Brothers back on the road again...
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AHEAD of topping the bill at Wick’s B-fest tomorrow The Proclaimers told the John O’Groat Journal why they can’t wait to get back on the tour bus.
Identical twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid are due to hit Orkney tonight for a show at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, then it’s straight onto the early ferry to the mainland tomorrow to headline at the third incarnation of the most northerly mainstream music festival.
After a year away from the touring circuit, the brothers released their ninth album, Like Comedy, earlier this year and the smash-hit musical, Sunshine on Leith, featuring their music, looks set to hit the silver screen in the near future.
And now they are getting back where they belong – belting out catchy tunes in the sliver of Scottish summer sun.
“I’m really glad to be getting back into gigging,” said Charlie.
“After coming off a long tour, say a year to 18 months, you go ‘ah, that’s fantastic I can get some rest’.
“But give it three weeks and you’re itching to get back out on the road again – it’s very strange. The applause of an audience is addictive.”
And with their year-long break spent with Steve Evans producing Like Comedy, the twins’ itch is about to get scratched as they head north for what Charlie calls “the suitcase circus” of life on the road.
“We had last year off after being on the road almost every year for the previous decade,” said Charlie.
“We’d never really had much time away from travelling so we thought it was best to allow us to make the record in a relaxed and slightly less hurried way.”
They recently started the festival circuit promoting the new album and following tomorrow’s B-fest appearance they will head to England for next weekend’s V-Festival in Staffordshire and Chelmsford.
After that the pair expect to work through autumn as they tour the length and breadth of the UK.
Next year marks the 30th anniversary of The Proclaimers and, although Charlie claims they don’t receive as much airplay as they used to enjoy, business is still good.
“It’s really hard for us to get airplay now but given how long we’ve been around we still sell some records,” he said.
“Like many bands out there the main thing now is the live work and that’s been the case with us for a long, long time.
“A lot of acts are not selling tickets at the moment and our business is probably down on where we were four or five years ago but I think we’re holding up pretty well.”
The 30th anniversary could be an introspective moment for the Leith lads but they continue to enjoy their time working together.
“The first album [1987’s This Is the Story] was put together over a period of two to three years while we still lived in the same flat during the mid-80s,” explained Charlie.
“Since then it’s always been a separate process.
“When we’ve got the basic idea for a song we come together and start rehearsing it, tweaking tempos, changing keys and other things around.”
Away from the microphone, The Proclaimers’ music will be hitting a whole new audience if Stephen Greenhorn’s script for the Sunshine on Leith musical gets the Hollywood treatment.
“Nothing’s been fully decided yet but I’m told that they are casting extras and various other things. They are talking about a six-month editing period after the movie is shot.
“Like a lot of modern films a lot of the work seems to lie in post production and so much seems to be done once the camera stops rolling.”
With a director and producer tied down to the film – a love story following the highs and lows of two soldiers returning home from Afghanistan to every day life in Scotland – it looks likely to keep the pair’s music firmly part of modern Scottish culture for the foreseeable future.
