The List of The Proclaimers Albums in Order of Release Date

Two twins from Auchtermuchty, one pair of NHS specs each, and a song that refuses to die — that’s the short version. The longer version is that Craig and Charlie Reid have spent nearly four decades writing about Scotland, marriage, emigration, faith and politics in accents nobody asked them to soften, and the world ended up singing along anyway. The Proclaimers formed as a Scottish rock duo and released their debut, This Is the Story, in 1987, and this run through The Proclaimers Albums in Order covers every studio record since.

You already know “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” It became a hit around the world and eventually reached the American charts after appearing prominently in the 1993 film Benny & Joon, while the album’s title track grew into an anthem adopted by supporters of Leith’s football club, Hibernian F.C. “I’m on My Way” found a second life in 2001 through Shrek, and their catalogue has since turned up in The Commitments, Dumb and Dumber and Pitch Perfect, as well as inspiring the 2007 stage musical Sunshine on Leith. What surprises people working through The Proclaimers Albums in Order is how little of the discography is nostalgia — the recent records are angrier and sharper than the hits. If you like this kind of plain-spoken, politically wide-awake songwriting, Billy Bragg and Del Amitri are the obvious neighbours.

All The Proclaimers Albums Available on: Apple Music

Also See: The Veronicas Albums in Order

How Many Albums Does The Proclaimers Have?

The Proclaimers have released 13 studio albums between 1987 and 2026, starting with This Is the Story and most recently You May Offend. Alongside those they’ve issued around 4 compilations, a handful of EPs including King of the Road (1990), a small number of official live releases, and roughly 30 singles.

The List of The Proclaimers Albums in Order of Release Date

Here’s the complete list of The Proclaimers albums in order of release.

1. This Is the Story — 27 April 1987
2. Sunshine on Leith — 12 September 1988
3. Hit the Highway — 7 March 1994
4. Persevere — 22 May 2001
5. Born Innocent — 18 November 2003
6. Restless Soul — 6 September 2005
7. Life with You — 3 September 2007
8. Notes & Rhymes — 15 June 2009
9. Like Comedy — 7 May 2012
10. Let’s Hear It for the Dogs — 27 April 2015
11. Angry Cyclist — 10 August 2018
12. Dentures Out — 16 September 2022
13. You May Offend — 11 September 2026

All The Proclaimers Albums List in Order

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1. This Is the Story (1987)

Tracks:

Before the label deal there was a demo tape. The brothers recorded demos with help from Kevin Rowland, and those tapes reached indie band The Housemartins, who invited the duo onto their 1986 tour. The album arrived on 27 April 1987 via Chrysalis, credited to John Williams, Gerry Rafferty and Hugh Murphy as producers. Two voices and an acoustic guitar, essentially, which made the lyrics impossible to hide behind. Those lyrics reached from the Highland Clearances to industrial decline and the regional divides of Thatcher-era Britain — a political streak that would follow them for decades. “Letter from America” and “Throw the ‘R’ Away” are the ones fans still shout back. It was reissued in 2001 and remastered in 2011.

2. Sunshine on Leith (1988)

Tracks:

1. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
2. Cap in Hand
3. Then I Met You
4. My Old Friend the Blues
5. Sean
6. Sunshine on Leith
7. Come On Nature
8. I’m on My Way
9. What Do You Do
10. It’s Saturday Night
11. Teardrops
12. Oh Jean

This is the one that changed the size of their life. Recorded at Chipping Norton in January and February 1988 with producer Pete Wingfield, it came out on Chrysalis on 12 September 1988. The duo brought in a full band for a more polished, rock-driven sound, and the album produced three of their most enduring songs on its way to UK platinum status. “500 Miles” needs no introduction; the title track became something bigger than a song in Leith; “I’m on My Way” got a whole new audience via Shrek. “Cap in Hand” is the sleeper, and one of the sharpest things they’ve written. Its US breakthrough came five years late, courtesy of Benny & Joon.

