Duke Special

For other people of the same name, see Peter Wilson (disambiguation).

Duke Special
Background information
Birth name	Peter Wilson
Born	4th January 1971
Origin	Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Genres	Alternative Folk Soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Piano Accordion
Years active	2002 - present
Labels	Medieval Haircut Records Hag Records Izumi Records V2 (2007) Universal Music Ireland (2008-present)
Website	Official site

Duke Special, real name Peter Wilson, is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he has a distinctive look, with his long dreadlocks, eyeliner and outfits he describes as "hobo chic". His live performances have a theatrical style inspired by Vaudeville and music hall, and often incorporate 78s played on an old-fashioned gramophone, or sound effects from a transistor radio. He is most often accompanied by percussionist "Temperance Society" Chip Bailey, who plays cheese graters and egg whisks, a Stumpf fiddle and a Shirdi drone box, as well as the more typical drums and cymbals. Other musicians who perform with Wilson from time to time include Paul "Pilot" Wilkinson (guitar), Réa Curran (trumpet, backing vocals, accordion), Ben Castle (clarinet, saxophone), Ben Hales (bass guitar), Gareth Williams, "Professor" Ger Eaton (keyboards), Dan Donnelly (mandoline, backing vocals) and Serge Archibald III (saxophone, "ethereal background sounds", vibes).

He has released six albums, Adventures in Gramophone (2005), Songs from the Deep Forest (2006)[3], both of which were nominated for the Choice Music Prize, I Never Thought This Day Would Come (2008)[4], Little Revolutions (2009), The Silent World of Hector Mann (2010) and Mother Courage and Her Children (2010).

Background

Wilson was born in Lisburn and grew up in Coleraine, Downpatrick and Holywood with his mother, father and three sisters. Wilson's grandmother, Mary Groves, taught his mother and her brothers and sisters to play the piano. This tradition of playing the piano was passed on to Wilson's three sisters and eventually to him also. He attended Down High School, Downpatrick and later Sullivan Upper School in Holywood.

After leaving school and a brief stint with a community arts project in Swindon, England he returned home and played piano for Brian Houston (a Belfast songwriter influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and Elvis) under whom Wilson apprenticed, picking up a hunger for performing and a knack of winning over an audience in the process. Several band mutations on the musical journey followed and saw Wilson front other acts composed of Belfast musicians but he was yet to hit his stride.

Solo work

In 2002 he went solo, adopting the name Duke Special, and began building up a following as a live performer. He released three EPs on Medieval Haircut Records, the first two of which, Lucky Me and My Villain Heart, were collected as an album, Adventures in Gramophone, released by Hag Records in 2005. The album was nominated for the 2006 Choice Music Prize. In 2006 he signed to V2 Records and released a second album, Songs from the Deep Forest, which was nominated for the 2007 Choice Music Prize. He was nominated for three 2007 Meteor Music Awards, for best Irish male, best newcomer, and best album for Songs from the Deep Forest. A third album, I Never Thought This Day Would Come, was released in Ireland in October 2008 on Universal, who had acquired V2 in 2007.

He has supported acts such as Crowded House, Van Morrison and Snow Patrol, and in 2006 toured Ireland with the Beautiful South and Europe with the Divine Comedy. In 2007 he headlined a concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall, "Orchestral Manoevres". The concert was supported by Julie Feeney and Foy Vance, who sang on one of Duke Special's songs, "This Could Be My Last Day". 2007 also saw him perform at Greenbelt festival, Glastonbury, Guilfest, Summer Sundae, Haldern Festival and the Electric Picnic among others and support Bell X1 on 2 dates; in Malahide Castle, Dublin and also as part of the Live at the Marquee series of concerts in Cork. In 2007 he performed as part of the BBC Electric Proms, supporting former Kinks lead singer Ray Davies. In 2008 he won the Meteor Music Award for Best Irish Male.^[1]

He has also appeared in the Northern Ireland children's television show, "Sesame Tree" with his band, having also written the theme music for the show.

He played Oxegen on The O2 stage in 2009.

