THE PROCLAIMERS JANUARY 2008
The Proclaimers released their seventh studio album ‘Life With You’ (W14/Universal) on September 3d 2007 in the UK to fantastic critical acclaim and great commercial success with album sales beyond silver status. October then saw The Proclaimers kick off their biggest ever UK & Ireland tour, 44 dates to over 100,000 fans. In Scotland they sold more gig tickets than any other single act last year.
Last summer saw them play at a number of festivals, including 2 triumphant main stage performances at V Festivals. 2008 will see The Proclaimers touring across Europe in March then April/May sees them touring USA & Canada. A year long tour then concludes with festival/event performances in UK & Europe in June and July.
Earlier in 2007 they topped the UK singles chart in March with a rousing new rendition of their classic anthem I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), a collaboration with comedians Peter Kay and Matt Lucas for this year's Comic Relief, raising over a million pounds in the process. EMI relaunched their 2002 Best Of collection, re-entering the Album Charts at No 5 and now turned platinum ending the year as the fifth biggest selling catalogue album in the UK. Then Craig, Charlie and band headed to the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Steve Evans to record the new album.
In between sweet and/or pining love songs like the title track, Life With You finds the brothers longing for the relative calm of the Cold War in the face of a terrorism-filled new-world reality (“The Long Haul”); they poke fun at one of Britain’s knighted musicians on “In Recognition”; and they ask for an apology from a misguided politician(s) in “S-O-R-R-Y.”
“I think you try to write a better song every time, rather than trying to make a better album,” says Charlie. “And that’s what we did with this album. You break it down to the smallest denomination.”
Says Craig, “I think we wanted to get an album that kind of carried more of the nuances of the music. I think we’re very proud of the albums we’ve made since 2001, but I feel like we needed to maybe step it up a little bit in production values.”
To that end, they enlisted Evans, who worked tirelessly to capture their best performances. “We worked intensely,” says Charlie. “It was probably the most full-on recording that I’ve ever done, and I think that brought something out in the performances that was more distinctive than anything we’ve done in a long while. Steve does a lot of vocal takes, some vocals he might have done 18 or 20 takes, and I was a bit skeptical at first, but I think he just likes to work that way. His girlfriend was expecting a child during the recording, so I think he might have been at some stages thinking, ‘I want to get this finished and get back down the road soon because my girlfriend’s just about to have a kid,’” he adds with a laugh.
“Because Steve is younger than some of the producers we’ve worked with,” says Craig, “he’s maybe got more of a hunger. That’s not knocking any of the producers we’ve worked with before. He was just very, very thorough, and painstaking.”
Their songs, too, have provided the inspiration behind an enormously successful and highly acclaimed new musical, Sunshine On Leith, put together by the Dundee Rep Theatre. Written by Stephen Greenhorn. The drama follows the highs and lows of 2 soldiers returning home from Afghanistan. Families, relationships and life in Leith are not all plain sailing in this exceptional love story about every day life in Scotland. Performed by a 15-strong cast, the show’s initial 8 week sell out run played to 46,000 people in Dundee, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow between April and June 2007. Further theatre runs are currently being planned for 2008/09. The musical has gone on to win two awards at the UK’s most prestigious Theatre Management Association Awards (TMA), for best UK musical and best performance in a supporting role for Ann Louise Ross.
It’s 20 years since The Proclaimers made their legendary TV debut on The Tube, performing the classic song Letter From America. Back then, the charts were dominated by the likes of Rick Astley and Sinita and the response to Craig and Charlie Reid, two impassioned brothers singing their hearts out in their own accents about serious political issues was extraordinary. The Proclaimers were unlike anything we had seen before and Channel 4’s switchboards jammed with curious callers. It was the beginning of a phenomenon.
Within a month they were signed to Chrysalis Records and recording their debut acoustic album. Nine days later This Is The Story produced by the man who signed them John Williams was finished. Another six weeks and it was in the shops. By December a new ‘band version’ of Letter From America produced by Gerry Rafferty was Number 3 in the UK singles chart and the album went Gold. A year of constant touring to sell-out crowds and an album of electrifying acoustic energy had paid off. A song about Scotland, its emigration, politics, industrial closures and the Highland clearances had reached the top of the pop charts. NME 1987 Readers Poll voted The Proclaimers ‘Best New Band’.
