Proclaimers hit back at UK nostalgia

Sour this image, Murdo MacLeod
Having turned 60 this year, you'd think twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid might have lost a bit of their biting lyricism. But they think it's the UK - not them - that has gone toothless.
The Proclaimers' latest album, Dentures Out, is laced with punk energy and caustic commentary that many may disagree with.
"It's definitely the most political thing we've done in seven or eight albums," says Charlie, speaking from Edinburgh, the hometown of the brothers, where they are avoiding the Fringe Festival crowds in a bid to avoid catching the Covid.
"For the very first time, there has a consistent theme in an album that we've done. A lot of it is about nostalgia, people looking back and maybe looking back with rose-colored glasses or not remembering at all," adds- he, saying such a trend is particularly strong in the UK.
The album cover shows a pair of dentures in a glass at side of a bed adorned with a union jack duvet cover.
"I think Britain has diminished in power and reach since the World War II, but I think in the last 10 years Britain has taken a nose dive in terms of its own worth and certainly in terms of its own place in the community of nations,” says Craig , adding that it is likely in "terminal decline".
The brothers believe Brexit reflects this. Craig boasts some of the most pr...

Entertainment Aug 18, 2022 0 79 Add to Reading List

Having turned 60 this year, you'd think twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid might have lost a bit of their biting lyricism. But they think it's the UK - not them - that has gone toothless.

The Proclaimers' latest album, Dentures Out, is laced with punk energy and caustic commentary that many may disagree with.

"It's definitely the most political thing we've done in seven or eight albums," says Charlie, speaking from Edinburgh, the hometown of the brothers, where they are avoiding the Fringe Festival crowds in a bid to avoid catching the Covid.

"For the very first time, there has a consistent theme in an album that we've done. A lot of it is about nostalgia, people looking back and maybe looking back with rose-colored glasses or not remembering at all," adds- he, saying such a trend is particularly strong in the UK.

The album cover shows a pair of dentures in a glass at side of a bed adorned with a union jack duvet cover.

"I think Britain has diminished in power and reach since the World War II, but I think in the last 10 years Britain has taken a nose dive in terms of its own worth and certainly in terms of its own place in the community of nations,” says Craig , adding that it is likely in "terminal decline".