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

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. His best known compositions include " It Must Be Love" which reached number 1 ...

. 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 UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was written in 1984, inspired by a television documentary on

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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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 entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and has been used in Amnesty International campaigns, a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

advertisement and

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

's film against female genital mutilation: '' Warrior Marks''.

Charts

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 * DeW ...

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 differe ...

(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 albums ...

, Shirley Caesar,

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 gospel singer who released her debut album '' Peace Be Still'' in 1983. Armstrong is an 7x Grammy Award Nominee, Stellar Award Winner, and a Soul Train Award winner. She has wo ...

, 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 par ...

'' contestant

Rik Waller Richard "Rik" Waller (born 1981) is an English pop singer. After appearing as a contestant on the TV series ''Pop Idol'', he had two UK Top 40 hits with cover versions of "I Will Always Love You" and "(Something Inside) So Strong". Early ...

reached #25 in the UK Single Chart with a cover version in July 2002.

Barry from EastEnders version

A 2014 rendition of "(Something Inside) So Strong" by the 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 ...

(aka

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

from EastEnders) was performed live at the

2014 World Indoor Bowls Championship The 2014 Just Retirement World Indoor Bowls Championship was held at Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton on Sea, Great Yarmouth, England, between January 10–25, 2014. It was won for the first time by Scotland's Darren Burnett. It was sponsored by Ju ...

, After being televised live nationally, it became a popular meme and was notably mashed up in video form with two successive U.S. presidential inauguration ceremonies.

References

1987 singles 2002 singles Labi Siffre songs Songs written by Labi Siffre Opposition to apartheid in South Africa 1987 songs Anti-apartheid songs Michael Ball songs LGBT-related songs China Records singles {{1980s-single-stub