Musical Montage: The Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”
Hailing out of Scotland, identical twins Craig and Charles Reid are The Proclaimers, who had a massive hit in the early 90s in the US thanks to a somewhat forgotten Johnny Depp movie. The Proclaimers formed in 1983 and “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, their massive hit, was actually on their second album, Sunshine on Leith, which released in 1988. The song hit #1 in Australia and New Zealand but it didn’t really gain any traction until 1993 when Mary Stuart Masterson co-starred in Benny & Joon with Johnny Depp and lobbied for the song to be included in the movie, which it was and actually plays over the opening credits. It’s inclusion in the movie, and the movie’s sleeper hit status, got “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” onto the Billboard Charts at #3. After a brief hiatus, The Proclaimers returned in 2001 and have put out an album almost like clockwork every two years and are still huge in their native Scotland, even getting a musical based on their Sunshine on Leith album made. You can check out the video for “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” below.
