Inner Circle, also known as The Inner Circle Band or The Bad Boys of Reggae, are a Jamaican reggae band formed in Kingston in 1968. The band first backed The Chosen Few in the early 1970s before joining with successful solo artist Jacob Miller and releasing a string of records. This era of the band ended with Miller's death in a car crash in 1980.
The group reformed in 1986. During this period, they released several international hit singles, including "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" and "Bad Boys", the theme from the American television show COPS. The group continued to record and tour thereafter.
Brothers Ian and Roger Lewis have remained the group's consistent members, playing bass and guitar, respectively. Other long-term members include keyboardist Bernard "Touter" Harvey, a member since 1973, and drummer Lancelot Hall, who joined during their 1986 reformation. The band's lineup is completed by singer Trevor "Skatta" Bonnick and lead guitarist Andre Philips.
Career
Early history (1968-1974) Inner Circle was formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1968, by the brothers Ian Lewis and Roger Lewis with then 12-year-old Stephen "Cat" Coore and Michael Cooper. They appeared on record in 1970, backing The Chosen Few on the Derrick Harriott-produced single "Why Can't I Touch You", with the Inner Circle Band credited with the instrumental version on the B-side. This was one of several singles on which they backed the Chosen Few. In 1970 the band was expanded when they were joined by drummer William Stewart, percussionist Irvin "Carrot" Jarrett, and singer William "Bunny Rugs" Clarke. The band played on Eric Donaldson's hit single "Cherry Oh Baby" and recorded their own version as "Red Cherry".
Jarrett left the band in 1972, with singer Clarke leaving the following year when he moved to New York. Clarke's replacement was Milton "Prilly" Hamilton, but this line-up was short-lived as the band split in two with Coore, Cooper, and Hamilton leaving to form Third World in 1973. Coore and Cooper were then students of the University of the West Indies, studying for various degrees and were soon joined in Third World by fellow Inner Circle departees Clarke and Jarrett. Meanwhile, Inner Circle re-tooled the lineup by recruiting keyboard players Charles Farquharson and Bernard Harvey (aka "Touter"), as well as drummer Calvin McKenzie as a replacement for Stewart (who would also go on to play with Third World). The band played the hotel and club circuit in Kingston, playing a mixture of reggae, pop and soul hits, and released their first album, Dread Reggae Hits, in 1973 on Ian Lewis's Top Ranking label.
The Jacob Miller years
After recording with singer Funky Brown, they recruited Jacob Miller as a permanent vocalist (although he continued to record as a solo artist), and had a hit single with a version of The Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New". Some of Miller's work with the band was credited to Miller alone, including the "Tenement Yard" single. The band was signed by Capitol Records, who issued the albums Reggae Thing (1976) and Ready for the World (1977). They toured the United States with American guitarist, Ed Elizalde. In 1978 they moved on to Island Records who released the Everything Is Great album in 1978, which included the UK hit singles "Everything Is Great" and "Stop Breaking My Heart", and New Age Music the following year. The band was joined by New York session guitarist Joe Ortiz, dubbed 'Gitzy' by the band; who added the first touches of hard rock, jazz, and blues to the group and to Reggae in general. Ortiz recorded at Compass Point Studios for the Everything Is Great album on Island Records, and later joined the group for their European tour in 1978–1980. He was also the lead guitarist on the title track 'New Age Music' on the album of the same name. Lester Adderley joined the group for the New Age Music album on guitar. Also released in the late 1970s were two dub albums based on Miller's solo albums Killer Miller and Wanted but credited to Inner Circle. The band gained further exposure via their performance in the film Rockers, playing a hotel house band. At his peak in the 1970s, only Bob Marley was more popular in Jamaica than Miller, and as a live act, nobody equalled their popularity.
Miller's death in a car crash on 23 March 1980 led the band to split up, with the Lewis Brothers and Touter Harvey moving to Miami, where they opened a studio in a warehouse, later opening their own Circle House recording studio, and the band has been based in Miami since then. After Miller's death in 1980, the band had one more American tour, inviting Norman Grant from the Twinkle Brothers for vocals.