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BIG SPECIAL

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West Midlands duo pairing Black Country spoken word with drums and a preacher's howl — post-industrial frustration delivered as sermon.

BIG SPECIAL are a duo from the Black Country in the West Midlands, made up of vocalist Joe Hicklin and drummer Callum Moloney, who grew up in Walsall and Birmingham respectively and first met as teenagers. Hicklin began writing the music that became BIG SPECIAL during the pandemic lockdowns, sending Moloney, then playing drums in wedding bands, a demo to persuade him to join. They signed to SO Recordings in December 2022.

Hicklin's delivery moves between spoken word, shouting and singing in a broad regional accent, set against drums, occasional keyboards and programmed backing. The lyrics deal with work, class, mental health and life in post-industrial England, often with a bleak humour running underneath. Hicklin has said the songs need room to draw on soul, punk and hip-hop rather than settle into one genre.

Early material appeared on the 2022 EP Black Country Gothic, which included the single "Shithouse." A run of singles through early 2024 led to the debut album, POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES, released that May; its deluxe edition added a collaboration with John Grant, "Stay Down, Lazarus." A second album, National Average, followed in July 2025, released without prior announcement or promotion.

The duo also appeared, alongside actress Gwendoline Christie, on the Sleaford Mods single "The Good Life," with frontman Jason Williamson bringing them in to help carry the chorus. Live, the pair perform as a two-piece, with the drums carrying much of the arrangement.

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