and the entire music industry with no idea why.
A source at the time said Duffy simply ‘did not want to be found’, and she lived the next nine years of her reclusive life at her home in Surrey.
Having been all but forgotten by much of the world, the singer made an explosive re-entry into the spotlight in 2020 when she revealed the reason for her disappearance.
In a long essay posted to Instagram, Duffy described how she was targeted and drugged in a restaurant while celebrating her 26th birthday in 2010.
Welsh singer Duffy has announced her first live gig in more than 15 years (pictured at the Brit Awards in London in 2009, where she earned three gongs)
Her debut album, with hits like Warwick Avenue and Rain on Your Parade, sold a whopping nine million copies and won Duffy three BRIT Awards and a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album (pictured in 2009)
She was then taken abroad and raped, before being flown home and kept captive in her home for four weeks.
She said that after being raped in a hotel by the perpetrator, who she did not name, she feared she would be ‘disposed of’, but managed to escape her captor’s clutches.
She said at the time: ‘The truth is, and please trust me I am OK and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days,’ she wrote. ‘Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why.
‘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?’
Duffy said that the ordeal left her suicidal and she initially told no one about it, but that she later shared the details with a therapist who helped support her.
She did not report the ordeal to the police in the immediate aftermath as she said she was in fear of her life, but did subsequently alert officers on two separate occasions.
The singer continued to live a very private life even after this admission, but things changed earlier this year with the announcement of a new Disney+ documentary about her life.
The streamer said it will be ‘driven by new, unprecedented access’ to her, along with a ‘rich and nostalgic archive, and interviews with family, friends, and close peers in the music industry’.
The statement added that it would ‘tell the story of her life, from her upbringing in Wales, through to her meteoric rise to fame and her withdrawal from public life following her unfathomable experience’.
It was trailed as early as June last year that Duffy was working on new music, and last month she made a return to Instagram to share a black and white photo of herself in a recording studio.
She added the caption: ‘If only I could find the right words to explain how much I’ve missed you all. Working on coming back to you. Duffy x.’
She has reportedly reunited with the producer of her debut album, Bernard Butler, appearing in a TikTok video with him last year.
The announcement of her new gig suggests her new tracks are now ready, with an unspecified number of fans set to be given the exclusive preview next month.
In a story on Instagram, Duffy said: ‘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 added: ‘It’s only small capacity so we can only select a few, but really looking forward to it, I will sing some new songs.’
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