I Won’t Be (on the Coronation Playlist)… The Proclaimers song was removed from the event’s official set after criticism about the band’s anti-monarchy views
- Announcers have been removed from the Royal Coronation playlist
- The duo held anti-monarchist views and criticized the tribute system
The Proclaimers’ hit ‘(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles’ was removed from the coronation playlist amid controversy over the band’s Republican sentiments.
1988’s “Craig and Charlie Reid” was one of 28 songs on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Public Coronation Celebration Playlist on Spotify.
It is understood that the song was taken down by the government after complaints were made.
Last year, frontman Charlie Reid sympathized with an anti-monarchy protester who was arrested in Oxford after shouting “Who elected him?” At the inauguration ceremony of the new king.
The protester in question, Simon Hill, was charged under the Public Order Act but the Crown Prosecution Service later discontinued the case.
1988’s “The Proclaimers” (pictured) was one of 28 songs on the playlist to celebrate being crowned public at the Ministry of Digital Culture, Media and Sport
The Scottish duo have previously shared anti-monarch views, with alleged complaints about their inclusion in the playlist ahead of the king and queen’s coronation.
speaking to the patriot“I thought the guy was speaking for me, speaking for a lot of people,” Reed said. Not just in Scotland, but all over the UK.
“The way they acted you would think the story was just about people grieving and people who respect it, but the real story is that in 2022 an unelected head of state died.”
The Proclaimers had previously wooed the republican bent of their music. The couple said their 2007 song In Recognition was about “people on the left in this country who snipe against the royal family and then end up taking honors”.
Other hits on the playlist, which runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes, include the Beatles’ Come Together, Boney M’s Daddy Cool, Harry Styles’ Treat People With Kindness, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, and the Spice Girls’ Say You Be There and King Fitting in Years and Years.
A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “The playlist has been created to celebrate British and Commonwealth artists ahead of the upcoming coronation.”
