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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". A special two disc edition of "Songs From the Deep Forest" was released on October 1st 2007. Amongst other bonus live tracks is the latest single "Our Love Goes Deeper Than This" with Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Romeo Stodart (The Magic Numbers).
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Alternative, Hobo-chic, Songwriter, International, Folk, Irish, Singer, Other
Simon Little - upright bass, Duke Special., Réa Curran - trumpet and harmonium, Temperence Society Chip Bailey - drums and percussion, Mark Edwards - keys, Jules Maxwell - keys, Paul Wilkinson - bowed guitar and bass, Phil Wilkinson - Drums, Ben Castle - clarinet and sax
Yes, Duke Special is currently on tour. If you're interested in attending an upcoming Duke Special concert, make sure to grab your tickets in advance. The Duke Special tour is scheduled for 16 dates across 15 cities. Get information on all upcoming tour dates and tickets for 2026-2027 with Hypebot.
Duke Special is scheduled to play 16 shows between 2026-2027. Buy concert tickets to a nearby show through Hypebot.
Duke Special's tour starts May 31, 2026 and ends on Dec 29, 2026. They will play 15 cities; their most recent concert was held in Edinburgh at The Voodoo Rooms and their next upcoming concert will be in Birkenhead at Future Yard CIC.
As part of the Duke Special tour, Duke Special is scheduled to play across the following venues and cities:
