THE PROCLAIMERS

500 MILES

Time for another plug for the brilliant Jeff Harris' blog Behind The Grooves

I don't know anyone who didn't like this song and several of the brothers songs since too but this has become the ubiquitous classic ad nauseum somehow. . . . . it still stands
Go on turn it up you know you want to!

On this day in music history: August 19, 1988 - “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers is released. Written by Craig Reid and Charlie Reid, it is the fifth UK and first US single for the pop music duo from Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. Born on October 5, 1962 in the Scottish burgh of Leith, twin brothers Craig and Charile Reid play in several bands before forming The Proclaimers in 1983. In 1986, one of the duo’s fans sends their demo tape to The Housemartins, the UK band led by musician and DJ Norman Cook. Impressed by the brothers demo, The Housemartins invite them to be the opening act on a tour of the UK. The exposure they receive leads to them being signed to Chrysalis Records. In January of 1987, they’re booked on the music program “The Tube”. Their second single “Letter From America” becomes their breakthrough hit, peaking at #3 on the UK singles chart. While working on material for their second album, Craig is sitting at the piano and begins to play some chords. Feeling that he might have something that could be a hit, he writes virtually the entire song in 45 minutes. Showing it to his brother Charlie, they finish it off and record it. Titled “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, it is recorded at Chipping Norton Studios in Oxfordshire, UK in mid 1988. The song is selected as their first single from The Proclaimers’ second album “Sunshine On Leith” in August of 1988. Though the single stops at #11 on the UK chart, it’s even more successful internationally, hitting #1 in Australia, New Zealand and Iceland. The single and album are also released by Chrysalis in the US, but is ignored by American radio. “I’m Gonna Be” won’t become widely known to US music fans until five years later, when it is included in the film “Benny & Joon”, starring Johnny Dep, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn. The wide exposure the song receives, revives it like Lazarus from dead, leading to Chrysalis reissuing it. The label re-edits the music video to include footage from the film, which quickly hits heavy rotation on MTV. Entering the Hot 100 at #90 on June 12, 1993, the song races up the chart, peaking at #3 ten weeks later on August 21, 1993. The belatedly success of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” also revives the “Sunshine On Leith” album, which peaks at #31 on the Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US. Though regarded as a “one hit wonder” in the US, The Proclaimers lone hit record has endured. The song has been widely played at sports events, and featured in commercials and other films including “Ice Age: The Meltdown” and “Peter Rabbit”. The Proclaimers record a new version of the song in 2007 for the Comic Relief charity, with it also featuring actors Peter Kay and John Lucas. The re-recorded version hits #1 on the UK singles chart, twenty nine years after the original version charted. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

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