Colin Wilson Duke Special will be playing an intimate solo set at Norwich Arts Centre this Saturday night (8pm) showcasing tunes from his new album, which he will be recording over the summer as well as some old favourites from his critically-acclaimed 2006 album Songs From The Deep Forest.

Colin Wilson

Duke Special will be playing an intimate solo set at Norwich Arts Centre this Saturday night (8pm) showcasing tunes from his new album, which he will be recording over the summer as well as some old favourites from his critically-acclaimed 2006 album Songs From The Deep Forest.

Hailing from Belfast with a sound that is self-confessed “hobo-chic”, Duke Special - AKA the endlessly inventive Peter Wilson is once heard, never forgotten. Blissfully at home in his own alluring genre of beautifully bruised romanticism, Duke Special inhabits a world unlike any other - a world filled with vaudeville-esque sensibility, sing-a-longs and addictive melodies.

Songs From The Deep Forest achieved platinum status in Ireland and received plaudits across the board. The album was re-released in 2007, with the addition of the single Our Love Goes Deeper Than This (featuring the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Romeo from The Magic Numbers) and with a bonus CD of Duke's dazzling performance with the Ulster Philharmonic Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall. Last year culminated in a tour supporting Crowded House on their arena tour of the UK and Ireland.

Duke Special is a fervent performer who harks back to pre-rock 'n' roll era, with dashes of Gershwin and orchestral swing, all tinged with a Northern Irish lilt and poetic lyrics.

Support comes from The Voluntary Butler Scheme, the musical masquerade of Stourbridge-based one man band - fronted, backed and catered for by 22 year old Rob Jones. VBS have already received plays of demo recordings on Radio 1's Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq shows and has been invited to play this year's Latitude Festival. The single, Trading Things In is set for release on June 16 through The Last Layer of The Trifle Recordings.

t 01603 660352 (£10adv/£11door) Norwich Arts Centre box office and www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk