‘Bad Boys’, the global anthem by Inner Circle, has been certified platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The certification, which was announced in March, acknowledges sales of the single surpassing one million units including streaming.
First released in 1987 on Inner Circle’s ‘One Way’ album, ‘Bad Boys’ is a phenomenon that drives the mega-successful movie franchise of the same name starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. It was the theme song for ‘Cops’, a drama that aired on the fledgling Fox channel during the late 1980s.
Re-released in 1991, it became big seller in Scandinavia where the band toured extensively. ‘Bad Boys’ is also the title song of the Inner Circle album that won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1994. During that period, the band scored with another monster hit, ‘Sweat (A-la-la-la-Long’).
Inner Circle was founded in 1968 by brothers Roger (guitar) and Ian (bass) Lewis who are still the band’s driving force along with keyboardist Bernard “Touter” Harvey, who has been a member since 1974.