The Proclaimers might be best known for their rousing anthems and catchy tunes but there is a lot more to them than some might imagine.

Identical twins Craig and Charlie Reid are fiercely proud Scottish nationalists who are prepared to stand up for social equality and justice.

And they are not afraid to tackle difficult subjects either with their new album Let’s Hear It For The Dogs featuring tacks which deal with religion and even the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Charlie said: “We try never to write the same song twice. That’s not to say there are not some similarities occasionally but the new album covers a lot of different subjects

“We tackle subjects that no-one else does. For instance What School is all about religion… it deals with the weasel way that people will try and find out your religion by asking what school you went to. Why can’t they just be honest and ask?

“We also sing about the Jimmy Savile scandal in Then Again. We don’t sing about the abuse itself and we certainly don’t make fun or treat it lightly. It is more about the incredulity most people felt about it and the way it all started to spill out after his death.

“Craig writes more than I do nowadays. He writes the bulk of the songs.

“We are pretty much on the same wavelength so we don’t argue too much but sometimes we can be a bit too similar in our views which is why we have a producer to give a different perspective.

“It is good to have someone on the outside who will change things. Sometimes the sound will be a bit more fancy than we would have thought.

“We are very close in how we approach songs and life in general. I am probably slightly more extrovert but we are not much different. We grew up in the same bedroom and even when we moved out we had the same friends so it was kind of natural to be in the same band.

“We are identical twins and I guess some people do sometimes have trouble telling us apart but we have never gone as far as always standing on the same side of the stage like Ant and Dec. I find that a bit weird since they are not even brothers.

“Sometimes you can get brothers and it can be destructive – like the Gallaghers. Although a little bit of rivalry is good, it is more a case of the two of us against the outside world.”

Craig and Charlie have a close bond both off and on the stage where they are all about entertainment, giving fans a stirring show and touching their souls.

Their music is uplifting, powerful, meaningful and at times beautifully moving – and it is perfectly suited to a festival crowd.

They are about to embark on a major autumn tour which will call at Southampton O2 Guildhall on October 29  but they will tailor their material to suit the crowd.

Charlie added: ““We really enjoyed Wickham last time. It always helps when the weather is good and it was a glorious sunny summer’s evening.

“Wickham is a beautiful part of the world and the audience there are great so we love playing this event.

“We rotate songs all the time. Over the course of the tour we will probably play 40 songs but 23 or 23 a night depending on the time of our slot.

“For instance at V Festival we had only 30 minutes so that pretty much had to be a Greatest Hits set but other times we will mix and match.

“The start and finish stay pretty much the same but we change the middle. We just have to make sure the show hits the peaks at all the right times.

“We always do the better known songs but just add more when we can. I think you have a responsibility to the fans to give them the songs they want to hear.

“It is the same when bands turn up and go through the motions. If they have gone stale or maybe are not getting on with each other, it shows. I always hate seeing that because you can tell – and so can the audience.

“You have got to have a level of entertainment and to keep things fresh. We tend to work on a three-year cycle. One year is spent putting an album together, the next is touring and the the next is writing. If you tour every year it gets a bit much.

“We still love going out on the road. You could not do it otherwise. We have around 70 gigs before the end of the year and over the summer every weekend is taken up. Sometimes we have three shows over a weekend so it is tough going but the enthusiasm of the audience keeps us going.”