Inner Circle
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- For other uses of the term, see inner circle.
The reggae group Inner Circle was formed in 1968 by the brothers Ian and Roger Lewis in Jamaica. They are responsible for the 1989 song "Bad Boys," which serves as the theme song for Fox Network's long-running television program COPS. However, at first they covered soul and R&B hits from the USA, and then also a few reggae songs, predominately from Bob Marley.
The band released its first album in 1974 under the label Trojan Records, and resigned in 1979 to Island Records, where the internationally successful album Everything Is Great originated. This album reached top 20 in the UK and preceded their other chart success by some years.
Inner Circle was decidedly influenced through the original member Jacob Miller, the frontman and lead singer who was tragically killed in a car crash on March 23, 1980. At the end of the 1970s Inner Circle with Jacob "Killer" Miller was more popular in Jamaica than Bob Marley. The band also appeared in the reggae cult film Rockers in 1978.
After the loss of Jacob Miller, Inner Circle broke up, but in 1982 another album called Something So Good was released. In 1986 Ian and Roger Lewis reestablished Inner Circle with the singer Carlton Coffie, and the band experienced a comeback with the album Black Roses.
In 1989, Inner Circle released the song "Bad Boys." Since then, the band calls itself "The Bad Boys of Reggae". They had another big hit with the 1993 song "Sweat (A La La La La Long)."
The lead singer Carlton Coffie was ill for a long period in 1995 and decided after his recuperation to start a solo career. The current singer Kris Bentley took his place.
Inner Circle currently consists of the following five members:
- Ian Lewis (born 1 November 1956 / Bass guitar)
- Kris Bentley (Lead vocals)
- Lancelot Hall (born 7 February 1960 / Drums & percussion)
- Roger Lewis (born 29 June 1956 / Guitar)
- Bernard (Touter) Harvey (born 25 October 1956 / Keyboard)
Discography
Studio albums
- 1974 Rock The Boat
- 1975 Blame It To The Sun
- 1976 Reggae Thing
- 1977 Ready For The World
- 1978 Heavyweight Dub
- 1978 Killer Dub
- 1979 Everything Is Great
- 1980 New Age Music (Last album with Jacob Miller)
- 1982 Something So Good
- 1986 Black Roses
- 1987 One Way
- 1991 Identified
- 1992 Bad To The Bone
- 1994 Bad Boys
- 1994 Reggae Dancer (Last album with Carlton Coffie)
- 1997 Da Bomb
- 1998 Speak My Language
- 1999 Jamaika Me Crazy
- 2000 Big Tings
- 2001 Jah Jah People
- 2001 Barefoot In Negril
- 2004 This Is Crucial Reggae
Live albums
- 1999 Forward Jah-Jah People (Highlights from the 9th Cartagena Festival 1990)
External links
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