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Duke Special
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Duke Special, a.k.a. Peter Wilson, is a Belfast artist with an unique sound, often referred to as ‘vaudeville’. His songs are shaped by an omnipresent piano, harps, brass, strings and - his trademark on stage - an old gramophone. The result are very romantic and passionate little hymns with the Duke’s soft vocals. A quite antique sound, but never old-fashioned.
Music was all he ever wanted to do. He learned piano as a child and sang traditional Irish songs in churches and community centres with his sisters. Soon he began writing his own songs and played in some local rock bands with little success.
Under his pseudonym ‘Duke Special’ he recorded two limited EPs (Lucky Me, My Villain Heart) and sold them at hundreds of concerts across Ireland, the UK and Germany. He supported Aqualung, Rufus Wainwright, Paddy Casey, Gemma Hayes, cDavid Ford, The Divine Comedy Snow Patrol and many others over the last years. More than 6,000 copies of the EPs were sold, and Duke re-released the two EPs as an album (Adventures in Gramophone). In 2005 the “Your Vandal”-EP was released.
Special credit must be given to his onstage partner Chip Bailey, who greatly amuses with self-made percussions formerly known as kitchenware.
Duke Special’s second album (and debut on V2 Records) Songs From The Deep Forest is out now and received very good reviews. A limited vinyl box set with six heavyweight 7” in a lovely wooden box is also available. The first single from the album was “Freewheel”.
Music was all he ever wanted to do. He learned piano as a child and sang traditional Irish songs in churches and community centres with his sisters. Soon he began writing his own songs and played in some local rock bands with little success.
Under his pseudonym ‘Duke Special’ he recorded two limited EPs (Lucky Me, My Villain Heart) and sold them at hundreds of concerts across Ireland, the UK and Germany. He supported Aqualung, Rufus Wainwright, Paddy Casey, Gemma Hayes, cDavid Ford, The Divine Comedy Snow Patrol and many others over the last years. More than 6,000 copies of the EPs were sold, and Duke re-released the two EPs as an album (Adventures in Gramophone). In 2005 the “Your Vandal”-EP was released.
Special credit must be given to his onstage partner Chip Bailey, who greatly amuses with self-made percussions formerly known as kitchenware.
Duke Special’s second album (and debut on V2 Records) Songs From The Deep Forest is out now and received very good reviews. A limited vinyl box set with six heavyweight 7” in a lovely wooden box is also available. The first single from the album was “Freewheel”.
Videos
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Play
Duke Special - Maps
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Play
Duke special - Salvation tambourine
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Play
Duke Special - John Lennon Love
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Play
Duke Special - I Let You Down (Like a Tonne Weight)
Top Albums
Top Tracks
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Flesh and Blood Dance
full track
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Sweet, Sweet Kisses
full track
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By The Skin Of My Teeth
full track
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Shoutbox
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davidmsy wrote:
After first listen to the new album, I already like it more then Songs From... also he was very good live yesterday. :)
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joice wrote:
Geez, he sounds just like Rufus Wainwright. Which is, of course, good :-)
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TheOtherZoe wrote:
In love <3
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kingbin wrote:
Great Stuff!
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gaisce1 wrote:
even wish me luck
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gaisce1 wrote:
mockingbird say you will is brilliant
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nalA__ wrote:
i heard a monkey lives in Duke's dreads and it's him that writes the songs... i did hear this though from the little purple man that lives in my head though and he does havea habit of lying to me so i wouldn't take his word for it.
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ForEmily wrote:
I bought it in a shop two days ago
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jbafrombordeaux wrote:
Well, he more than leaked : it's available (to download – bit 320 –, in cd or lp) on Duke Special's site.
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Swan_Dive wrote:
Blew me away at Connect festival. Worth getting soaked for in the front row <3 What a guy, what a band...
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Adrian-Clarke wrote:
Have to agree with previous comments, he's a gentleman. Was at a gig in Sligo with a few friends and the bouncer was being a twat. DS apologised for the problem and spent about five minutes chatting away with us. Great music, vaudeville? or is it nouveau old school... different anyway, and who ever said different wasn't spectacular. I'd listen to his music forever
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VikingDevil wrote:
I only like the song ' Our Love Goes Deeper Than This'.
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adamb1026 wrote:
awesome just seeing him walk around belfast and going to gigs and stuff.
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thechris1651 wrote:
Only started listening to this guy recently - here, in Northern Ireland, he's about everywhere and pretty much everyone has met him at one place or another
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lumpython wrote:
他的聲音讓我感到孤獨……
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Cpix wrote:
This guy is awesome! I saw him at Somerset House in London supporting Duffy as part of the Summer Series & I was blown away! I bought Songs from the Deep Forest after the gig & he was stood right there so I then chatted to him whilst he signed it for me. He is a really down to earth & an all round genuine great guy. What's more his voice & piano playng are amazing & he writes real music to be played by real musicians! I can't say enough good about this fantastically talented musician!!!
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Maidenrugby wrote:
This is not usually my kind of music - I'm mostly into heavy metal, but i really like this guy. i saw him supporting Diving Comedy in 2006 and i got his album straight away :)
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adamb1026 wrote:
great to see him just strolling about belfast
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Natureshadow wrote:
It appears to me that Duke Special is great - one more item on my "next to by" list ;)
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onur- wrote:
his duet with beth rowley on her new album, angel flying too close to the ground, is simply amazing!
Events
- Nov 28 Duke Special Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland
- Dec 1 Duke Special Black Box, Galway, Ireland
- Dec 2 Duke Special St. George's Market, Belfast, Ireland
News
Duke Special Painting Competition Prizes Announced!
19 Nov 2008 | from blog.myspace.com/dukespecial
We can announce the prizes for the Duke Special painting competition!First prize:A Duke Special gig in your house!Second prize:2 x limited edition unframed prints (various different animal Hartoons), . …
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12 Nov 2008 | from blog.myspace.com/dukespecial -
29 Oct 2008 | from blog.myspace.com/dukespecial
Listeners
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Recent Activity
- tangledbank, jhaack1, sycamore100 and 6 other people added Duke Special to their libraries. 2 hours ago
- ExplodingWhale added Duke Special to the lineup of Duke Special at Joe's Pub. Saturday evening
- ramonagk and LPrimerMinistro added Duke Special to their libraries. Saturday afternoon
- Wildirish added Duke Special to the lineup of Duke special at Dolan's Warehouse. Friday evening
- toco-till and lambyfucker added Duke Special to their libraries. Friday evening
- HarperPR added Duke Special to the lineup of Nick Harper at The Classic Grand. Thursday afternoon
- blue_sky_blues wrote about Duke Special in Questions about my top 50. Wednesday evening
- bengallagher, pierce-h and amitypd23 added Duke Special to their libraries. last week
- Padiddy added Duke Special to the lineup of Duke Special at Cork Opera House. last week
- mob61uk, OggyBFC, dreimear and 1 other person added Duke Special to their libraries. last week
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