Out Now: The Proclaimers LPs

When Edinburgh-born brothers Charlie and Craig Reid first burst onto the scene in 1983 as The Proclaimers, they had a built-in gimmick before they ever opened their mouths: they were identical twins. Mind you, as soon as they did open their mouths, they introduced another gimmick: they had no hesitation whatsoever about embracing their brogue, going so far as to tackle their accent directly in their debut single, “Throw the ‘R’ Away.” While that song didn’t make the charts, their next single, “Letter from America,” climbed to #3 in the UK, putting them on the radar in Europe in a big way. Ironically, name-checking the nation across the pond did nothing for them in terms of achieving US chart success, but that would come soon enough, thanks to a little song called “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”

Ah, yes, we have your attention now, don’t we? That’s good, because we wanted to make sure you were aware that, as of today, you can pick up vinyl reissues of The Proclaimers’ first three albums…and if you now find yourself surprised that The Proclaimers have three albums to reissue on vinyl, then you really need these in your collection, because it’s time you got educated.

Oh, and just for the record, The Proclaimers actually have ten studio albums, and they’re still recording and touring on a regular basis. So let’s hear for the Reids, eh? Way to preserve, lads.

And with that out of the way, here’s a reminder about what those first three albums are…

• THIS IS THE STORY(1987): Features the singles “Throw the ‘R’ Away,” “Letter from America,” and “Make My Heart Fly.” Named the second best Scottish album ever by the newspaper The Scotsman in 2003.

SPOTIFY: “Throw the ‘R’ Away”

• SUNSHINE ON LEITH(1988): Features the singles “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” “Sunshine on Leith,” “I’m on My Way,” and “Then I Met You.” By far the duo’s best-selling album, although it didn’t take off in the States until 1993, thanks to the use of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” on the soundtrack to Benny & Joon. But, hey, better late than never, right?

SPOTIFY: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”

• HIT THE HIGHWAY(1994): Features the singles “Let’s Get Married,” “What Makes You Cry?” and “These Arms of Mine.” The belated follow-up to SUNSHINE ON LEITH wouldn’t have been nearly as belated if it hadn’t been for the equally belated success of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), but it probably sold more copies as a result, so it’s hard to complain.

SPOTIFY: “Let’s Get Married”