The Proclaimers appreciate the life I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) has given them
ON the eve of their Australian tour, The Proclaimers appreciate the life the song that will never die I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) has afforded them.
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YOU have sung along with Charlie and Craig Reid at least once in your life.
If you’ve seen Benny and Joon (1993) Shrek (2001), TV series How I Met Your Mother or Pitch Perfect (2012), you would have enjoyed that frisson of recognition within seconds of hearing their voices.
And if you are a fan of any football code, the chances are you have joined in a rousing refrain with them many, many times.
Scottish twins Charlie and Craig Reid are The Proclaimers and they have spent the past three decades putting smiles on the dials of people who get the pop brilliance of their anthem I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Unlike grumpy old pop stars who begrudge the songs which made them famous even as fans keep them close to their hearts, Charlie says the pair appreciate the life I’m Gonna Be has afforded them.
While the tide has gone in and out on success for the pair, they can still play hundreds of gigs around the world each year, courtesy of a legacy that includes that anthem and others — I’m On My Way, Sunshine On Leith, Letter To America and their cover of King Of The Road.
“That song is so much bigger than we are. I feel I already know what our obituary will be, the guys who sang that song,” Charlie says.
“And that’s fine; it’s much better than being a mass murderer or the guy who missed that important kick in a rugby match. I feel sorry for those guys.”
Those who were lucky enough to be in the Sydney Olympics stadium during the 50km walk have an indelible memory of the duo’s signature song.
British competitor Chris Maddocks had broken down days before the race but at the age of 43, wanted one more shot at competing at the Olympics.
So he walked; not quite 500 miles but the 50km would have felt like it on the competition’s hottest day and with a tear in his gluteus maximus.
Word about the British bloke doing it tough spread through Sydney and everyone from the police and marshalls to his friends and sports nuts rallied behind him, willing him to finish the race.
When Maddocks entered the stadium, he thought no one would pay much attention. The rest of the competitors had finished ages ago.
Instead he found 100,000 people screaming “I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more” at the top of their lungs as he finished the final lap.
Charlie and Craig love that story. They love looking out at the tens of thousands of fans at the music festivals they now play to see an entirely new generation arm-in-arm with their mates, singing along to every word.
Charlie believes that singalong value is why the song remains as ingrained in the pop culture consciousness as it was in 1988 when it first commanded the airwaves.
“It is, for want of a better term, I think it’s the pub element, that raucous singalong,” he says.
The pair enjoyed yet another burst of chart success during Scotland’s bid for independence in 2014 when Cap In Hand, a song from their 1988 breakthrough album Sunshine On Leith was adopted as the anthem for the failed referendum.
While incredibly proud of the song, Charlie admitted to a pang of worry that it might turn the opponents of the movement against the band.
“We were very much in favour of independence but I did worry it might play badly with some of our audience but it turned out our crowds were bigger than ever,” he says.
“No matter what the political or cultural situation is in Scotland, it doesn’t seem to have mattered. We’ve never hidden the political side of what we do; we are in a band, we play music and if you like it, great.”
Before heading to Australia, The Proclaimers have rather appropriately been booked to perform at the Rugby Sevens tournament in Hong Kong.
The bill has Charlie excited and amused in equal parts, with the pair sharing the stage with Australia’s Bjorn Again and American MC David Hasselhoff.
“Can I say what an honour it is to be on the same poster as David Hasselhoff, that’s a lifetime achievement” he says.
“It would be hard to top that one for me, to be on the same bill as someone who could drink more than us.”
SEE: The Proclaimers perform Perth Concert Hall, April 13; Brisbane QPAC Concert Hall, April 15; Sydney Opera House, April 16; Palais Theatre, Melbourne, April 17.
Tickets: ticketmaster.com.au
Originally published as The Proclaimers appreciate the life I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) has given them
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