The teenage twins musical passion began after a childhood spent in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty in Fife. At home it was Merle Haggard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams and Ray Charles. At school they formed punk bands. Out of this collision of styles and attitudes came The Proclaimers in 1983. Over the next three years the duo built up a fervent following in the pubs of Edinburgh and Inverness.
People identified with these two characters. Straight (jeans, jumpers, glasses) but individual (traditionalism meets radicalism), songs that opened your ears and hit your heart. Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners gave inspiration, advice and demo time. The Housemartins, then topping the UK charts, heard a demo and offered the unsigned band the support slot on their UK tour.
The Proclaimers followed the massive success of their debut album with Sunshine On Leith in August 1988. The Reid brothers’ raw delivery was complemented by the country/rock scope of a full band. Pete Wingfield, the man behind Dexy's was brought in to produce. As ever with The Proclaimers their politics and passions were palpable, but never brow-beating. If their songs spoke of troubled soul-searching, they still bore a dignity at heart. If their songs were euphoric, it was a communal joy. These were selfless songs.
Over the next ten months they performed 145 times in 18 countries. Sunshine On Leith became a million seller, a hit throughout Europe and America, platinum in the UK, Canada and New Zealand and triple platinum in Australia, where I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) stayed at number 1 for six weeks. The single was a worldwide success. A lifetime's ambition was fulfilled as Craig and Charlie make their first visit to North America, touring for three months as I'm Gonna Be went top ten in the College Modern Rock Charts as they made their Letterman debut. The album and single refused to lie down well after the world tour had ended. Four years later, both would be back...
1990 saw a Europe wide top 10 hit with the classic song King Of The Road. But back in Edinburgh, the Reids’ break was disrupted by a crisis at Hibernian Football Club. Diehard fans, they were to spearhead the Hands Off Hibs campaign against the threatened take-over by local rivals Heart of Midlothian. After a long fight the campaign was won and The Proclaimers were free to return to the business of writing songs.
It was as they prepared to record their third album, Hit The Highway, that The Proclaimers success in the USA was to explode. Out of the blue, via the sterling efforts of actress Mary Stuart Masterson, I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) became the theme song to the film Benny & Joon. In the summer of 1993, the song went from silver screen to small screen to airwaves to record shops. Over 28 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100, I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) climbed to number 3 nationally, sitting at number 1 in over half the States and selling a million copies. The climax of a three-week, coast-to-coast promotional tour was an appearance before 22,000 New Yorkers in Madison Square Gardens, along with TV performances on all the most popular shows. America had fallen for two down-to-earth punters from Fife. The parts of the world that missed out first time followed suit.
A gold album was to follow in the USA as sales of Sunshine on Leith passed the 2 million-copy mark worldwide. And there was new material on the way.
By the time of their American success, most of Hit The Highway was complete. Personal upheaval - marriages, divorce, children - played its part in the lengthy gestation of the third album. But more than that, it was pride in their work that caused the gap between albums.
Hit The Highway was recorded in six weeks in the late autumn of 93. Producer Wingfield's Hammond playing added resonant soul. A three-piece brass section gave R'n'B punch. The band brought a solid rock drive. And above it all is the voices and the words of The Proclaimers, with their unique take on the spiritual, on romance, on family and friends. On its release in 1994 the first single, Let's Get Married, went Top 20 in the UK. The Proclaimers toured constantly, with Craig and Charlie ecstatic to be back on the road. 116 live shows followed including a coast-to-coast tour of the USA and Canada.
When they came off tour in early 95 after 18 non-stop months, Craig and Charlie kept a low profile. They made a one-off live appearance in 1996, performing from the centre circle at Murrayfield Stadium prior to a Scotland v Australia rugby encounter. They also recorded Chuck Berry's No Particular Place To Go and Buddy Holly's Maybe Baby in 1997, for long time admirer John Byrne and the film adaptation of his play, The Slab Boys.
Hollywood continued to knock on The Proclaimers door. They contributed a version of The Temptations Get Ready to the soundtrack of the hugely successful Dumb and Dumber, Over and Done With to cult movie Bottle Rocket and their version of The Everly's Bye Bye Love to the movie of the same name. Their music has also appeared on numerous advertisements worldwide, to promote everything from IBM's 'Hot Products' to South Korean mobile phones, Canadian beer to Swedish meatballs.
