The Scottish Twins!
Formed in 1983 by Craig and Charlie Reid, The Proclaimers had their debut album, This Is the Story by 1987.
Recorded at famed Air Studios in London, the twins managed to craft a single in Letters from America that caught the public’s attention and climbed to #2 in Ireland and #3 in the U.K.
The follow-up, Sunshine On Leith came in 1988 and with it, the duo’s signature tune, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). It only went to #1 in Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland, but it’s not so much of a charting success as it is a long-lasting legacy.
Any covers band that has added this one to their set knows that it’s a banger, guaranteed to get people up.
Over time, it did sell over a million copies in the U.K. but only reached #11 in the charts.
Funnily enough, in 2007 when Peter Kay and Matt Lucas did a comedy version, it hit the top spot in both Scotland and the U.K.
This was a charity single for Comic Relief and the word “walk” was replaced with “roll” as the characters performed in wheelchairs. Search for 500 Miles lyrics and this often brings up the latter.
Following the enormous success with 500 Miles, the twins have kept releasing albums, their latest came in 2022, although no tunes have hit the heights of their first two big singles.
When it comes to covers, they recorded Otis Redding‘s These Arms Of Mine and The Temptation Get Ready, which featured in the film Dumb & Dumber and Roger Miller’s King Of The Road.
The Proclaimers Tunes | Related Pages
Get Ready
You can learn how to play Get Ready chords by The Temptations using chords, lyrics, TAB, backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| F5 | Bb | G5 | C |
And I’m bringing you a love that’s true so get ready, so get ready…
I’m Gonna Be (500) Miles
You can learn how to play I’m Gonna Be (500) Miles by The Proclaimers using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| E | E |
When I wake up, well I know I’m gonna be…
King Of The Road
You can learn how to play King Of The Road by Roger Miller using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| Bb | Eb | F | Bb |
Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let, 50 cents…
The Proclaimers on the web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about The Proclaimers tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
