The Proclaimers

The Proclaimers are a Scottish music duo composed of twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid (born 5 March 1962). They are best known for their songs "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", "Sunshine on Leith", "I'm On My Way" and "Letter from America", and their singing style with a Scottish accent. The band tours extensively throughout the world. They have released 11 studio albums since 1987, with the latest being The Angry Cyclist (August 2018), as well as three compilation albums and a DVD.

Career
Craig Reid and Charles Reid were born in Leith on 5 March 1962, and grew up in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. When they lived in Auchtermuchty they attended Bell Baxter High School. After several punk rock bands at school they formed the Proclaimers in 1983.

The pair came to public attention when an Inverness-based fan sent their demo to the English band the Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite the Proclaimers on their 1986 United Kingdom tour. The exposure of the tour won them a January 1987 appearance on the British pop music television programme The Tube on Channel Four; "Letter from America" peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart, while the album This Is the Story went gold. The follow-up album Sunshine on Leith featured the singles "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which went to number one in Australia and New Zealand, and "I'm On My Way". They had a hit with their EP King of the Road, which reached number nine in the UK in 1990. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" belatedly peaked at number three in the US in 1993, after appearing in the movie Benny & Joon. After seven low-profile years, they released their comeback album Persevere in 2001.

In March 2007 they recorded a new version of "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 number one in the UK Singles Chart.

A stage musical entitled Sunshine on Leith, featuring their songs, was created in 2007 for Dundee Rep and adapted as a feature film in 2013 bearing the same title.

The band was one of the B-52s' touring partners on their Funplex tour in Australia and New Zealand in November 2009, alongside Mental as Anything.

They featured in VH1's 100 greatest one hit wonders, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" having been their only US hit single.

Activism
The Reids are well-known supporters of Scottish independence and have, at various stages of their lives, been activists for the Scottish National Party, expressing such views during their promotional tour of Britain in March 2007.

On 16 May 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. (In December 2007, Kenny Richey accepted a plea bargain, which led to his release from death row and return to Scotland on 9 January 2008.) Also, in March 2010 they participated with Billy Bragg in a show at the Electric Palace, Bridport, supporting Reprieve, a charity that seeks to end the use of the death penalty.

EPs

 * 1) 17 (promotional acoustic EP) (2009)

DVD

 * 1) The Best of The Proclaimers 1987–2002 (2002)

Songs used in soundtracks

 * 1) The Crossing (1990) (song, "King of the Road")
 * 2) Benny & Joon (1993) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 3) Dumb and Dumber (1994) (song, "Get Ready")
 * 4) Bye Bye Love (1995) (song, "Bye Bye Love")
 * 5) Bottle Rocket (1996) (song, "Over and Done With")
 * 6) Slab Boys (1997) (songs, "Maybe Baby" and "No Particular Place to Go")
 * 7) The Closer You Get (2000) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 8) Shrek (2001) (song, "I'm on My Way")
 * 9) How I Met Your Mother (2007, 2009, 2013 – episodes "Arrivederci, Fiero"; "Duel Citizenship"; "Mom and Dad") (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 10) Mama's Boy (2008) (song, "Then I Met You")
 * 11) Burke and Hare (2010) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 12) The Angels' Share (2012) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 13) Bachelorette (2012) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 14) Grey's Anatomy season 9 (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 15) Pitch Perfect (2012) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 16) Identity Thief (2013) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
 * 17) Uncle (TV series) (2015 – season 2, episode 6) (song, "Over and Done With")

Soundtracks

 * 1) Sunshine on Leith (2013) (from the film Sunshine on Leith – cover versions by film actors)