The Reids put music on hold when their father became critically ill. He passed away in August ’97 and Craig and Charlie returned to writing. The tunes built up though the lyrics took time. Family life had been busy, Craig now with four children, Charlie with three. Finally in early 2000, the brothers were happy that they had a collection of songs fit for an album and they headed to Minneapolis to begin recording. With EMI's closure of Chrysalis as a stand-alone label and failing to see eye to eye with the new proprietors, The Proclaimers very happily parted company with the new regime. After heading to Minneapolis in August 2000 to record their fourth album, Craig and Charlie, along with manager Kenny MacDonald, subsequently seized the opportunity to form their own label, 'Persevere' Records.
They drafted in a wealth of international talent for their most ambitious recordings to date, headed by Chris Kimsey, legendary producer of a plethora of classic albums including seven from the Rolling Stones. Musicians included Chuck Leavell (of The Allman Brothers fame and keyboard player with The Stones for the last 20 years); drummer Pete Thomas (Elvis's Attractions) and Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt's band, and many more.) Persevere was engineered by Tom Tucker Snr, Prince's house engineer at Paisley Park for the past 15 years.
Fans’ patience was rewarded in May 2001 with the release of the album Persevere, a highly acclaimed collection of beautiful and exhilarating songs, which won them a new audience. After an inexcusable (in their words!) absence of seven years, The Proclaimers reformed a world class band and took to the road for over 100 gigs in the UK and North America. They proved that they are still among the most dynamic and energetic live acts in the world, stirring passions on both sides of the Atlantic. Highlights of an exceptional year included a rousing set at Scotland’s major music festival T In The Park, an arena tour of the USA with the Barenaked Ladies, I’m On My Way featured in the smash movie Shrek and a headline performance for 100,000 revellers before the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle as the highlight of the city’s legendary Hogmanay celebrations. They kicked off 2002 with a month of dates in Australia and New Zealand, and their first ever dates in the United Arab Emirates.
May saw the release of The Best of The Proclaimers 1987-2002 in conjunction with EMI. The 20 tracks were chosen by Craig and Charlie and includes three new songs they recorded earlier this year, produced by Edwyn Collins, 'Lady Luck', 'Ghost of Love' and a cover of legendary Scots rocker, Frankie Miller's 'The Doodle Song'. The album has since soared past Platinum status in the UK.
Being huge soccer fans, May was very special for Craig and Charlie as they proudly performed 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) on the pitch, five minutes before kick off at the UEFA Champions League Final at Glasgow's Hampden Park. As well as the 55,000 Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen fans who sang along in rousing fashion at the stadium, there was an estimated worldwide TV audience of over 1 billion viewers.
May also saw the The Proclaimers continuing to tour around Scotland, England and Ireland followed by another North American tour. The touring finally concluded in California late July, the previous 15 months having seen them clock up 168 shows around the world.
October saw the release of EMI/Persevere Records 15 track DVD of promotional videos filmed between 1987-2002. The month also saw The Proclaimers record a version of The Vogues 'Five O’clock World' for inclusion on Warner Bros /ABC TV's 'The Drew Carey Show'.
After coming off the road in August 2002, Craig and Charlie focused on writing new songs, and by early 2003 were delighted to have written an album's worth of songs that passed their own strict quality control test. Having enjoyed working with Edwyn Collins and his retro valve studio so much last year, The Proclaimers headed back there in April/May to record their fifth studio album.
June saw The Proclaimers and band back on road with a Scottish Five Isles Tour to Bute, Skye, Lewis, Orkney and Shetland. July saw a triumphant main stage appearance pre Flaming Lips and REM at T In The Park where organisers DF Concerts claim that the 40,000+ crowd who descended upon the stage for The Proclaimers appearance, equaled that of any major headliner in the festivals 10 year existence. The month also saw The Proclaimers perform to immense acclaim at Galway Arts Festival, The Stockton International Riverside Festival, Trowbridge Music Festival and Womad Rivermead 2003.
A plethora of fantastic reviews welcomed the UK and Ireland release of the new album ‘Born Innocent’ on September 15th. With dates selling out fast, The Proclaimers toured UK and Ireland in October. Then in November, having been invited by the Rugby World Cup 2003 organisers to headline outdoor shows at Sydney’s darling Harbour after the second semi-final and at Perth’s Arena Joondalup at the Final closing party, further Australian tour dates were added.
December and The Proclaimers headed back home for more sell out shows in Scotland and then go down an absolute storm to over 2000 The Coral fans at Liverpool’s Royal Court. Performing an hour long set as surprise special guests at The Corals hometown end of year show. The Born Innocent album appeared in a number of year-end Album of the Year choices including MOJO and LA Times.
