Ziggy Alberts breathes new life into The Proclaimers' beloved 1988 anthem I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - and he has earned the stripes to sing it. After more than a decade on the road and 3 consecutive years of world touring, Alberts is the ultimate travelling troubadour: a restless, globe-trotting Australian independent artist who has lived every word of this song. As his manager put it: "If there's anyone who's done 500 miles, it's probably Ziggy."
A feel-good, joyous folk-pop take with a rhythmic, sun-drenched energy that is unmistakably Ziggy - warm, authentic and impossible not to smile to. Originally commissioned for a film sync opportunity, the track carries timeless, cross-generational appeal and is built for road-trip, feel-good, sing-along playlist homes.
The accompanying music video, shot across the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, brings pop-colour Australiana to life through storybook cinematography - windswept beaches, open roads and a Daryl Braithwaite-meets-Napoleon Dynamite energy - with 80s-inspired editing as a loving nod to the original. Shareable, joyful and visually distinct.
Recorded in a single day at Byron Bay with long-time collaborator Garrett Kato, Alberts approached the session determined to "meet this song pace for pace, part for part" - and the result is a track that honours the original while sounding completely his own. The "haver" lyric even required a crash course in Scottish slang, courtesy of a well-timed intervention from a Scottish colleague.