Duke Special

Duke Special is the stage name of Peter Wilson, a songwriter and performer from Lisburn, in the Belfast area of Northern Ireland, born in 1971. He is based in Belfast and works in rock and indie, with a piano-led style and a distinctly accented voice.

Performance style and image

His live shows often have a theatrical quality shaped by vaudeville and music hall. He commonly uses old 78s played on a gramophone and sound effects from a transistor radio. His appearance is also part of the act, with long dreadlocks, eyeliner and clothing he calls “hobo chic”.

Early work and solo career

Wilson learns piano as a child and sings traditional Irish songs in churches and community centres with his sisters. He then writes his own material and plays in local rock bands before beginning solo performances in 2002. Under the Duke Special name, he records two limited EPs, Lucky Me and My Villain Heart, which he sells at concerts across Ireland, the UK and Germany. Those releases sell more than 6,000 copies and are later collected on Adventures in Gramophone.

Albums and releases

His albums include Adventures in Gramophone (2005), Songs from the Deep Forest (2006), I Never Thought This Day Would Come (2008), Little Revolutions (2009), The Silent World of Hector Mann (2010), Mother Courage and Her Children (2010), Under the Dark Cloth (2011) and Oh Pioneer (2012). Adventures in Gramophone and Songs from the Deep Forest are both nominated for the Choice Music Prize. Songs from the Deep Forest is his second album and first for V2 Records. Its first single is “Freewheel”, and a later two-disc edition includes bonus live tracks, among them “Our Love Goes Deeper Than This”, recorded with Neil Hannon and Romeo Stodart. He also releases the EP Your Vandal in 2005.

Collaborators and touring work

He is often accompanied by percussionist Chip Bailey, known as “Temperance Society”, who plays handmade percussion instruments such as cheese graters and egg whisks, as well as drums, cymbals, a Stumpf fiddle and a shruti box. Other regular or occasional musicians include Paul Pilot on guitar, Réa Curran on trumpet, backing vocals and accordion, Ben Castle on clarinet and saxophone, Ben Hales on bass guitar, Gareth Williams, “Professor” Ger Eaton on keyboards, Dan Donnelly on mandoline and backing vocals, and Serge Archibald III on saxophone, “ethereal background sounds” and vibes. He also works with Paul Pilot on production and writing, and collaborates on I Never Thought This Day Would Come with Daniel Benjamin, Phil Wilkinson and Bernard Butler; the album is mixed by Nick Terry and features the RTE Symphony Orchestra under David Brophy.

Appearances and writing for screen

Duke Special tours across Ireland, the UK and Europe, appears at venues and events including Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Electric Picnic, Belfast’s Empire Music Hall, the Cannes Film Festival, the Belfast Film Festival, the Dublin Fringe Festival and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. He supports acts including Aqualung, Rufus Wainwright, Paddy Casey, Gemma Hayes, cDavid Ford, The Divine Comedy and Snow Patrol, and is invited to join Crowded House on their first tour in ten years. He also writes the theme tune for Sesame Tree, the Northern Ireland version of Sesame Street, and appears with The Muppets in its final episode.