The old year ended and the new one began in memorable style, headlining Glasgow’s Hogmanay celebrations in front of 25,000 people at the city’s George Square, amidst 70mph gales and torrential rain. As outdoor events across the land were cancelled, miraculously the rain in Glasgow stopped for 80 minutes as The Proclaimers took to the stage and soaked Glaswegians celebrated gleefully.
2004 saw The Proclaimers tour USA & Canada in March and April and then Craig and Charlie spent the rest of the year concentrating on writing songs for the next album.
2005 saw The Proclaimers release their sixth studio album 'Restless Soul' produced by Mark Wallis and David Ruffy. Craig and Charlie said, “We really enjoyed the experience, Mark and David were great to work with. Their technique for making the instruments sound big by recording them at a low volume was new to us and helped us develop as musicians in the studio. The atmosphere was very relaxed and we believe they got the best out of us and the other guys in the band”.
The songs on Restless Soul offer lyrics of uncommon honesty and depth and speak eloquently to listeners everywhere. According to Charlie, “When you become specific, you become universal. You write about your own life and make your own observations. People who worry too much about appealing to everybody miss the point. If you write sincerely, and identify with the feelings of other people, you’ll catch the ears of people who want to go beyond our accents or our points of view, whether they’re inside or outside of Scotland.”
About the Restless Soul title, Craig adds that it reflects how the Reid brothers see themselves. “I think the song ‘Restless Soul’ is about myself and other people who can’t chill out and just sit back and relax and not worry about the next thing. "The album continues what we have done in the past - traditional song structures and varied subject matter - but the production is slicker," continues Craig before pausing. "I never thought I would have used those words to describe a Proclaimers’ album. More time was taken over the arrangements and it's a bit more controlled than previous albums."
They undertook an extensive seven-month tour. November/December saw a mammoth 36-date UK & Ireland tour (their biggest ever tour to date of England) then ending the year in style at Aberdeen's Hogmanay concert in front of 30,000+ happy revelers. This tour followed hot on the heels of a six-week September/October 26 date tour of USA & Canada
Earlier 2005 highlights included a stonking gig at Glastonbury earning them 5 star NME and Q reviews. The Proclaimers were then a major highlight of Edinburgh Live8 concert at Murrayfield Stadium as they had the privilege of opening the evening to typically rapturous acclaim. Major festival appearances to packed crowds and rave receptions continued over the summer including Guilfest, Galway Arts, Cambridge, Feile an Phobail, Belladrum and V2005 festivals. The JJB Arena Tent at V2005 was so overwhelmed with thousands unable to enter for The Proclaimers appearance, that extra security and barriers were brought in to try and bring some order to the chaotic scenes
2006 saw The Proclaimers enjoy a fantastic summer with a string of live dates, highlights included Ayr Burnsfest, Newcastle Evolution, Isle of Wight Festival, Reprieve ‘An Evening for Human Rights’ benefit (charity that fights for the lives of people facing the death penalty) at London's Shakespeare Globe Theatre, T In The Park, their first ever gig in Moscow, Big Chill, Summer Sundae, Beautiful Days, Liverpool Matthew Street Festival, Solfest and Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in Wales. Notable mention also for their appearance in a new episode of Family Guy.
The Proclaimers live band are, Stevie Christie on Keyboards, accordion, Zac Ware on guitars, pedal steel, Clive Jenner on drums and Garry John Kane on bass.
www.proclaimers.co.uk
THE PROCLAIMERS UK 2007
YEAR END REVIEWS
The List - Top Ten Scots Of 2007
Sometimes things just go right. The Proclaimers stock has been on the rise again over the last few years but 2007 saw their profile go through the roof. Firstly the Reid twins re-recorded a version of ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ with Matt Lucas and Peter Kay as the official Comic Relief single. A massive hit re-launched the band internationally onto a bigger stage, just at a time when they were inking a major label deal after having to self-release their last three records. Life With You confirmed that Craig and Charlie have lost none of their impeccable songwriting prowess. Meanwhile the Dundee Rep put on Sunshine On Leith, a musical based on their back catalogue, which turned out to be a huge success, further adding to the band’s kudos, ensuring that they’re now firmly ensconced as Scottish national folk heroes.
