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of Jamaica for years prior. The group was formed in 1968 by brothers Ian (bass) and Roger Lewis (guitar). They were soon joined by Steven "Cat" Coore, Michael "Ibo" Cooper, and Richard Daley. In 1973 the band split leaving Ian and Roger to put together a new group. The new line-up included keyboardists Bernard "Touter" Harvey and Charles Farquharson, and drummer Rasheed McKenzie. Signed to Trojan Records, they released their debut album Rock the Boat in 1974 which was followed by Blame It on the Sun in 1975. They experienced moderate success with the next few releases however it was not until they were joined by vocalist Jacob Miller that their musical direction would change.

In 1979, they signed with Island Records and released Everything is Great which proved to be an international success peaking in the UK Top 20 and the French Top Ten. Unfortunately, one year later Miller was tragically killed in a car accident on March 23, 1980. The incident led the rest of the band to break up. Ian and Harvey moved to Miami where they opened up a recording studio. Roger joined them several years later initiating the revival of Inner Circle. The re-formed band welcomed Carlton Coffie, the new lead singer and drummer Lancelot Hall releasing the comeback album Black Roses in 1986. The sound of the album consisted of their familiar reggae roots fused with urban, contemporary dance, pop, and R&B. One Way followed in 1987 spawning the smash hit "Bad Boys", however the album failed to emulate the success of their previous efforts.

Their next big hit was the 1993 single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" off of Bad Boys which won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. The next release was the more pop oriented Reggae Dancer featuring the single "Summer Jammin'" which appeared in Eddie Murphy's film Beverly Hills Cop III. Meanwhile Coffie had become seriously ill and was hospitalized. Once he recovered from his illness in 1995, he decided to pursue a solo career and was eventually replaced by Kris Bentley. Inner Circle issued Da Bomb in 1997 featuring the new lead singer and has released several others, the most recent being This Is Crucial Reggae in 2004.