Band of Brothers
WHEN STEPHEN ASKED IF I WANTED TO INTERVIEW CHARLIE REID FROM THE PROCLAIMERS I JUMPED AT THE CHANCE. TWIN BROTHERS CRAIG AND CHARLIE, ACCOMPANIED BY FULL BAND START A 24 DATE UK TOUR ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 9TH AT THE SANDS CENTRE CARLISLE, PROMOTING THEIR EIGHTH STUDIO ALBUM ‘NOTES AND RHYMES'.
The Proclaimers first entered my music consciousness in 1986, when they toured with The Housemartins. Then 1987 saw performances in strong regional accents, something commonplace now; recording their debut This Is The Story, and voted the NME Best New Band, reflecting that their appeal was not localised.
The legendary second album, the country influenced Sunshine On Leith, followed in 1988, the tracks of which have spawned a million sing a longs. (I'm On My Way / I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). The third album, Hit The Highway, complete with brass section, followed in 1994. A longer than anticipated sabbatical ensued before the fourth album, Persevere was released in 2001, the title reflecting their determination to get their music to our ears, as they backed it up with a year-long tour. Since then The Proclaimers' diary has hardly had a blank day. 2002 saw them perform to over a billion TV viewers before the 2002 Champions League Final.
In addition to the numerous live performances, and a 2002 ‘Best of', there is the 2003 Edwyn Collins produced Born Innocent, and the 2005, more soul orientated Restless Soul. Then 2007 brought us Life With You, released to fantastic critical acclaim and a number-one single, the new rendition of 500 miles, a collaboration with fans Peter Kaye and Matt Lucas, raising over one million pounds for Comic Relief and outselling major artists as the biggest selling live act in Scotland that year.
| Last summer saw The Proclaimers closed a massive 129-date tour with a homecoming gig at Edinburgh Castle. But far from resting on their laurels, they immediately headed back to song-writing and recording which has brought the very emotive single Love Can Move Mountains released in May this year, followed by the aforementioned album, Notes and Rhymes. |  |
It is always five-o-clock somewhere and while it was five-o-clock in Cleator Moor, it was only 11am when I caught up with Charlie on a much-earned day off, in Minneapolis, before heading to Denver to continue the tour. I have to ask him what the attraction is in touring so extensively.
Charlie Reid It is the only way we can get our music out there; we tour over in the US quite light. The bus has us and the band, tour manager and roadies. We don't make money on this sort of tour. We have a day off today, to let the driver catch up on his rest, and we get a chance to do the laundry and things, which isn't very Rock and Roll.
Gerry Millar This is not your first visit to the US this year is it?
CR No, we have been over already on an acoustic tour and we played at the South by South West Festival, with Primal Scream and Glasvegas.
GM An unlikely line up, how do you relate to the legendary rock and roll lifestyle of Primal Scream?
CR It was great, I have known Mani (bass player in Primal Scream, and formerly with The Stone Roses) for a while and it was good to catch up. I chatted to Bobby Gillespie (lead singer with Primal Scream) about music, and I think that the Glasvegas album is one of the best released in recent years.
GM It is hard to disagree with that. The festival saw you release a digital E.P., a cover version of 17, by The Kings of Leon. Your 2007 Whole Wide World single was a cover of the Wreckless Eric song and I remember from 1994, an amazing cover of Gentle On My Mind. Is there any chance of a covers album from you in the future, and which song would you like to have written?
CR I like deconstructing songs, and then rebuilding them. You get to learn more about them. I like taking apart some of The Beatles songs. That's when you realise how much, musically, is in them. The Beatles were the first band to let their regional accents filter through into their recordings, and I really like that about them. We would like to bring a covers album out in the future, but it won't be the next album. I would like to have written Danny Boy, or even the 23rd Psalm.
GM Some of your songs are very emotive. The Persevere track and live favourite Scotland's Story, a comment on the mixed demographic of Scotland, brings a lump to my throat, and Sunshine on Leith's What Makes You Cry - I asked Charlie, what makes him cry.
CR The bleak 1970s Bill Douglas trilogy, about a boy growing up in abject poverty gets me every time, and the novel Sunset Song.
GM After the current UK tour, you are heading off to Australia on a tour of wineries. How did you manage that? Do you drink? I can hardly get the question out for Craig's laughter.
CR Oh aye, I like a drink. Well, apparently this tour has been running for a few years. We got asked if we wanted to tour all the major Australian Wineries with The B52s. We could hardly turn it down.
I finished the conversation with Charlie. It left me wanting to go for a pint with him and talk about music and life in general. Charlie is a polite, well-versed and articulate musician, who is passionate about his work, and he is only 47 and a half, and his enthusiasm is infectious.
If you want to see a band at the peak of their game and have a great night out, The Proclaimers perform at The Sands Centre, Carlisle, on Friday October 9. Tel: 01228 625222.
Visit: www.theproclaimersofficial.co.uk for the whole story...
Gerry Millar
