Entertainment For Lively Minds
Duke Special is special.
He looks like a character they forgot to include in The Wizard of Oz. His hairstyle will make many a barber recoil in disbelief. He has a crazy drummer who hits pots and pans, a voice that can tackle anything he wants to sing, a stand-up's comic timing and a beautiful song called "I never thought this day would come (Now it won’t go away)". He plays gramophone records on stage and wears a suit that the previous occupant outgrew. Last night he did one of the best gigs I've ever seen and I want to recommend him to others - there may be tickets available and if you're interested in his music you should see him.
Please join me in my Let's Make Duke Special A Hit campaign. (I'm neither a relative to nor an employee!)
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Here's a little exchange
from a different thread. I thought I would try to move it to a bigger audience because I think you might like Duke Special if you saw him:
I went to see Duke Special . . .
at the Rescue Rooms in Nottingham last night. He was absolutely superb - may I suggest to anyone who has an interest in his music that you get yourself to one of the gigs on his current tour (I'm hoping there are tickets left for the Birmingham Glee Club on Sunday). If you currently have no awareness of his music, listen to him on Last.fm and then hopefully you will want to get yourself to one of the gigs on his current tour!
davecowps
reply - 16 January 2009 - 8:24pm
Well done Sir!
Your random drop of Duke Special was a thing of beauty!
Utterly unconnected to the thread and I salute you for it!
I Love Duke Special & heartily endorse your comments!
chasandmorph
reply - 16 January 2009 - 8:51pm
Well, it wasn't entirely random - he was mentioned in the thingy above.
However, he was so good last night - and when he played his 5 or 6 encores at a piano in the middle of the audience he was astoundingly good - I've decided to sing his praises whenever I can to whoever will listen. Go and see his shows everybody - I will refund your expenses * if you don't enjoy it and if you can track me down.
* no I won't; I got carried away.
Take a look
That's the standout track from
his album though. It's not a bad album at all but nothing quite hits the mark as well as that one. Its on eMusic I believe for those that subscribe.
I think his CDs are fine
but you should see him live. He has a remarkable talent.
The first album is
The first album is fantastic. Haven't listened enough to the second album to really form an opinion on it.
The edition of his first album that I got came with the 'Orchestral Manouevres in Belfast' bonus disc. It starts with an overture that combines more or less all of the album's hooks in a marvellous way.
Never heard him or of him before.
Lovely song. One to investigate. Reminiscent, on this first hearing, of David Ford.
One of ours
It's nice to hear a singer using their own accent instead of a fake US one. Saw him support Divine Comedy a while back in Edinburgh's Liquid Rooms - he blew the roof off the place.
The Duke Special track 'Our
The Duke Special track 'Our Love Goes Deeper Than This' with whatsisname from the Divine Comedy and the chap from the Magic Numbers is great fun.
Support
When the GLW & myself caught DS supporting Ray Davies in the Roundhouse in 2007, he was so great (he had handed out lyric sheets!) that for the first time in my life I arrived early to see a support when he provided the same duties for Crowded House a few weeks after at the RAH. Well worth seeing live.
thanks chaps
I picked up his recent album (not sure if it's available in Great Britain yet)...i know it's available in Nor'n Ireland and the Republic and it's great, but had forgotten to pick up the first one, despite absolutely loving 'Last Night I Nearly Died'. It's ordered now and, thanks to Rob Pook up there, I went for the one with the bonus CD from Belfast.
I also find that the fact he sings in his natural speaking accent to be quite pleasant; sometimes the Belfast accent can be quite harsh on the ear, but there's something quite charming about it being used as, almost, an instrument in itself!
Last Night I Nearly Died (But I Woke Up Just In Time)
Is about the time he fell asleep whilst driving.
Been there, done that. Not nice.
Late entry
Intrigued by the look of this Edward Scissorhands lookey-likey, somewhat at odds with his Texas barband name, and aware of a duet on a girlsinger album I have (yet can't recall at present), I picked up the special edition CD with studio and live, as mentioned above, last week, seeing it on spec in Record and Tape Exchange. I'm already feeling guilty that I have kept him out of the royalty loop thereby, as it is an odd and wonderful piece so far, with echoes of Rufus Wainwright, Glen Campbell and, extraordinarily, Gerry Marsden, but good echoes. There is a clear debt to the style and sound, I would say, of Neil Hannon and The Divine Comedy, but a little quirkier. Completely different voice, but another strange comparison that came to me was Antony Hegarty and if he can be a star, why not too, say I, this fella?
Yey for Duke!
Love love love Duke Special. Saw him at the Tripod in Dublin a few years ago, seriously the best gig I've been to. He jumped off stage, along with his band and the support acts, at the end of the show and sang a beautiful rendition of I Saw The Light right in the middle of the crowd. Amazing. I do think he's better live, because he's more intense and you get more of a glimpse of some beautiful cynicism, concerning religion mostly (e.g. 'I could go to church on Sunday, maybe I'd be alright Monday, amazing how this grace helps you rebound' on 'I Let You Down'), but once you've seen him live it totally brings to life his records. He even gave out 4 free tracks. Great guy. I have a soft spot for Irish musicians, but Duke is definitely one of my favourites!
Welcome,
you're just in time.
The girlsinger would be Beth Rowley on the rather lovely cover of Willie Nelson's 'Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground'.
The Duke is about to commence a tour btw, not to be missed if you get the chance. [I'll be the one in the middle, trying to spot the Gerry Marsden echoes :-)]
As for Neil Hannon, have a look at this -
Rowley/Duke
Of course! Yes. That Rowley LP gets better and better in my ear.
Don't know if this is a wind-up, but
"The Divine Comedy singer Neil Hannon has made a concept album about cricket.
Working with his friend, Pugwash singer Thomas Walsh, Hannon has made The Duckworth Lewis Method, which will be released this summer.
Hannon told thedivinecomedy.com: "Few have attempted to encapsulate the king of sports in song. None have succeeded, until now. Salivate in expectation for the sound of summer 2009."
Duke vs Neil Hannon from Divine Comedy
Has anyone seen this? Its quite brilliant.
http://www.rte.ie/tv/theview/archive/20090413.html