Inner Circle’s ‘Sweat (A La La La La Long)’ Certified Gold In The US
Inner Circle’s hit song Sweat (A La La La La Long) is now certified Gold in the United States, two months after it reached a similar milestone in the United Kingdom and over 30 years after its release.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Sweat was certified Gold on Friday (July 21) after it reached the sales and streaming equivalent of 500,000 units sold in the US.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had issued the song a BRIT Certified Gold award on Friday (May 12), in recognition of over 400,000 units sold in the UK.
It was the band’s first song to be certified Gold in the UK, and second, after Bad Boys, to be certified Gold in the US.
The song is also certified Gold in Austria (25,000 units), Netherlands (50,000 units) and Platinum in Germany (500,000 units).
Calton Coffie, the band’s lead singer between 1986 and 1994, is best known for providing vocals for both hit songs. Coffie passed away in February 2023, his daughter Eruth Spencer told DancehallMag.
Spencer, a little girl at the time of filming, appeared in the music video for Sweat, dressed in pink. The video, directed by Mathias Julien, has over 100 million views on YouTube.
Sweat peaked at No. 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was a number-one hit in Belgium, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe.
The classic tune, inspired by John Holt’s A Love I Can Feel (1970), captures the thrilling feeling of wanting to make a move on someone. The playful and catchy hook “A la la la la long” reinforces this idea, describing the intense longing one feels to make a connection.
Produced by band members Ian Lewis, Roger Lewis, and Touter Harvey, Sweat was released in July 1992 as the lead single from the Jamaican group’s 12th studio album Bad To The Bone.
The Mathias Julien-directed music video, which featured the members performing with female dancers on a beach, and in front of a large crowd on stage, has over
The track has appeared on the soundtrack for the films Anchor and Hope (2017) and The Animal (2001).
The Bad To The Bone album spent two weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 44. In the US, it was re-issued under the title Bad Boys, which spent 49 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked at No. 64.
The Bad Boys album won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1994.
Formed in 1968, Inner Circle is led by brothers and co-founders Roger and Ian Lewis. Reggae legend Jacob Miller was recruited to the group as lead vocalist in 1974 until he died in 1980.
Bernard “Touter” Harvey has been a member since 1973, while the other current members, Lancelot Hall, Trevor “Skatta” Bonnick and
Andre Philips, joined in later years.