3. Hit the Highway (1994)

Tracks:

1. Let’s Get Married
2. The More I Believe
3. What Makes You Cry?
4. Follow the Money
5. These Arms of Mine
6. Shout Shout
7. The Light
8. Hit the Highway
9. A Long Long Long Time Ago
10. I Want to Be a Christian
11. Your Childhood
12. Don’t Turn Out Like Your Mother

Six years is a long silence when you’re the biggest singalong act in Britain. Hit the Highway landed on 7 March 1994 through Chrysalis, recorded at Chipping Norton with Pete Wingfield and the duo co-producing, and it took them six years to follow Sunshine on Leith. Lead single “Let’s Get Married” went top ten in Iceland and top thirty in the UK and Austria. “What Makes You Cry?” and a cover of “These Arms of Mine” followed as singles. In between the two albums came the King of the Road EP in 1990. Commercially it couldn’t repeat 1988, but the country, R&B and rock-and-roll seams run deeper here than on either predecessor.

4. Persevere (2001)

Tracks:

The title is a statement of intent and a Leith motto at once. Persevere arrived on 22 May 2001 on the duo’s own Persevere Records in the UK and Nettwerk in North America, produced by Chris Kimsey and recorded at Mastermix Studios in Minneapolis — a comeback after seven low-profile years. Running their own label meant answering to nobody, and it shows: this is roots rock, skiffle-pop and folk, played like men with nothing to prove. “There’s a Touch” was the lead single, backed with “A Land Fit for Zeros” and the non-album “They Really Do.” “Scotland’s Story” has since become a fixture of the live set and a quiet fan favourite.

5. Born Innocent (2003)

Tracks:

1. Born Innocent
2. Should Have Been Loved
3. Blood on Your Hands
4. Unguarded Moments
5. Hate My Love
6. Redeemed
7. You Meant It Then
8. Five O’Clock World
9. He’s Just Like Me
10. Role Model
11. No Witness
12. Dear Deidre
13. There’s No Doubt
14. Unguarded Moments (Live in Glasgow: 10/19/03)
15. Born Innocent (Live in Glasgow: 10/19/03)

Handing the desk to Edwyn Collins was the best decision they made that decade. Born Innocent was recorded in April and May 2003, released on 18 November 2003 on Persevere Records with Collins producing, and it reached No. 70 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 7 in Scotland, plus the UK Indie Chart top ten. AllMusic called it fiery and a return to form, praising a raw sound drawing on post-punk, folk and 1960s R&B. Lyrically it takes on the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, drug abuse, parenthood and middle age. A US edition followed in February 2004 with a longer running time.

6. Restless Soul (2005)

Tracks:

Fourteen tracks, and the pivot here is towards soul. Restless Soul was recorded across April and May 2005 at Good Luck Studios in London and released on 6 September 2005 on Persevere, with David Ruffy and Mark Wallis producing. The duo’s own account frames it as their more soul-oriented record, and 2005 also brought a career live highlight when they opened the bill at Live 8 at Murrayfield Stadium. The writing leans personal rather than political this time — love gone wrong, love holding on — and the arrangements give Craig’s voice room to do something other than roar. A good entry point if the early acoustic material feels too spare.

7. Life with You (2007)

Tracks:

Their biggest chart showing in years, and it came off a very strange run of luck. In March 2007 a new version of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” with Peter Kay and Matt Lucas topped the UK singles chart for Comic Relief, raising over a million pounds. Life with You followed on 3 September 2007 via W14/Universal — a label co-run by John Williams, who had signed them to Chrysalis in the first place — produced by Steve Evans at Rockfield Studios, and it reached No. 13 on the UK Albums Chart. A 44-date UK and Ireland tour followed in October, their biggest to that point, playing to over 100,000 people.

