Bad Boys (Inner Circle song)

"Bad Boys"
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)"
Released	1991, 1993
Format	7-inch single
Genre	Reggae
Length	3:52
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Ian Lewis
Music sample Bad Boys

"Bad Boys" is a 1987 song by the Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle, which obtained "high" popularity in the United States after its re-release in 1993, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the Top 40 Mainstream. It is well known as the opening theme to the U.S. TV show Cops.

The song was originally released in 1987 on the album One Way and obtained minor airplay and poor sales. However, 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 and number 8 in the United States; in the latter territory, it was certified gold and sold 600,000 copies. The song was also released as B-side on Inner Circle's 1992 single "Sweat (A La La La La Long)". The song was also released as a single in mid-1991 in Norway; it peaked at number one for three weeks.

This song makes references to "Sheriff John Brown", who was the sheriff killed in Bob Marley's song "I Shot the Sheriff".