Duke Special
Duke Special is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A pianobased songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he has distinctive 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 oldfashioned 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 Shruti box, as well as the more typical drums and cymbals. Other musicians who perform with Wilson from time to time include Paul Pilot , Ra Curran , Ben Castle , Ben Hales , Gareth Williams, Professor Ger Eaton , Dan Donnelly and Serge Archibald III .
Wilson was born in Lisburn and grew up in Coleraine, Downpatrick and Holywood with his mother, father and three sisters. Wilsons 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 Wilsons three sisters and eventually to him also. He attended Down High School, Downpatrick and later Sullivan Upper School in Holywood.
Source: Wikipedia