"(Something Inside) So Strong" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi "Labi" Siffre ( , born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums from 1970 to 1975 and four from 1988 to 1998. His compositions include " It Must Be Love", which reached number 14 on the ...

. Released as a single in 1987, it was one of the biggest successes of his career, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written in 1984, inspired by a television documentary on

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in South Africa seen by Siffre in which white soldiers were filmed shooting at black civilians in the street. He told the BBC's ''Soul Music'' programme in 2014 that the song was also influenced by his experience as a homosexual child, adolescent, and adult. Siffre originally intended to give the song to another artist to sing, but could find no one suitable and was persuaded to release it himself. The song has remained enduringly popular and is an example of the political and sociological thread running through much of Siffre's lyrics and poetry. It won the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and has been used in

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

campaigns. The song was the subject of a 2014 episode of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Soul Music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

'', in which a range of speakers including Siffre discussed the song's significance to them.

Charts

Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

performed a version on his 1989 album ''

Something Inside So Strong ''Something Inside So Strong'' is the twenty-first studio album by American country music singer Kenny Rogers, released in 1989. The album includes the singles "When You Put Your Heart in It", "Planet Texas", "The Vows Go Unbroken", "Something I ...

''.

The Rosa Parks Tribute Singers version

In 1995,

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * D ...

released ''Verity Records Presents: A Tribute to Mrs. Rosa Parks''. A cover version performed by a chorus of gospel singers, including

Fred Hammond Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of differ ...

(who produced the track),

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albu ...

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (Birth name, née Caesar; born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American Gospel music, gospel singer. Her career began in 1951, when she signed to Federal Records at the age of 12. Thro ...

Daryl Coley Daryl Lynn Coley (October 30, 1955 – March 15, 2016) was an American Christian singer. At 14, Coley was a member of the ensemble "Helen Stephens and the Voices of Christ". He began performing with Edwin Hawkins in the Edwin Hawkins Singers and ...

and

Vanessa Bell Armstrong Vanessa Bell Armstrong ( Bell; born October 2, 1953) is an American R&B and gospel singer who released her debut album '' Peace Be Still'' in 1983. She is a seven-time Grammy Award nominee, Stellar Award winner, and she won a Soul Train Award ...

, was the first track.

Rik Waller version

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' contestant Rik Waller reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart with his cover version in July 2002.

Shaun Williamson performance

In 2014, British actor

Shaun Williamson Shaun Williamson (born 29 November 1965) is an English actor best known as Barry Evans in ''EastEnders'' and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC/HBO sitcom '' Extras'', 'Barry off EastEnders'. Early life Williamson was born in Park W ...

performed the song live at the 2014 World Indoor Bowls Championship. After being televised live nationally, it became a

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

and was mashed up in video form with two successive U.S. presidential inauguration ceremonies.

References

1984 songs 1987 singles 2002 singles Labi Siffre songs Rik Waller songs Songs written by Labi Siffre Songs about racism and xenophobia Opposition to apartheid in South Africa Anti-apartheid songs Michael Ball songs LGBTQ-related songs China Records singles {{1980s-single-stub