The Proclaimers will complete the West Coast leg of their US Tour this week with dates in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Charleston. The band will then head back to the UK for another month before moving on to Australia and New Zealand in November for a tour with The B52s. Ticket details below.
It has been an incredibly successful and busy year for The Proclaimers since they played the now legendary Scottish showcase night at SXSW in Austin in March with Primal Scream, Glasvegas, Camera Obscura, Dananananaykroyd and the Jetpacks. Tonight the band will be in Seattle and Chris Grygiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer spoke with Charlie Reid ahead of that show about Scotland, Family Guy and the anthemic Sunshine on Leith.
The Proclaimers walk to Seattle Tuesday
Scotland, like Seattle, is known for its gloomy weather.
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This might help explain the prolific output this decade by The Proclaimers, the Scottish band fronted by identical twins Charlie and Craig Reid, which performs Tuesday at the Showbox at the Market. Their latest album, “Notes & Rhymes,” is their fifth this decade.
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“It’s pretty dark, you spend a lot of time indoors writing songs,” Charlie Reid said during an interview recently as the band prepared to play in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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But The Proclaimers’ music is hardly somber – their stomp your feet and clap your hands brand of Rock and Roll harkens back to the birth of the genre. Indeed, Charlie Reid said many Scottish musicians were influenced by North American music. “It permeates urban Scotland. There’s always a look across the Atlantic.”
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The Proclaimers first caught the world’s attention 20 years ago with their international hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” The song, which was featured in the soundtrack to the movie “Benny and Joon,” has become something of a Scottish anthem. It’s sung by fans after the Scottish national soccer team scores. And it’s place in the pop culture pantheon was solidified when Peter Griffin – lead character on the animated sitcom “The Family Guy,” tried to join the twins in his own rendition of the tune.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJDQKpTq7kM
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Charlie Reid said Seattle fans can expect a “very energetic show.”
“It’s positive music,” he said. “It’s not staring at the shoes music. Hopefully it’s upbeat.”
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Both Charlie and Craig Reid are huge fans of the Hibernian Football Club, and their song “Sunshine on Leith,” has become the team’s theme song.
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Asked whether any of their songs might work for the Sounders FC, the first-year MLS franchise that has captivated Emerald City fans, Charlie Reid said “I guess it would be ‘Born Innocent.’ But you could use ‘Sunshine on Leith’ as well,’ he joked.
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Seattle band Handful of Luvin’ open for The Proclaimers. Doors are at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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Tickets for The Proclaimers Australia and New Zealand shows are available below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKvNNvcZ9i0