Skip to main content

Duran Duran, Blur and Gorillaz tour manager Craig Duffy and his partner died in A39 crash

A former colleague said Craig was 'a real gem' and a 'caring and considerate' person

Craig Duffy and partner Sue Parmiter
Craig Duffy and partner Sue Parmiter(Image: Facebook)

Tributes are being paid to Craig Duffy, a "caring" and "considerate" tour manager to the stars who died in a crash on the A39 on the Devon and Somerset border.


Mr Duffy and his partner Sue Parmiter both died after the collision between Minehead and Porlock, near Tivington, yesterday.


Another person was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.


Police have launched an appeal for witnesses and say they especially want to hear from anyone driving along the A39 road yesterday afternoon, before the crash.

They also want any dashcam footage of anyone driving on that road, and have a special webpage to upload dashcam video to, here.

Tributes are pouring in for Mr Duffy, who worked with Duran Duran, Blur, Gorillaz, Franz Ferdinand, Lily Allen, Radiohead and U2 to name a few. He was undergoing treatment for throat cancer.


Gerard Franklin, Duran Duran's former publicist, told DevonLive: "Craig was without question one of the best tour managers in the music business.

"He was a gentleman, caring and considerate and the ultimate professional. He was great fun to be around with on tour a real joy.

Content cannot be displayed without consent

"He was incredibly helpful to all the crew and people working on his tours and was liked by everyone. He was a music fan first and a tour manager second.

"He lived for his music and football being a Chelsea supporter. He was a giant of the music industry. It's rare to find such characters who are genuine and Craig was the real deal, a real gem."

Band Right Said Fred also paid tribute to their former tour manager.


They wrote on Twitter: "Extremely shocked and saddened to hear that Craig Duffy and his partner Sue died in a car crash yesterday.

"Craig was our tour manager in the 90s, we rarely agreed on anything but we had stayed in touch and remained friends. He was a good guy and an excellent TM. Rest in peace."

Rock band The Damned said Mr Duffy will be missed by many.

Article continues below

"I first met Craig around 1976 when he was just a kid working for John Curd," they wrote on Facebook. "He was and remained enthused with music, always had a smile and an anecdote to share.

"Over the years he became a very deserved top of the league tour manager who, on and off, we worked with as indeed he seemed to have worked with so many artists from all genres of music in a long and successful career. A huge chunk of history has disappeared with his passing and he will be missed by many."

Follow Devon Live:


In the News
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the saleor sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Privacy Notice.