Words are not things to take for granted – especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage. Words matter. History matters. People matter. And Big Special matter.
They’re a duo who are louder than bombs, louder than war, louder than multiple jam-packed football stands stacked one atop another, on Cup Final day. They write tracks about desperation and struggle, about a Britain in decline, about finding pride in your darkest moments, about class war in the UK and how it’s always punching down – songs of hope, and despair, and more hope, because ultimately they will win, because they are righteous. They write songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong, but the final bell’s not rung yet.
There’s a deep bond between vocalist Joe Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney, one forged from dreaming big and trying hard and tasting disappointment but never losing sight of what they want out of their lives. For Joe, the dr