Duffy resurfaces in London as she's pictured after 15 years in hiding

Fans of the musician Duffy were delighted on Sunday when the singer returned to the stage for her first live performance in 15 years.

With her trademark bright blonde hair styled into glamorous waves, Duffy looked triumphant as she left East London's Hoxton Hall, where she had performed an intimate one-hour comeback concert for specially invited fans.

Dressed in a high-neck black dress, Duffy embodied the demure, classy vibe she has always been known for, and her comeback celebrations continued at a private after-party at the Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch, where stacks of pizza boxes were seen being delivered as guests partied into the early hours.

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Singing and dancing could be heard from inside as attendees sang along to Duffy's 2008 hit Mercy. The Welsh singer celebrated with her fans until around 2.30 am, marking a major milestone in her return to music after years away from the spotlight following the traumatic ordeal she went through in 2011, which she shared details of in 2020.

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Duffy's career and time out of the spotlight

Duffy's songs Mercy and Warwick Avenue were everywhere in 2008, taken from her album Rockferry. She followed with her second album, Endlessly, in 2010, before disappearing from public life.

Returning a decade later, the musician shared details of a harrowing kidnapping, explaining she had been assaulted and held captive over a period of days.

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Of the ordeal, Duffy shared in a since-deleted social media post that she had been attacked and kidnapped while abroad, but no one had known about the ordeal. 

The post read: "The truth is, and please trust me, I am okay and safe now. I was raped, drugged and held captive for some days. Of course, I survived." 

She continued: "In the aftermath, I would not see someone, a physical soul, for sometimes weeks and weeks and weeks at a time, remaining alone. Rape stripped me of my human rights to experience a life with autonomy from fear. It has already stolen one-third of my life.

"But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine." 

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It's only now, over 15 years later, that the singer has felt strong enough to return to the stage, and with the rapturous welcome she received on Sunday night, here's hoping Duffy is feeling supported by her legions of loyal fans.