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Big Special | |
|---|---|
| Origin | The Black Country |
| Works | Post-Industrial Hometown Blues (2024), National Average (2025) |
| Years active | 2021-present |
| Labels | SO Recordings |
| Members | Joe Hicklin, Callum Moloney |
| Website | https://bigspecial.co.uk/ |
Big Special are a musical duo from the Black Country in the English West Midlands, consisting of vocalist Joe Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney.
They have been described in the NME as making "vulnerable, soulful punk", and by another reviewer as "intertwining punk with poetry". [1] [2] They have been widely referred to as a punk outfit, and even described as a "hip-hop duo", but the pair said in 2024 that their music did not fit easily into established genres. [3] Hicklin has said that he needs the creative freedom to draw on influences from soul, punk and hip hop. [4]
Hicklin's vocals are sometimes reminiscent of soul, at other times delivered in registers closer to spoken word poetry. [2] [5] The duo's lyrics often refer to working class life in the post-industrial Midlands and Hicklin's struggles with depression. [4]
Moloney is from Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, and Hicklin grew up in nearby Walsall. [1] The two first met aged 17 years old, more than a decade before Big Special was formed. [1]
In October 2024 they released a single, "Stay Down, Lazarus", a collaboration with John Grant. [6] The track was the first written for Big Special, but was not featured on their first album. [6]