Coee & a Chat
With an incredible 30 festivals under their belt this summer alone, The Proclaimers are working as hard as they ever have. 'There are so many festivals now,' says Charlie. 'We love playing them as it gives us a chance to perform to people who may not know many of our songs and we have to try to win them over. It's a chance to find new fans and replenish the amazing fan base we've already got. There's a strong sing-along element to what we do and that works really well at festivals. One such festival was this year's Cambridge Folk Festival. 'Cambridge is one of my favourite folk festivals that we've played anywhere in the world,' says Charlie.'I love the integrity of the people who run it and the audience are fantastic.' But with the festival season behind them, The Proclaimers are now embarking on a nationwide theatre tour and will be playing at Ipswich Regent, Cambridge Corn Exchange and King's Lynn Corn Exchange in November. It's a chance for dedicated fans up and down the country to see them play live. The tour also ties in with the release of their 10th studio album Let's Hear it for the Dogs.
'At first when we heard that a Proclaimers musical has been suggested, we couldn't imagine how it would work and we were very sceptical,' says Charlie. 'But when we saw it, it made sense immediately and it was very moving. Stephen really understands what the band is about and the songs work brilliantly.' A critically-acclaimed film of the musical was also released in 2013. For now, you can catch The Proclaimers at a venue local to you in November. 'We're really looking forward to the shows,' says Charlie. 'We love performing and hearing the crowd singing our songs back to us.'
'This is actually one of the more straight-forward records we've ever made,' says Charlie. 'The band just set up and we played and it was done and dusted in about twelve days. There were hardly any changes to be made and roughly 80% of what you hear was done live.' Recent years has also seen the success of Sunshine on Leith - a Proclaimers musical - written by Stephen Greenhorn. It follows the stories of two men who have to re-learn how to live life in Edinburgh after serving in Afghanistan. Songs by The Proclaimers form the soundtrack.
The Proclaimers are performing at Ipswich Regent (November 1st), Cambridge Corn Exchange (November 4th) and King's Lynn Corn Exchange (November 6th.) www.proclaimers.co.uk
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