BIG SPECIAL & JOHN GRANT announce new single 'STAY DOWN, LAZARUS'
BIG SPECIAL and John Grant
BIG SPECIAL and John Grant have linked up for stellar new collaborative single release 'STAY DOWN, LAZARUS', out now via SO Recordings.
BIG SPECIAL recently broke into the Official UK Albums Chart Top 40 with their debut album POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES, and have spent their summer drawing huge crowds at festivals including Glastonbury, Green Man, Latitude, and Reading & Leeds.
On 'STAY DOWN, LAZARUS' the Black Country duo and revered NYC songwriting talent make for a potent force lined up beside each other. Dark, thrumming atmospherics and brooding voices intertwine on a song that talks frankly about being sold a lie, forced to stay in your lane. Lead singer Joe Hicklin says: “Stay Down, Lazarus is just a big moan about the social promise of elevation and rising up, that doesn’t really exist for most people. It was actually the first song written for BIG SPECIAL, but it didn’t make our debut album. We always felt it needed something more, so we took a shot in the dark and asked John Grant, a major influence of ours, to have a crack at it with us. We are proper chuffed he wanted to get involved and still pinching ourselves”
John Grant adds: “Was very psyched that Big Special asked me along for the ride on this track. Had a blast doing this!”
Hear 'STAY DOWN, LAZARUS' on streaming services here and share the lyric video via YouTube below.
John Grant will also be bringing BIG SPECIAL out on tour with him through the UK and Europe this winter, before the band wraps up their year with more headline shows in Europe, India, Thailand and Australia. Tickets on sale now here.
BIG SPECIAL 2024 LIVE DATES
17 Oct - Hackney Church, London, UK + (SOLD OUT)
18 Oct - Hackney Church, London, UK +
19 Oct - The Fire Station, Sunderland, UK +
21 Oct - Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK +
22 Oct - Vicar Street, Dublin, IE + (SOLD OUT)
24 Oct - The Tramshed, Cardiff, UK +
25 Oct - Beacon, Bristol, UK +
26 Oct - De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill, UK + (SOLD OUT)
28 Oct - Town Hall, Birmingham, UK + (SOLD OUT)
29 Oct - Epic Studios, Norwich, UK +
31 Oct - New Century Hall, Manchester, UK + (SOLD OUT)
01 Nov - Project House, Leeds, UK + (SOLD OUT)
02 Nov - Philharmonic, Liverpool, UK +
05 Nov - Melgweg, Amsterdam, NL (John Grant only)
06 Nov - Kulturkirche, Cologne, DE +
07 Nov - Columbia Theater, Berlin, DE +
09 Nov - Train, Aarhus, DK +
10 Nov - Vega, Copenhagen, DK +
11 Nov - Nalen, Stockholm, SE +
13 Nov - Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo, NO +
15 Nov - Rolling Stone Beach Festival, DE &
29 March 2025 - O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, UK $
+ = Supporting John Grant
& = Festival show
$ = BIG SPECIAL headline show
Praise for BIG SPECIAL
“Music that stands it’s ground and looks you right in the eye” Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music
“A vital, gripping debut album” - Clash ★★★★
"A bleak but belting record" - Classic Rock ★★★★
“A dizzying mix of hard and delicate” – DIY ★★★★½
“a real piece of art; sheer brilliance from start to finish” - Dork ★★★★★
Readers’ favourite albums of 2024 - The Guardian
"an album that is distinctively mystical, and ageless, comfortably propelling itself between soul, hip hop, and rock" - The Line of Best Fit ★★★★½
Album of The Week - Louder Than War ★★★★★
"A glorious post-punk racket" - Daily Mirror
"brimming with energy, invention humour... a great debut album" - MOJO ★★★★
“a heady dose of heart and reality” – NME ★★★★
"a cocktail of barbed post-punk and ferociously soulful crooning" - Notion
“a stellar debut with enough conviction to keep us all dancing through the darkness.” - Rolling Stone UK
"a thrilling mix of punk, blues and soul" - Scottish Daily Express ★★★★
"One of the most exciting bands in Britain" - The Telegraph
“A highly engaging, emotionally rich debut” - Uncut ★★★★
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