bhg1967 blog on Absolute Radio

Duke Special - Sesame Tree

bhg1967 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:44:18 +0000

Duke Special has penned the theme tune for BBC Northern Ireland's version of Sesame Street called Sesame Tree.

See him perform with a bunch of muppets at this BBC link. No I don't mean Chip Bailey and Ben Castle.

Duke Special - Best Irish Male - Meteor Awards

bhg1967 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:21:12 +0000

Duke Special receives his award as Best Irish Male at Ireland's Meteor Awards 2008. Video

Duke Special - Shake Rattle and Roll

bhg1967 — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:12:49 +0000

Another live performance from the hard working Duke Special. Here he performs Shake, Rattle and Roll at the waiting room, recalling his days of performing in Belfast piano bars.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-p4zdOTHsW4

Duke Special - Shake Rattle and Roll

bhg1967 — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:12:49 +0000

Another live performance from the hard working Duke Special. Here he performs Shake, Rattle and Roll at the waiting room, recalling his days of performing in Belfast piano bars.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-p4zdOTHsW4

Duke Special Covers Beatles

bhg1967 — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 12:04:14 +0000

Duke Special and Dan Black cover the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down".

Great version (filmed in France, April 2007)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

bhg1967 — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:46:35 +0000

On this RTE fm interview / performance Duke plays some of his own tracks live plus a cover of "Different for Girls" (Joe Jackson) and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band.

The Friday 28th December show is the one you want if you want to listen.

Now Play It

bhg1967 — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:14:42 +0000

On this website, original artists teach the user how to play their songs. Even if you don't subscribe for the full thing you can view and listen to some previews. The link is for Duke Special but as you can see lots of other artists take part such as Blur, Queen, David Bowie, Coldplay, Athlete, Gorillaz, Dandy Warhols, Paul McCartney et al.

Silent Night - Northern Ireland Artists

bhg1967 — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:24:01 +0000

Get in the mood for Christmas with this wonderful version of Silent Night by Foy Vance and Duke Special with a Salvation Army Band.

The BBC "Across The Line" Carol Service has many well known bands singing Christmas songs including "Happy Christmas, War is Over" by Starsailor and other songs by The Thrills, the Guillemots and the Dangerfields.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/atl/carols.shtml

Duke Special Leicester Charlotte 8/12/07

bhg1967 — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:28:28 +0000

A review of this gig and an interview from Record Overplayed is available at the link.

Duke Special in his front room

bhg1967 — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:21:19 +0000

This lucky chap has just uploaded these videos on YouTube of the illustrious Duke Special playing in his mother-in-law's living room!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQjMNx5eevY

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiiOZDnvRGU

Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0QDOMX2wYY

Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGmC0fMlIWI

Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weD9rvLQzt0

Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB8Cg1AWR8Y

Duke Special / Crowded House SECC Glasgow Nov 30th 2007

bhg1967 — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:59:37 +0000

http://www.last.fm/user/bhg1967/journal/2007/12/1/587809/

My review of this gig is available on last fm.

Please click the above link for the review. What follows is a "grumpy old man" rant.

I had been eagerly anticipating this concert for some time and have had a long term interest in Duke Special since coming across him performing an impromptu gig in a Glasgow record store. I had schooled myself in the music of Crowded House and was excited about their forthcoming performance.

The venue was only partially full as Duke Special took the stage. This was understandable as many people had bought the tickets for the headline band. What did really irritate me was people sitting in the auditorium during the Duke Special performance talking constantly. If people had no interest in the performance there was a bar and plenty space to spend time in while waiting for the main act. One couple, just in front of me severely irritated me in this way. It being Glasgow, though, you don't tell people to shut up or you risk getting your face rearranged, so my tactic was to stamp along with the beat (helped by a loose board) and applaud and shout vociferously at the end of each song. My next line of attack was to sing along with the songs, directing my (tuneless) voice at the offending persons in front. This actually worked. It has to be said that most of the audience appreciated the efforts of a clearly talented artist backed by accomplished musicians and settled down to enjoy the show.

During the performance of Crowded House, another couple in front persisted in talking constantly and when not talking creating text messages, sharing them and doing everything but watch the performance. At 70 quid plus for a pair of tickets you'd think they'd actually want to watch the show. Then next to me a guy who was clearly a big fan, singing along, knowing all the lyrics left the show in the middle section when it was at his peak to come staggering back about 3 songs later with a big tray of beer, in the process missing some great music. C'mon mate, you can get a drink in Glasgow all through the night! Throughout the performance, there was a procession of people moving in an out the auditorium. Can nobody sit on their ass for a couple of hours!

Duke Special, Bush Hall, London 20/11/07

bhg1967 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:04:36 +0000

A review of this gig can be found at this link.

An interview and performance on the Will Leahy of RTE fm in March of this year can be found at the bottom of this page.

Tuesday's Child

bhg1967 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:17:53 +0000

An array of top Irish musicians are today showing their childish side for charity. A collection of some of the most talented performers from Northern Ireland and the Republic have come together to back a Belfast-based charity's music project. A total of 31 performers including Snow Patrol, Westlife, Ronan Keating and Mary Black have donated a track for the Tuesday's Child self-titled double album which is launched today.

Other top names featured on the album are Brian Kennedy, Cara Dillon, The 4 of Us and Kieran Goss.
They appear alongside David Ballantine, Siobhan Pettit, Brian Houston, Robert Fulton, Claire Sproule and Foy Vance.

Up-and-coming Belfast star Duke Special has also penned a new track for the album entitled Come Wander With Me.

Found this on the Duke Special website.

If you want to see the baby pics of the other artists go to http://www.tuesdayschild.ie

Tuesday's Child

bhg1967 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:17:52 +0000

Found this on the Duke Special website.

If you want to see the baby pics of the other artists go to http://www.tuesdayschild.ie

Elvis Costello with Billie Joe

bhg1967 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:06:25 +0000

Found some good videos of Elvis Costello performing with the Green Day lead singer:

No Action

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ftrRIAO8Rgc

And what about an EC version of The Beatles "Hey Bulldog"

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gW_j_aMbsz4