Life comes at you fast. Just ask Big Special. On the evening of August 9, 2023, the duo – Joe Hicklin and Callum Moloney – walked onstage storied Camden boozer the Dublin Castle for their first headlining gig in the UK capital. The duo had only a single release to their name: the majestic, cathartic, existential bellow of ‘Shithouse’. The Big Special story had barely begun.

Fast-forward 20 or so months later, however, and Hicklin and Moloney are again onstage, this time at the O2 Forum Kentish Town, sweat-drenched and bathing in the rapture as the biggest headline show of their career so far draws to a triumphant close. They’re looking out at 2,300 or so fans, hands aloft, a fraction of the following that have been drawn by the righteous missives and unflinching poetry of their acclaimed debut album Postindustrial Hometown Blues which landed straight into the top 40 of the UK charts on week one. As Moloney notes,The Forum is only a kilometre walk away from the Dublin Castle. But the distance Big Special have covered between those two shows is far greater than can be plotted on a map.

The band’s journey in the time between their debut single to now could be described as 'meteoric', performing around the world at some of our greatest festivals and with a who's who of legendary bands / artists (Pixies, Placebo, Sleaford Mods, John Grant). They’ve been busy, to say the least.

But moving forward remains Big Special’s ethos, pressing on through changes big and small, staying true to who they are without betraying the truth of who they might become, thankful for the energy and insight that’s driven the mission thus far, and will inevitably fuel whatever comes next.

Brotherhood is key. “There’s only ever been two people in Big Special,” Hicklin says, “so we’re the only two people who really get it, what this unique experience has been. The intensity of our relationship is good. In a lot of ways, we’ve just been lucky, and things lined up so that we’re able to do this. It’s not some fucking divine thing – we’re just good at what we do, and we’ve got a good team around us. We should respect the craft, respect the audience, and do the best we can, so we can keep on doing it.”

The band put the finishing touches to their second album last month. Watch this space.

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