8. Notes & Rhymes (2009)

Tracks:

1. Love Can Move Mountains
2. Notes & Rhymes
3. Three More Days
4. Just Look Now
5. Sing All Our Cares Away
6. It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)
7. Like a Flame
8. I Know
9. Shadows Fall
10. Free Market
11. Wages of Sin
12. On Causewayside
13. I Know (reprise)

Second album in a row with Steve Evans, second in a row at Rockfield, and the chemistry was clearly working. Notes & Rhymes was recorded at Rockfield across 2008 and 2009 by engineer Tom Dalgety, produced by Evans, and released on W14 Music on 15 June 2009 in Europe, with the US following on 11 August. A Special Limited Edition landed on the same day as the standard CD, adding a second disc of ten tracks: four acoustic and six live. That bonus disc is the one collectors chase. “Free Market” and “Wages of Sin” are where the political instinct resurfaces, and “On Causewayside” is pure Edinburgh geography.

9. Like Comedy (2012)

Tracks:

1. Whatever You’ve Got
2. Simple Things
3. Spinning Around in the Air
4. After You’re Gone
5. Women and Wine
6. There’s
7. The Thought of You
8. Like Comedy
9. Dance with Me
10. Wherever You Roam
11. I Think That’s What I Believe
12. A Mix

After a 95-date world tour that began at SXSW in 2009 and finished on the main stage at T in the Park in 2010, the Reids spent a year writing before recording in Bath with Steve Evans. Like Comedy came out on Cooking Vinyl on 7 May 2012, reached No. 31 in the UK, and its lead single “Spinning Around in the Air” hit No. 17 on the UK Indie Singles Chart. Critics filed the record under blue-eyed soul. Matt Lucas made his directing debut on the single’s video, a golden wedding anniversary that collapses into chaos, and talked the twins into dressing as elderly women.

10. Let’s Hear It for the Dogs (2015)

Tracks:

The Dave Eringa era starts here, and it sharpened everything. Their tenth studio album was released on 27 April 2015 by Cooking Vinyl, with Compass Records handling North America, recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales with Eringa producing, and promoted by heavy touring across the UK, Ireland, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Along with 2018’s Angry Cyclist, it made a strong showing inside the Top 30. Eringa is best known for the Manic Street Preachers, and the guitars gain an edge to match. “What School?” pokes at Scottish sectarianism; “Ten Tiny Fingers” is unashamedly tender. Few bands get louder at album ten.

11. Angry Cyclist (2018)

Tracks:

1. Angry Cyclist
2. Stretch
3. Streets of Edinburgh
4. Then It Comes to Me
5. You Make Me Happy
6. Looted
7. The Hours Between
8. Information
9. Sometimes It’s the Fools
10. A Way With Words
11. Classy
12. The Battle of the Booze
13. I’d Ask the Questions

The title is a joke that turns out to be a diagnosis of a whole decade. Angry Cyclist arrived on 10 August 2018 on Cooking Vinyl, recorded at Rockfield Studios with Dave Eringa producing, and spawned the title single with a music video, followed by “Streets of Edinburgh” and, in 2019, “Sometimes It’s the Fools.” Its style has been described as country folk and rock. AllMusic ranks it among their career highlights alongside Hit the Highway and Life with You. Brexit-era fury sits right next to “You Make Me Happy,” which is the trick they’ve always pulled: rage and warmth on the same record.

12. Dentures Out (2022)

Tracks:

1. Dentures Out
2. The World That Was
3. Feast Your Eyes
4. Praise
5. News to Nietzsche
6. Things As They Are
7. Signs of Love
8. Drop Dead Destiny
9. The Recent Past
10. Sundays by John Calvin
11. Draw Another Line
12. Play the Man
13. What the Audience Knew

Thirteen songs, thirty-three minutes, no fat whatsoever. Dentures Out was recorded at Rockfield over three weeks in spring 2022 — their sixth album made there and third with Dave Eringa — and released on Cooking Vinyl on 16 September 2022, with Manic Street Preachers guitarist James Dean Bradfield playing on it. Like Angry Cyclist before it, the record is heavily political, described as a “quasi” manifesto with a strong anti-nostalgia streak. Only the closing “What the Audience Knew” passes the three-minute mark; the rest are sub-three-minute bursts. Singles “The World That Was” and the title track set the tone (chart positions: verify).

