Gig review: The Proclaimers, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

THE Proclaimers are not shy about giving their public what they want: the regulation hitfest of songs which never seem to grow old, such is the craft with which they were composed and the spirit with which they are still performed.

The Proclaimers. Picture: Toby Williams

The Proclaimers | Rating: **** | Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Listening again to these tunes which are part of the musical landscape, it’s the idiosyncratic slant on timeless pop traditions which impresses. You Should Have Been Loved is their particular version of a Motown dancefloor filler, Joyful Kilmarnock Blues a brilliant stomping take on fired-up rhythm’n’blues, while their ballads were as tenderly judged as any classic croon. Just when you thought Sunshine on Leith could not get any more blushingly romantic, the pedal steel solo delivered the coup de coeur.

The fan requests and dedications to audience members flowed – clearly these songs resonated deeply with those in attendance. Why worry about the nuances of a proposal when The Proclaimers say it most candidly and sincerely on Let’s Get Married?

Songs from their latest album, Let’s Hear It For the Dogs, were all received attentively. Some may well make it on to that list of Proclaimers set essentials alongside Letter From America, an anthem to engage the brain, the emotions and the feet.

There were plenty of those held in reserve for the celebratory closing salvo – I’m On My Way, I Met You, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), the joyous Life With You, all songs you cannot greet sitting down.