Peter
Wilson
Also known as Duke Special,
vocalist and pianist Peter is one of the leading alternative
musicians in the United Kingdom. He went solo in 2002 after playing
in various bands, including Booley and Benzine Headset. He has
supported Van Morrison and toured with the Beautiful South and
Divine Comedy. In December 2006 he supported Snow Patrol at the
Odyssey Arena in Belfast, playing to 10,000 people. He has been
nominated for three 2007 Meteor Music Awards, for Best Irish Male,
Best Newcomer, and Best Album for ‘Songs from the Deep
Forest’
East Belfast has been
my home for the last 15 years and contains many places I love to
visit when I get the chance. Just round the corner from my house on
Holywood Road, for instance, is a great little library with a Ross
Wilson sculpture of C S Lewis and his legendary wardrobe outside.
Further up the Holywood Road is the Belmont Road which not only
boasts modern eateries such as Bennetts and the Gourmet Burger Bank
but also the Belmont café, which serves up one of the best Ulster
Fry’s in Northern Ireland–the Belmont Belly Buster!
If I am going out for a drink it would have to be Madden’s Bar in
Smithfield. Madden’s is small, old, friendly and has some of the
best acoustic music in town. It, along with the Empire Music Hall
on Botanic Avenue, are probably my favourite places to play in
Belfast. Returning to the east, Belfast Music Supplies on Upper
Newtownards Road is good for musical instruments and accessories,
while Marcus Music in the city centre also provides a comprehensive
service. If you have kids and are looking for a park to go to in
the east, I would recommend the Millennium Park on the Holywood
Road with its great spider web or the park in the grounds of
Stormont (home of the Northern Ireland Assembly) on Upper
Newtownards Road. I like to think that when politicians have a
break they play on the swings and swing or slide together... maybe
they should!
