1988 Alt Rock Duo's Song Charted 5 Years Later Thanks to this American Film

This one easily gets stuck in your head...

Scottish duo The Proclaimers, comprised of twin brothers CraigandCharlie Reid, formed their acoustic pairing in 1983. Some of the songs recorded for their sophomore album, Sunshine on Leith, included the titular song and the lead single, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." That lead single reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart on its initial release and topped the charts of Australia, Iceland, and New Zealand.

The brothers predominantly wrote the song while waiting in a flat in Edinburgh to play a gig in nearby Aberdeen. They had an hour to kill prior to the show, so Craig started playing around with the chords that would eventually become the well known tune.

🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬

Initially the song's predominant success came in the UK and Australia. However five years after its initial release, the song was selected to be one of the main themes for the romantic comedyBenny & Joon in the US. The popularity of the film combined with the new audience catapulted the song into the charts in a new way. That summer, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" reached the top three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

According to the duo, the song's popularity makes about five times more than the rest of their songs added up collectively.

In 2007, the brothers paired up with Comic Relief to rerecord the song. It was released as a single as well as was a part of a performance on Comic Relief 2007: The Big One for BBC1 on in March of the same year. The rerecording reached number three on the UK Singles Chart for download sales and a week later, where it would remain for for three weeks. It was the biggest-selling number one single of that year, with over 126,000 copies sold.

Despite its strange journey-and it maybe taking 500 miles to get there-it's safe to say that this hit is one The Proclaimers will have to thank for its lasting legacy.

Related: 1974 Rock Song, Named No. 1 Hit Song for Two Weeks, Became a Timeless Classic

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 12:59 PM.