Scotland On Sunday - Top Scots 2007–The people who have inspired the nation. Musicians Of The Year
Strange that The Proclaimers should feature in Scots Of The Year two decades after they first came to prominence. You might expect performers who smoulder with such righteous anger and rapturous energy to have burned themselves out by now. Instead they marked their anniversary with Life With You, arguably the best album to have come out of Scotland this year. It is also timely. Back in 1987, to sing in your native accent seemed a novelty; now it’s clear that Craig and Charlie Reid have laid the foundations for a Scottish sound that is authentic but not parochial.
The release of such a great album is not the only reason that 2007 was remarkable for The Proclaimers. This was also the year they went mainstream and finally received the artistic credit they long deserved. In March, ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ went to number one, re-released as the official Comic Relief single, and was played at Hampden to rally the fans and the national team. The songs ascendancy also coincided with the brothers’ beloved Hibs winning the CIS Cup.
We were talking in their studio as part of a story I was writing about Sunshine On Leith, Dundee rep’s musical based on the band’s songs. Stephen Greenhorn came up with the script by listening to their back catalogue, allowing the lyrics to suggest theme, plot and character. The result was a play about two Scottish soldiers coming home from war, and showed just how rich those songs are.
Over the course of it’s run, Sunshine On Leith played to 46,000 people. The band themselves are coming to the end of a UK tour, with a final gig tomorrow at Stirling Castle, during which they will have played to twice that number. Next year, they take on America. So are they at ease with their new found mass appeal? “I don’t know,” says Charlie. “There are people who love us, others think we’re a comedy thing, and no doubt there are people who loathe us. In a perverse way. We quite enjoy the negative reaction.”
Craig adds, “Punk was one of the pivotal things in our musical education, so I like that people are against us. It’s mot that we want to provoke, but I know that every time we go on TV, there are people sitting out there whose day we have spoiled. I do enjoy that.”
The Herald Their most recent album Life With You, is just the latest instalment in a remarkable catalogue of soul-tinged Caledonian country music, and fans at forthcoming dates will likely be as word perfect in the new songs as they are in the classics of old. Honest, hardworking with the good grace to be grateful for their continued success, the chaps are role-models to specky middle-ages blokes everywhere. And no havers.
The List – Music Section The Reids are consummate writers of pop anthems, and by ‘pop’ I mean ‘popular’. They have an unerring gift for grafting a universal sentiment to an impeccably soaring melody. Just go to any football match or public gathering, and see how long it takes before a Proclaimers’ song breaks out. The secret of their success lies in the pair’s ability to combine statements of love, loss and camaraderie with an underlying socialist stance, something which makes even their most personal and political songs ring true, a trend which continues impeccably on Life With You.
Sunday Mail The Proclaimers have shifted more gig tickets in Scotland than any other single act in 2007 shifting a staggering 45.500 briefs for 19 sell out shows.
Daily Record – Albums Of The Year – The Scots legends celebrated their first UK No.1 this year and also released their best album since 1994’s Hit The Highway. Lead track Life With You was classic Proclaimers – an anthemic love song best belted out at the top of your lungs. Mixing songs about politics with their great love songs, Life With You is a heady mix.
THE PROCLAIMERS – LIFE WITH YOU
“Tenacious as Jack Russell's on rabbit duty, the Reid twins have been unstoppable lately. Highly politicised, yet leavened with deft vocal harmony and potent melodies, the album drips with passion and thoughtfully targeted ire.” MOJO
“Untouched by any restrictive notions of cool, Life With You throws tasteful soul, country and retro-rock shapes to document very grown up concerns, but also makes room for the trademark spittle-flying rant. Above all true - from that rarest of beasts: a great British soul band.” THE WORD
“The new single sounds like an instant classic. Easily the best Proclaimers album since 1988's Sunshine On Leith, the twins lyrical brio is undimmed. They're the "heritage" act who sound fresh, vital and now.” THE TELEGRAPH
“Leith's favourite twins return with a cracking album full of instantly loveable tunes. Lyrically it's spot-on and full of wry wit.” SUNDAY MAIL
“Life With You is a glorious celebration of soul - Celtic and otherwise - country, old school rock'n'roll and modern Americana, songs which like The Proclaimers themselves are here for "The Long Haul". SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
“Their seventh album feels more realised, bigger in scope with classic love songs and stomping aural assaults on everything from war to the honours system.” DAILY RECORD
