Duffy 'Stepping Stone'

Chart Peak: 21
YouTube

Twenty four year old Welsh songstress Duffy followed up her hugely successful hits 'Mercy' and 'Warwick Avenue' with the gorgeously haunting 'Stepping Stone' in September 2008... The following month, she scopped the award for "Best Breakthrough Artist" at the Q Awards.

Second track in a row that missed the Top 20, though at least this one was surely included knowingly because, easy as it is to forget now, Duffy was one of the biggest stars of the time and Rockferry was the top-selling album of 2008. Little did we know then how badly her comeback would misfire a couple of years later. Somewhere down the line 'Stepping Stone' seems to have got a bit forgotten which is a pity as it was one of her best singles, a charmingly underplayed song that leaves space for her voice - some of her other songs seemed to force her into yelping. Although she's playing the victim a bit here she's at least playing a victim who wishes she wasn't one and the record's steady pace suggests a protagonist struggling with her lot. If you pass a charity shop in the near future, there's a decent chance you'll encounter a copy of the album in there and this track is probably worth the price.

Also appearing on: Now 69, 70, 72
Available on: Rockferry (EU Version)