13. You May Offend (2026)

Tracks:

1. Knock It Down
2. But It Is
3. Easy Rhyme
4. You May Offend
5. Till the Ink Dries
6. The Grooming
7. A Little Bit Late
8. Anything
9. The Talent Show
10. There’s No Plan
11. In a Year or Two
12. When You Get There

The newest chapter, and not remotely a victory lap. You May Offend is the thirteenth studio album, released on 11 September 2026 via Cooking Vinyl, their fourth with Dave Eringa, written in Edinburgh and recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth in just under three weeks. The live band — Steven Christie on keyboards, Garry John Kane on bass, Zac Ware on guitars and Clive Jenner on drums — plays throughout, with James Dean Bradfield guesting again. Charlie has pointed out the title works as instruction, invitation and warning all at once. “Knock It Down” opens at full sprint, while “The Grooming” is a hymnal ballad about the militarisation of British children.

All The Proclaimers Tours in Order by Year

Nobody sells The Proclaimers short live, and the numbers make the case. The Life with You campaign in 2007 brought 44 UK and Ireland dates and over 100,000 tickets, and in Scotland that year they outsold every other solo act or band for gigs. The next cycle ran 95 dates, opening at SXSW in 2009 and closing on the T in the Park main stage in 2010. The 2015 album took them through the UK, Ireland, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. The current run is a seven-month, 61-date tour.

1. Hit the Highway Tour, 1994
2. Persevere Tour, 2001–2002
3. Born Innocent Tour, 2003–2004
4. Restless Soul Tour, 2005–2006
5. Life with You UK & Ireland Tour, 2007–2008
6. Notes & Rhymes World Tour, 2009–2010
7. Like Comedy Tour, 2012
8. Let’s Hear It for the Dogs World Tour, 2015–2016
9. Angry Cyclist Tour, 2018–2019
10. Dentures Out Tour, 2022–2023
11. You May Offend Tour, 2026

Conclusion

Follow The Proclaimers Albums in Order and you get one of the least predictable career arcs in British music: two voices and a guitar in 1987, stadium-sized singalongs by 1988, a long quiet spell, then a self-released second act that turned into the most productive stretch of their lives. Edwyn Collins roughed them up, Steve Evans smoothed them out, Dave Eringa handed them a set of teeth. The political fire that was there on day one is still there, only faster and funnier. With You May Offend out in September 2026 and a 61-date tour in motion, the Reid twins clearly aren’t done talking.

The Proclaimers FAQs

How many albums do The Proclaimers have?
Thirteen studio albums, from This Is the Story (1987) to You May Offend (2026), plus compilations, EPs and live releases.

What is The Proclaimers’ best-selling album?
Sunshine on Leith. It went platinum in the UK and produced three of their best-known songs.

Are The Proclaimers twins?
Yes. Craig and Charlie Reid are identical twins from Scotland.

Why is “500 Miles” so famous in America?
It charted in the US five years after release thanks to its prominent use in the 1993 film Benny & Joon.

Where did The Proclaimers record their recent albums?
Rockfield Studios in Wales, which Dentures Out made their sixth album recorded there, with You May Offend also made at Rockfield in Monmouth.

Is “Sunshine on Leith” about football?
Not originally. The song was adopted as an anthem by fans of Leith club Hibernian F.C. and grew in stature over time.

Who produces The Proclaimers now?
Dave Eringa, who has now made four albums with them, and who is known for his work with Manic Street Preachers.

Are The Proclaimers touring in 2026?
Yes — a seven-month, 61-date tour is underway around the new album.

What should I listen to after the hits?
Born Innocent for the raw version of the band, Dentures Out for the political one.