by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – For the second time in two months, Inner Circle’s party anthem, Sweat (A La La La La Long), has been certified gold. Its latest certification comes from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 500,000 in digital sales.
In May, the 1992 single was certified gold for sales of over 400,000 units in the United Kingdom. That certification came from the British Phonographic Industry.
DubShot Records, based in New York, are partners with Miami-based Inner Circle for distribution of ‘Sweat’. That label’s co-founder Chris Schlarb described the latest accolade as a “tremendous achievement.”
He added that, “Inner Circle have continued to solidify their legacy by joining an elite group of reggae artists with multiple gold or platinum records in the USA, UK, and around the world.”
Sweat and Bad Boys are from Bad Boys, the album that announced Inner Circle’s remarkable comeback in the early 1990s. Bad Boys won Best Reggae Album at the Grammy Awards in 1994 and earned the band a lasting fan base.
Inner Circle, which formed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1968, are currently touring Europe. It is led by brothers and founding members Roger and Ian Lewis.
Thanks to Sweat and Bad Boys, Inner Circle got a second wind after years of dormancy. The Lewis brothers and keyboardist Bernard “Touter” Harvey relocated to Miami shortly after the death of Jacob Miller, their charismatic singer, in 1981.
Miller led them on hit songs such as Standing Firm, Forward Ever, Backward Never and Tenement Yard.
Bad Boys is theme song for the successful movie franchise of the same name, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