“The Auchtermuchty twins renaissance continues as Life With You brims with both songwriting confidence and the lovelorn title track notwithstanding, righteous anger.” Q
“The insistent stomp of the title track here is likely to stick inside your head as tenaciously as the chorus of 500 Miles. That and If There's A God are highlights in a filler-free album and the token cover, Wreckless Eric's Whole Wide World, sounds like the next hit.” THE TIMES
“Great to have you back with such resonant new material, lads. The result is original, stirring and catchy also!” MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
“A masterful new collection” DAILY MAIL
“A very welcome return” THE EXPRESS
A gold-standard album” SUNDAY HERALD
“Bellicose Scots twins read the riot act in fine and feisty form, Auchtermuchty’s Craig and Charlie Reid effectively slap you round the face with their latest batch of songs, as if to remind you of the vacuousness of most current pop.” UNCUT
“Listening to Life With You, it’s easy to see why they’ve inspired such devotion.” DUNDEE EVENING TELEGRAPH
“Though the rabble-rousing anthems fir for singing at closing time and football matches are at a premium, Life With You does have that special Reid brothers everyman lyrical wisdom in abundance.” BIG ISSUE
SUNSHINE ON LEITH – THE MUSICAL
So here it is, the Scottish jukebox musical and the result is a stunning triumph. Craig and Charlie's lyrics demand no less. There are love songs, of course, but there is so much more than that, from the Highland Clearances to contemporary politics, every line filled up with just being Scottish. And even the love songs have a bite and pathos to them that make them feel as if they have been wrenched straight from the heart in the white heat of the moment. THE TIMES
Abba, Queen, Madness...The Proclaimers? Well, why not? Dundee Rep's much-hyped new 'jukebox' musical lets others discover what we devotees have long argued; that the Reid brothers are the best songwriters in Britain. There is nothing cynical about the enterprise, which honours both the emotional and political forthrightness of The Proclaimers lyrics. THE OBSERVER
The earthy, emotionally immense, often cuttingly witty lyrics of The Proclaimers set it all off stunningly. THE LIST
One of the hottest tickets in recent Scottish theatre, it confirms The Proclaimers as extraordinary poets of Scottish working-class life today. Above all there's the spirit of the show, with it's terrific sense of place (it must be the first true Edinburgh musical of the post-modern age) and the passion with which it evokes the powerful link between the music of The Proclaimers- with all it's sense of political and economic struggle with a rich gratitude for the sweetness of life - and the reality of ordinary Scottish life from the late 1980's to the present day. If I were Craig and Charlie Reid, I would be thrilled by the tremendous tribute to their music implied in this heart-lifting show. And I would also be moved by the tremendous energy everyone involved has clearly drawn from their special genius for giving a voice to modern Scotland: and by the huge popular success that the show, and everyone involved with it, now seems certain to enjoy. THE SCOTSMAN
If ever there was a definition of having the last laugh, it's surely the triumphant return of The Proclaimers. The Leith-born twins have been quietly ascending the credibility ladder again for some years now, especially as a powerhouse live act. The fundamental reason for this is abundant, gloriously clear throughout Dundee Rep's new musical, penned around some 20 Proclaimers tracks by Passing Places/River City author Stephen Greenhorn. Craig and Charlie Reid write truly great songs, lyrically and melodically: songs that touch the heart and fire the spirits and raise the hairs on the back of your neck. METRO
Why did it take 20 years before anyone noticed The Proclaimers were born to be turned into a musical? Not since Willy Russell came up with Blood Brothers has Britain produced such a perfect marriage of music and theatre. Had playwright and screenwriter Stephen Greenhorn done nothing else, he should be declared a genius for spotting that the songs of Craig and Charlie Reid - with all their emotional honesty, singalong raucousness and political fire - are a true gift to the stage. THE GUARDIAN
Now Proclaimers fans will be astonished not merely at how well their music has been brought into a coherent plot, but how it reflects the moods and atmosphere of the whole story. EVENING NEWS
Call out the riot police. Thursday's premiere of the long anticipated Proclaimers musical was met by a standing ovation in Dundee but when it hits Edinburgh Festival Theatre later this month it's going to be incendiary. And above all stands the power of The Proclaimers music. You already know the songs but in a theatrical context, you hear them anew. Phrases previously overlooked leap out with heart-on-the-sleeve force and much-loved melodies become heart breaking. SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY
It's fitting that Sunshine On Leith, a jukebox musical featuring the songs of The Proclaimers should break so many conventions of the genre. After all, the bespectacled Leith brothers are champions of individuality. ONSTAGE SCOTLAND
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