"Sunshine on Leith" | ||||
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Single by the Proclaimers | ||||
from the album Sunshine on Leith | ||||
Released | 1988 | |||
Recorded | 1988 | |||
Genre | Country Rock, Country | |||
Length | 5:14 [1] | |||
Label | Chrysalis | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Pete Wingfield | |||
The Proclaimers singles chronology | ||||
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"Sunshine on Leith" is a ballad by Scottish folk rock duo the Proclaimers. [2] Released in 1988, it is the title-track and second single from their album Sunshine on Leith. The song is a slow rock-ballad with country influences, as shown by the steel guitar and fiddle backing.
"Sunshine on Leith" is played frequently at Easter Road Stadium by Edinburgh-based football team Hibernian F.C., of whom the band are supporters. [3]
Bill Wyman of the Chicago Reader commented that the song, which he thought to be "a cross between a hymn and an Eagles tune", "genuinely reaches," describing the track as a "'I'm in love and happy to ever have been born' tearjerker". [4]
In June 2018, "Sunshine on Leith" was voted the UK's favourite football anthem as part of the "Football Anthems World Cup" by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6. [2]
The song featured on the BBC Radio 4 series Soul Music on 15 December 2020. [5]
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
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UK Singles ( OCC) [6] | 41 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom ( BPI) [7] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Sunshine on Leith" was recorded by David Tennant and the BBC Concert Orchestra for the charity album BBC Children in Need: Got It Covered, released in 2019. [8]
The Best Of album, due for release in the UK on May 13, features 20 songs drawn from the duo's 15-year career, including Sunshine On Leith, their famous anthem which is regularly played at Easter Road, home of their beloved Hibernian Football Club.