It’s been an extraordinarily busy year for The Proclaimers. As well as releasing their eighth studio album, Notes and Rhymes, in June, they have had a relentless schedule of almost non-stop touring, taking in Canada, the US and festival appearances in the UK and Ireland. Stretching ahead of them now is a major UK tour — which will include their first-ever gig in Oxford.

“I think it was 1987, in early summer, that we stopped off in Oxford to get something to eat, right in the city centre,” recalls Craig, one half of the Leith-born duo.

“I think that is the only time we’ve ever been in the city centre, so we’re very much looking forward to playing there.”

I had caught up with him just days after he and twin brother Charlie had returned from a month-long coast-to-coast tour of the United States, and found him fully recovered from his jet lag and looking forward to hitting the road again. How, I asked him, do they cope with such a busy schedule?

“I think honestly now it’s easier than it used to be. When you know what’s coming, I think you pace yourself better. We’re both 47 now, and I think we cope much better than we did when we were 25. When it’s new, and you’re handling it for the first time, it’s a physical shock to the system, because you go from nowhere to touring the world and working all the time. But the age we are now, we’ve done it a lot, especially in the last ten years, and I think you get used to it.”

It’s nearly 23 years since the now famously bespectacled twins burst into the public consciousness with acoustic performances of Letter from America and Throw the R Away on Channel 4’s The Tube, their raw emotion and political honesty turning them into an overnight sensation. The subsequent release of songs such as I’m On My Way, Sunshine on Leith and I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) helped them build up a huge domestic and international following.

What is refreshing about the Reid brothers, in today’s celebrity-obsessed culture, is that they always seem to have been motivated by a genuine love for what they do, rather than by the trappings of fame. “Our ambition was to get off the dole, and to make a living playing music,” says Craig. “It wasn’t having hits — we didn’t think about that. We achieved our ambition — we got off the dole, got a record deal and started making records, and started playing live. We’ve had commercial success way beyond what we thought we’d ever have, so we’re happy with that, just writing new stuff, and trying to get better at the live act and on record.”

And do they still get the same buzz out of performing live after so many years?

“Oh definitely, definitely. I think the performances are better now, I think the singing’s better, the playing’s better, and I think we enjoy it a lot more. So definitely the buzz is there, yeah.”

One of the secrets of the brothers’ success is their rapport both on and off stage.

“If you can work with your sibling, it’s a great thing,” Craig feels. “It certainly helps with the sound of the two voices, and I think that kind of intuitive thing between twins helps with the music. I don’t think you would get it as strongly as we have it between people who are not related.”

That rapport comes across strongly on Notes and Rhymes, an irresistible collection of songs that bristle with energy and purpose, overlaid with ravishing melodies and stirring lyrics. This seems a particularly well-crafted album, I suggest to Craig, with a good balance between political and non-political, upbeat and reflective.

“I’m glad you said that, because I think that as well! That wasn’t by design, that’s just the way it was. It was written over the last six months of last year, which is the shortest period of time that we’ve ever taken to write a record, and I think maybe there’s a bit more cohesion between the songs because of that.”

The Proccies have always been fearless about voicing their opinions, and this album finds them venting their feelings about the credit crunch (Free market) unemployment (the Damien Dempsey cover Sing All Our Cares Away) and what Craig calls “the seeming inevitability of war” (the anger-laden I Know). On the lighter side, there’s the rock’n’roll-style title track — due to be released as a single this month – the rousing Love Can Move Mountains, the raucous Wages of Sin and the sublime love ballad Like a Flame.

As for the future, Craig’s ambitions are simple. “Just to keep going. Try to write better songs, do better shows, and just to keep working at what we’re doing, and hopefully there’ll still be an audience for us in the future.”

  • The Proclaimers are at the O2 Academy, Oxford, on Wednesday. Box office: 0844 477 2000; www.o2academyoxford.co.uk The single Notes and Rhymes is released on Monday 12.

For more information, visit www.proclaimers.co.uk