( Something Inside ) So Strong - Wikipedia ( Something Inside ) So Strong For the 1989 Michael Ball album, see Something Inside So Strong. `` ( Something Inside ) So Strong '' Single by Labi Siffre from the album So Strong B - side `` I 'm Alright '' Released February 1987 Format 7 '' vinyl, 12 '' vinyl Genre R&B, gospel Length 4 : 48 Label China Songwriter ( s ) 2B RECORDS Producer ( s ) Glyn Johns Labi Siffre singles chronology `` Nightmare '' ( 1982 ) `` ( Something Inside ) So Strong '' ( 1987 ) `` Nothin 's Gonna Change '' ( 1987 ) `` Nightmare '' ( 1982 ) `` ( Something Inside ) So Strong '' ( 1987 ) `` Nothin 's Gonna Change '' ( 1987 ) `` ( Something Inside ) So Strong '' is a 1987 single written and recorded by British singer - songwriter Labi Siffre. The song was one of the biggest successes of his career, and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written in 1984, inspired by a television documentary on Apartheid 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 and his inner Chi. Siffre originally intended to give the song to another artist to sing, but could find no one suitable and was convinced 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 for `` Best Song Musically and Lyrically '', and has been used in Amnesty International campaigns, a television advertisement and Alice Walker 's film against female genital mutilation : Warrior Marks. Notably, it has been adopted by Irish Republicans to commemorate the resistance of the ten men who died on hunger strike in Long Kesh Prison near Lisburn in 1981. The song has been covered by many artists, including country singer Kenny Rogers who featured it on his 1989 best selling album of the same name, and also by Pop Idol contestant Rik Waller who reached # 25 in the UK Single Charts with it in 2002. The song was featured in an advertisement for the Peugeot 307 in 2001. References Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 498. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. ^ Jump up to : Mathur, Paul ( August 1989 ). `` So Strong ''. Spin : 32. ISSN 0886 - 3032. Retrieved 2015 - 05 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Soul Music, Series 18, Something Inside So Strong ''. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 21 September 2015. Labi Siffre wrote Something Inside So Strong in 1984. Widely believed to have been inspired by seeing film footage from South Africa, of young blacks being shot at by white policeman, he now reveals that the lyrics were also informed by the oppression he had experienced as a homosexual. Ivor Novello Awards -- Best Song Musically and Lyrically 1960s `` She 's Leaving Home '' ( 1968 ) 1970s `` Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? '' ( 1970 ) `` Something '' ( 1971 ) `` Do n't Let It Die '' ( 1972 ) `` Without You '' ( 1973 ) `` Daniel '' ( 1974 ) `` Streets of London '' * ( 1975 ) `` Do n't Cry for Me Argentina '' ( 1978 ) `` Baker Street '' ( 1979 ) 1980s `` The Logical Song '' ( 1980 ) `` Woman in Love '' ( 1981 ) `` Memory '' ( 1982 ) `` Have You Ever Been in Love '' ( 1983 ) `` Every Breath You Take '' ( 1984 ) `` Against All Odds '' ( 1985 ) `` Nikita '' ( 1986 ) `` Do n't Give Up '' ( 1987 ) `` Something Inside So Strong '' ( 1988 ) `` They Dance Alone '' ( 1989 ) 1990s `` The Living Years '' ( 1990 ) `` Sacrifice '' ( 1991 ) `` The Whole of the Moon '' ( 1992 ) `` Why '' ( 1993 ) `` If I Ever Lose My Faith in You '' ( 1994 ) `` Think Twice '' ( 1995 ) `` Common People '' ( 1996 ) `` Too Much Love Will Kill You '' ( 1997 ) `` Paranoid Android '' ( 1998 ) `` Believe '' ( 1999 ) 2000s `` Strong '' ( 2000 ) `` Babylon '' ( 2001 ) `` Walk On '' ( 2002 ) `` The Other Side '' ( 2003 ) `` Leave Right Now '' ( 2004 ) `` Dry Your Eyes '' ( 2005 ) `` Suddenly I See '' ( 2006 ) `` Elusive '' ( 2007 ) `` Love Is a Losing Game '' ( 2008 ) `` One Day Like This '' ( 2009 ) 2010s `` The Fear '' ( 2010 ) `` Becoming a Jackal '' ( 2011 ) `` The A Team '' ( 2012 ) `` Next to Me '' ( 2013 ) `` Strong '' ( 2014 ) `` Take Me to Church '' ( 2015 ) `` Was n't Expecting That '' ( 2016 ) `` Black Man in a White World '' ( 2017 ) * Awarded as The Best Song This 1980s single - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=(Something_Inside)_So_Strong&oldid=832327132 '' Categories : 1980s single stubs 1987 singles 2002 singles Labi Siffre songs Songs written by Labi Siffre Opposition to apartheid in South Africa 1987 songs Music in the movement against apartheid Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 25 March 2018, at 08 : 52. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song something inside so strong
Answer: British singer-songwriter Labi Siffre