Bad Boys (Inner Circle song)

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"Bad Boys"
Bad Boys (Swedish edition)
Swedish single picture sleeve, 1990
Single by Inner Circle
from the album One Way and Bad Boys/Bad to the Bone
B-side"Sweat (A La La La La Long)"
Released1 October 1987
GenreReggae
Length3:52
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)Ian Lewis
Producer(s)Ian Lewis, Touter Harvey, Roger Lewis
Inner Circle singles chronology
"Bad Boys"
(1987) 		"Sweat (A La La La La Long)"
(1992)
Audio sample

"Bad Boys" is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, which gained high popularity in the United States after its re-release in 1993, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the Top 40 Mainstream.[1] It is the opening theme to the American TV show Cops and the theme song of the Bad Boys franchise.

History[edit]

The song was originally released in October 1987 on the album One Way.[2] In 1992, it was also included on the Bad to the Bone album, and the song was released as a single in 1993, after the unexpected success of their previous international hit single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". "Bad Boys" reached number 52 in the United Kingdom[3] and number eight in the United States.[1] In the latter territory, it was certified Gold and sold 600,000 copies.[4][5] The song was also released as B-side on Inner Circle's 1992 single, "Sweat (A La La La La Long)".[6] The song was also released as a single in mid-1991 in Norway and Finland, where it peaked at number one.

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture[edit]

"Bad Boys" was selected as the theme song for Cops because a field producer for the show happened to be a fan of Inner Circle.[22] The song, which was very popular during the 1990s, is also used in the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action/comedy film series Bad Boys, which was named after the song.[23][24]

A parody of the song was used in a fourth season episode of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat where the chorus goes "Good boys, good boys; whatcha gonna do?"[25]

Another parody of the song is used in the 125th episode of Your Grammar Sucks where Jack Douglass goes "Bad boys, bad boy; Was you gonna do? What you gonna do if it's come for you?".[26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Inner Circle – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  2. ^ Moon, Tom (22 October 1987). "Inner Circle celebrates LP release". The Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 44 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". RIAA. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 3. 15 January 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510.
  6. ^ "cdBBQ: Inner Circle". Cdbbq.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  7. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  8. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys". VG-lista. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  10. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  11. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0993." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Inner Circle". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Inner Circle – Bad Boys". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  16. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 31 July 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  18. ^ "End of Year Charts 1993". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1993". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  21. ^ "American single certifications – Inner Circle – Bad Boys". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  22. ^ Griffin, Gil (2 July 1994). "Inner Circle's Sphere of Influence - Big Beat/Atlantic Set Follows 'Bad' Breakthrough". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
  23. ^ "Inner Circle Biography". Bad Boys of Reggae. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  24. ^ Walker, Klive (2005). Dubwise: reasoning from the reggae underground. Insomniac Press. p. 203. ISBN 1-894663-96-9.
  25. ^ Mitchell (6 December 2017). "'Fresh off the Boat' Episode Review: "Slide Effect"". 8asians. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  26. ^ jacksfilms (29 September 2020). "This video is demonized :( (YOUR GRAMMAR SUCKS #125)". YouTube.
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