The Harder They Come (song)

In 1969, singer Jimmy Cliff met film director Perry Henzell, who was intending to make a film about a musician who turned to crime. Cliff agreed to take the lead role, and the film was shot over the next two years. During filming, Cliff came up with the line "the harder they come". Henzell thought it would make a good title for the film, and asked Cliff to write and record a theme song for it.^[2]

The actual recording of the track, at Dynamic Sounds, was filmed for inclusion in the movie. Cliff wrote the melody, and improvised the lyrics. The musicians were Gladstone Anderson (piano), Winston Wright (organ), Winston Grennan (drums), Linford "Hux" Brown (lead guitar), Ranford "Ranny Bop" Williams (rhythm guitar), and Clifton "Jackie" Jackson (bass).^[2]

Quick facts Single by Joe Jackson Band, B-side ...

"The Harder They Come"
Single by Joe Jackson Band
B-side	"Out of Style", "Tilt"
Released	June 1980
Genre	Reggae, rock
Length	3:50
Label	A&M
Songwriter	Jimmy Cliff
Producer	Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson Band singles chronology
"Kinda Kute" (1980) "The Harder They Come" (1980) "Mad at You" (1980)

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Joe Jackson recorded "The Harder They Come" with his band and released it as a single in 1980. It did not make an appearance in the UK singles chart, but did reach number 67 on the Record Business magazine's Singles Chart.

Quick facts Released, Genre ...

"The Harder They Come"
Single by Rockers Revenge featuring Donnie Calvin
Released	1983
Genre	Electro
Length	3:37
Label	London
Songwriter	Jimmy Cliff
Producer	Arthur Baker

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"The Harder They Come" was recorded by the group Rockers Revenge in 1983 after their successful cover version of the Eddy Grant song "Walking On Sunshine" the previous year. The single peaked at number 13 in the US Dance Chart and at number 30 in the UK and Irish Singles Chart.

Quick facts Single by Madness, from the album Madstock! ...

"The Harder They Come"
Single by Madness
from the album Madstock!
Released	16 November 1992 (1992-11-16)[9]
Length	3:27
Label	Go! Discs
Songwriter	Jimmy Cliff
Producers	Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"My Girl" (1992) "The Harder They Come" (1992) "Night Boat to Cairo" (1993)

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"The Harder They Come" was released as a single by English ska band Madness in November 1992 after a successful reunion concert held at London's Finsbury Park. The single was recorded live at the event along with its B-sides. Although in 1992 Madness had success with reissues of "It Must Be Love" and "My Girl", their version of "The Harder They Come" failed to make the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 44.^[10]

However, this single was notable as Madness performed it on Top of the Pops from Red Square in Moscow, Russia by satellite, with bassist Mark Bedford and saxophonist Lee Thompson being absent from this performance.^[11]