WE thanked Abba for the music in the west end hit Mamma Mia! and Queen rocked the stage in a musical production written by Ben Elton. Now the Proclaimers — flame-haired twins Charlie and Craig Reid, from Auchtermuchty in Fife — are the latest songwriters to have their hits transformed into a musical.

The book for the as yet un-named musical — written by the playwright Stephen Greenhorn, who created River City — is a series of three love stories set in Leith, exploring love, loss, identity and belonging.

They take place around well-known hits penned by the twin brothers, including I’m Gonna Be (500 miles), Letter from America, Sunshine on Leith and Let’s Get Married, as well as a number of lesser-known album tracks.

The idea was dreamt up by Dundee Rep’s artistic director James Brining and Greenhorn. “Dundee Rep has a great track record of producing musicals and I really loved the idea of writing one,” said Greenhorn.

“I thought about working with a composer and considered other Scottish bands but it just wasn’t working. Then one night I sat down and listened to the Proclaimers and realised that was the obvious choice.”

Their songs — which cover topics as diverse as the death of a parent, acrimonious splits with lovers, identity and the mediocrity of Scotland — are thematically adventurous, according to Greenhorn, making them ideal material for a stage show.

“I decided to set it in Leith not only because of Charlie and Craig’s connections with the area but because it seems to embody what’s happening in Scotland,” he added.

“It’s a working-class area which has gone through a period of redevelopment and it allows me to explore themes such as identity, home and what makes us belong somewhere.

“It also means that the characters could speak in a Scottish accent and then just step up to sing in their own voices.”

The show will open next spring and several big name actors are to be invited to supplement the theatre’s company.

“We are surprised and delighted a theatre company of the quality of Dundee Rep have decided to make a musical using our songs,” said the brothers. “It is something we have been discussing for some time and we are very excited about it.”

Kenny MacDonald, their manager, added: “James Brining, the director of Dundee Rep, came along to one of the Proclaimers’ gigs and it went from there.

“Their songs cover the whole gamut of human emotion so it should work really well. It’s just great to see Charlie and Craig’s songs being given a new life.”

The Proclaimers first found fame after an appearance on Channel 4’s pop music programme The Tube in 1987.

Letter from America reached number three in the UK singles chart, while the album This Is the Story went gold.

Although it is now their best-known song, the anthemic I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) from follow-up album Sunshine on Leith only reached number 11 but also achieved success in America and Australia, leading to world tours.

Further international acclaim followed when I’m on My Way, taken from the same album, was used for the animated 2001 box-office hit Shrek.

In July 2005, the group were the opening act at Live 8’s Murrayfield concert, playing I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) to symbolise the conclusion of The Long Walk to Justice. The gig led to a resurgence in their popularity and this summer they appeared at T in the Park.

Richard Demarco, theatre impresario, said that Scotland was enjoying a golden era of musicals.

This month the National Theatre of Scotland will premier a stage version of John Byrne’s cult television series Tutti Frutti, which screened in the 1980s starring Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson.

The new version — also written by Byrne — features Tam Dean Burn and Dawn Steele and will open in Aberdeen before touring the country.

“It seems to be a great time for musicals with Tutti Frutti also at the National Theatre for Scotland, so it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Demarco. “I’m sure they didn’t realise it but these will feed off each other.

“I feel confident it will be a huge success because the Proclaimers have become a kind of living legend — they are unique. It will also be an ideal production for Dundee.”

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