The Proclaimers

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

History

Career

Craig Reid and Charlie 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 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" 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. After seven low-profile years, they released their comeback album Persevere in 2001.

500

Year 500 (D) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Patricius and Hypatius (or, less frequently, year 1253 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 500 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

Britannia

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is a song written and performed by Scottish duo The Proclaimers, and first released as the lead single from their 1988 album Sunshine on Leith. Although it failed to reach the top ten in either the UK or Ireland on its initial release, it has since become their most popular song worldwide, initially becoming a number 1 hit in Iceland, before reaching number 1 in both Australia and New Zealand in early 1989, and in 1993 the song reached the top five on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100 charts following its appearance in the film Benny & Joon. In 2007 the Proclaimers re-recorded the song with English comedians Peter Kay and Matt Lucas for the Comic Relief charity, scoring a number one hit in the UK.

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" has become a live staple at the Proclaimers' concerts. The duo played it at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push at Murrayfield Stadium on 6 July 2005, the final concert of Live 8, to symbolise the conclusion of "The Long Walk to Justice".