Between September and December 2009 Duke Special and his band appeared on stage at the Royal National Theatre in London as part of a new production of Bertolt Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children, for which he wrote music for a number of songs. The production was directed by Deborah Warner and starred Fiona Shaw in the title role.

In January 2010 Duke launched a campaign on Pledge Music (see Fan-funded music) whereby fans pledged for items to help fund the promotion and touring of his triple CD, The Stage, A Book & The Silver Screen (comprising Mother Courage and Her Children, The Silent World of Hector Mann and Huckleberry Finn).^[2]

Played at the last night of the proms for the BBC at Hillsborough castle.

Discography

Early Work

• Time Is Right EP as Booley House (1996)
• Lemonade as Booley House (Contraflow, 1997)
• Bathroom Floor as Booley (Medieval Haircut/ICC, 1999)
• Garçon Pamplemousse as Benzine Headset (Medieval Haircut, 2001)

Albums

• Adventures in Gramophone (Hag, 2005) (collects the EPs Lucky Me and My Villain Heart)
• Songs from the Deep Forest (Izumi - Vinyl / V2 - CD, 2006 / V2 Special Edition CD, 2007)[5]
• Orchestral Manoeuvres In Belfast (V2, 2008)
• I Never Thought This Day Would Come (Universal, 2008)[6]
• Little Revolutions (Reel to Reel Recordings, 2009)
• Mother Courage and Her Children (Reel to Reel Recordings, 2010)
• The Silent World of Hector Mann (Reel to Reel Recordings, 2010)
• Little Revolutions Two (Reel to Reel Recordings, 2011)

EPs

• Lucky Me EP Medieval Haircut Records 2002
• My Villain Heart EP Medieval Haircut Records 2004
• Your Vandal EP Hag Records 2005
• Huckleberry Finn EP Reel to Reel Recordings 2009

Singles

• "Freewheel" (Hag / Izumi Records, 2005)
• "Portrait" (V2, 2006)
• "Last Night I Nearly Died (But I Woke Up Just in Time)" (V2, 2006)
• "Wake Up Scarlett" (V2, 2006) (iTunes download only)
• "Freewheel" (V2, 2007) IRE #15
• "Last Night I Nearly Died (But I Woke Up Just in Time)" (V2, 2007)
• "Our Love Goes Deeper Than This" (V2, 2007) (featuring Neil Hannon and Romeo Stodart, download only)
• "No Cover Up" (V2, 2007)
• "Sweet Sweet Kisses" (Universal Music, 2008)

Other contributions

• One (Myrrh, 2000) - "Peace Has Broken Out" - duet with Moya Brennan
• New Irish Hymns (Kingsway, 2001) / In Christ Alone (USA title - Worship Together, 2002) - backing vocals under real name Peter Wilson - Margaret Becker, Máire Brennan, Joanne Hogg
• Acoustic 07 (V2, 2007) - "This Could Be My Last Day"
• Ceol '09 - "Tochailt Uaighe go Róluath" (a version of "Digging an Early Grave" in the Irish language)
• Theatre production of Mother Courage and her Children 2009 at the National Theatre

References

1. ^ "Westlife are still number one". Irish Independent. February 16, 2008. http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/entertainment/westlife-are-still-number-one-1291034.html. Retrieved 23 June 2011. 
2. ^ [1] [2] Times online feature about Pledge Music and Duke Special

• [7] Amazon Disc Listing
• [8] BBC Review and Release dates by Garth Cartwright
• [9] CD Universe Album Listing
• [10] Stuart Bailie: Return of the Duke (Blog by BBC Music Journalist)
• [11] Times Online feature about Pledge Music and Duke Special

External links

• Official site
• Official Profile on MySpace
• V2 Records site
• Izumi Records site
• Duke Special interview, review and photos on Record Overplayed webzine
• Duke Special interview on twistedear.com
• 5 Nights at the Empire DVD review
• FREE Duke Special Session Download
• Duke Special PR in Ireland
• Duke Special review at Daily Music Guide

Persondata
Name	Peter Wilson
Alternative names	Duke Special
Short description	Musician
Date of birth	January 4, 1971
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death