Everything about The Proclaimers totally explained
The Proclaimers are a
Scottish band composed of
identical twins Charlie and Craig Reid (born
March 5,
1962). They are best known for the songs "
Letter from America", "
I'm on My Way", and "
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)". "I'm Gonna Be" became the
theme song for the
film Benny & Joon (1993), and for several charity events, such as the
Terry Fox Run and
Red Nose Day 2007, as well as a
Molson Canadian beer commercial.
Career
The twins were brought up in
Auchtermuchty,
Fife. After several
punk rock bands at school, including one called "Eight-Eyes", in response to the taunts they received in primary school, they formed The Proclaimers in
1983.
The pair leapt to public attention after a January 1987 appearance on UK popular music programme
The Tube on
Channel Four; "Letter from America" peaked at number 3 in the
UK singles chart, while the album
This is the Story went gold. The follow-up album
Sunshine on Leith featured "I'm Gonna Be..." and "I'm On My Way".
The brothers are famous fans of
Hibernian Football Club, and "Sunshine on Leith" has become a theme song for the club, being played at every home match. They are also well-known supporters of
Scottish independence and have at various stages of their lives been activists for the
Scottish National Party, expressing such views on their promotional tour of
Britain in
March 2007, although the following month, Charlie Reid announced that he'd switched his allegiance to the
Scottish Socialist Party in protest at the
Scottish National Party's receipt of funding from big business . Many of their songs reflect their political views, such as "Letter from America" and "Cap in Hand". On
May 16 2006, the twins announced their participation in a campaign to free a fellow Scot,
Kenny Richey, from his
death row sentence in
Ohio,
United States, including an appearance at a charity concert.
"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" has become a major Scottish anthem, played at Scottish national football matches, Scottish bars, and other traditional Scottish events across the world.
As of May
2006 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" had remained in the
iTunes download chart since December
2004. The 1988 album
Sunshine on Leith sold over 25,000 copies in 2005.
In March 2007, they recorded a new version of their well-known song "
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with television comedy characters
Andy Pipkin (played by
Matt Lucas) and
Brian Potter (
Peter Kay) for the
Comic Relief charity. A long list of celebrities were featured in the
music video for this new version, including
David Bellamy,
Rod, Jane and Freddy,
Paul O'Grady,
David Tennant,
Frank Sidebottom and many more. This new version of the song reached No. 1 in the
UK singles chart.
In
June 2007 their former manager, Kai Davidson, was killed by a fall at age 44, with the death a probable suicide.
On
31 December 2007 (
Hogmanay) they sold out a concert in
Stirling Castle to celebrate the new year.
The Proclaimers are celebrity patrons of the
Association for International Cancer Research.
Proclaimers in popular culture
In 1994, their cover of "Get Ready" was featured in the soundtrack for the hit film Dumb and Dumber.
Their song "I'm on My Way" appeared on the soundtrack to the 2001 animated film Shrek.
In around 2001, their song "I'm Gonna be" (500 miles) was in a Molson Canadian Comercial in which an american walks across the border to buy some molson canadian at a beer store in BC, comes back to the border and drops the case of Molson and goes to get an other case, again. All while 500 miles is playing in the background.
In 2003, the Proclaimers finished fifth in The Glasgow Herald's poll to find The Most Scottish Person in the World.
On July 6, 2005, they were the opening act at Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push, the final concert of Live8 at Murrayfield Stadium. They played "I'm Gonna Be" to symbolise the conclusion of The Long Walk to Justice.
On April 30, 2006, the Proclaimers appeared on the hit animated show Family Guy's episode "You May Now Kiss The...Uh...Guy Who Receives" where Peter was the third member of The Proclaimers until he became irritated with the twins singing his lines and punches them.
On September 17, 2006 it was announced that a jukebox musical featuring the music of the Proclaimers was being prepared and set to debut in April 2007 performed by the Dundee Repertory Ensemble and directed by James Brining.
On the February 27, 2007 episode of the television show, How I Met Your Mother, the band's "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" was played multiple times throughout the show as the "cassingle" that was stuck in the tape deck of a car.
"I'm Gonna Be" was an unofficial charity single for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2007 in the UK. It was covered by comedians Peter Kay and Matt Lucas, in character as the wheelchair users Brian Potter of Phoenix Nights and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain respectively (the word "walk" in the chorus has been replaced with "roll"). The Proclaimers feature in the song and the accompanying video. Lucas wrote sleeve notes for their greatest hits, while Kay joined the band on stage when they performed at Live 8.
On April 4, 2007 they appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show.
In issue 165 of Viz, there's a head to head to find the "King of the Proclaimers", Craig vs Charlie.
In 2007 they were featured on Alabama 3's album M.O.R providing vocals on the track 'Sweet Joy'
Their song, "I'm Gonna Be" appears in John Rattray's part in the Zero skateboarding video, "Dying to Live."
Discography
EP
King of the Road (1990)
Studio albums
This Is the Story (1987)
Sunshine on Leith (1988) (re-released in 2001 with King of the Road appendage)
Hit the Highway (1994)
Persevere (2001)
Born Innocent (2003)
Restless Soul (2005)
Life With You (2007)
Compilation
The Best of The Proclaimers (2002)
Finest (2003, UK only)
Soundtracks
Dumb and Dumber (1997) (song Get Ready)
DVD
The Best of the Proclaimers 1987-2002
(2002)
Singles
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Proclaimers'.
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