Dubbed the Bad Boys of Reggae the Grammy Award winning group for best Reggae album Inner Circle Band, formed in Kingston, Jamaica in 1968 the bad has had a firm grip on their spot among the industries finest musicians for over five decades.
The five members have stuck together through good times and bad times and the fact that the group is still around and going strong in itself can be recognized as an achievement.
To mark their historic 50th year anniversary in music they have planned a massive international tour named “Rockas 50” to celebrate the occasion. The tour will see the group travel to over twenty six different countries, with over forty scheduled shows.
“It’s going to be tiring but worth it, because we are going to just do it big for our 50th anniversary. People have become accustomed to having a great time at our shows, and they can expect great performances when the tour rolls out,” Founding member of the Inner Circle Band, Ian Lewis explained.
Lewis remarked that the main way the group has managed to survive in the industry over the 50 years is by constantly reinventing themselves by always trying learn about changes in the industry and the appetite of their fans, and implementing changes of their where ever possible.
“We have had to reinvent ourselves many times. We have blended the younger genera-tion, who are moving back into the roots reggae, with our music. Through all the changes, though, we noticed that there is still a love for the foundation music. Songs like Forward Ever Backward Never and Bad Boys are still going strong. Bad Boys is still a hit in America, and it’s been over 20 years. A tree cannot stand up without the roots and the foundation music is still very strong.”
“We have spawned the generations, and we feel good about that, but for us it’s like another day. But from a historical point of view, it’s been a long time we’ve been playing reggae music and we are still in demand. It’s an honour for us to know that the people still have love for our music, and this is how we thank them for the support.”
And thanks start back at home in Jamaica where it was the dream of members of the band to do a large free concert at Emancipation park alongside their musical friends that include Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx, Freddie McGregor and friends of Jacob Miller. This dream will more likely be made a reality in 2019, as it was unavailable this year.
The real mandate will be to establish a Hall of Fame in Jamaica for the music industry; to honor the work of all great men and women that have given their talent to the music industry; artiste such as Don Drummond, Jacob Miller and Tommy McCook.