The Proclaimers Have Something to Declare! Quiz

Answer: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" has become a live staple at all of their concerts and is easily recognizable to most who lived through the late eighties and the nineties. The song begins with "When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be / I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you," and the chorus is "But I would walk 500 miles / And I would walk 500 more / Just to be the man who walks 1000 miles / To fall down at your door".

The song originally appeared on their 1988 album "Sunshine on Leith", and it is often played during the warm-up sessions before Scotland's national team football games and whenever the team scores points.

In 2007, they recorded a new version of the song for a Comic Relief charity.

Answer: Craig Reid and Charlie Reid

Craig and Charlie were born in Leith on March 5, 1962. From there, they lived in Edinburgh and Cornwall before the family settled in Auchtermuchty in Fife, where they attended high school and played in several punk bands before creating The Proclaimers in 1983 to play primarily folk rock and pop rock music. Craig Reid provides most of the vocals and various percussion sounds while Charlie Reid provides most of the acoustic string instrumentation.

Answer: This Is the Story

"This Is the Story" was released in June of 1987 and then re-released later that same year with a second version of "Letter from America". The original version is an acoustic version as are the other eleven original songs on the album; however, The Proclaimers had also recorded, under the production of Gerry Rafferty, a full-band version of the song and decided to put that on the album as well.

The album was re-issued in 2001 and then remastered and re-released in 2011. In 2003, "The Scotsman" periodical ranked "This Is the Story" as "the second best Scottish album ever".

Answer: Letter from America

"Letter from America" appeared on The Proclaimers' debut album--1987's "This Is the Story". The song is about the numbers of Scotland's people who have emigrated from their homeland to other countries across the Atlantic, particularly the United States and Canada.

The song refers to people who have left Scotland's economic situation in search of "greener pastures" but also to people who had no choice but to emigrate after the Highland Clearances during which wealthy land owners evicted entire communities from their homes to create pasturage for their sheep.

The following lyrics capture some of the guilt or regret of those left behind: "I've looked at the ocean / Tried hard to imagine / The way you felt the day you sailed / From Wester Ross to Nova Scotia. / We should have held you. / We should have told you. / But you know our sense of timing, / We always wait too long".

Answer: Cap in Hand

The Proclaimers have, in fact, been active members of the Scottish National Party. However, in 2007, Charlie Reid declared that he had transferred his loyalties to the Scottish Socialist Party because he was angry at the Scottish National Party's having accepted money from corporate powers. "Cap in Hand" can be found on their 1988 album "Sunshine on Leith", their most popular and successful album.

The chorus contains these words: "I can't understand why we let someone else rule our land cap in hand".

Answer: King of the Road

This 1990 EP--"King of the Road"--was a substantial hit for The Proclaimers and climbed to number nine on the UK charts, the highest ranking anyone else had taken the song, beside Roger Miller himself, despite the song's having been covered by multiple performers. The Proclaimers also have a marvelous and very moving cover of the Lefty Frizzell song "Long Black Veil".

Answer: Let's Get Married

"Hit the Highway" is The Proclaimers' third studio album, an effort that was six years following their successful "Sunshine on Leith" album from 1988. "Let's Get Married" climbed to number 21 on the UK charts, and two other singles were released from the album: "What Makes You Cry?" and the duo's cover of "These Arms of Mine". One of the best songs on the album, however, is "Your Childhood". Most parents find listening to the song without crying very difficult. Consider the following verse: "Every morning your crying ends my sleep. / I let on I'm angry, but it's not a feeling I can keep. / There's no light outside, I don't care 'cause I know it's true / That in our house the light shines out of you. / You've got your mother's looks, you're a beautiful little girl. / You'll break boys' hearts all over this world. / Then one day you'll walk out the door / And I know you'll break mine. You'll break mine."

Answer: Persevere

"Persevere" was released seven years after the release of their third studio album and represented a comeback for The Proclaimers. "Born Innocent" was released in 2003; "Restless Soul", in 2005; and "Life with You", in 2007.

Answer: Like Comedy

In addition to "Whatever You've Got" and "Spinning Around in the Air", The Proclaimers also released separately the eponymous "Like Comedy" single as a free download. "Notes & Rhymes" is The Proclaimers' eighth album, and it was released in 2009. "Finest" is a compilation album of their greatest hits and was released in 2003. "17" is an acoustic EP released in 2009.

Answer: The Housemartins

The Housemartins were a band that came out of Hull and were active from 1983 to 1988. The band released two albums: "London 0 Hull 4" and "The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death". Two of its members, Paul Heaton (aka P. D. Heaton) and Dave Hemingway, went on to create the band Beautiful South while another of its members, Norman Cook, achieved fame as Fatboy Slim.

The exposure that The Proclaimers achieved through touring with The Housemartins garnered them an appearance in January of 1987 on "The Tube", a British pop music television program.