For the first time in his career, reggae singer Maxi Priest has earned a Brit-certified single in the United Kingdom.

On Friday July 4, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) issued a silver certification for his 1990 chart-topping single Close to You.

“WOW! I feel good. I feel blessed. I feel appreci-loved. I feel like I have been touched by many angels, and I truly give thanks for that,” Maxi Priest told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

“First, I give thanks to the Most High because, without Him, there is nothing. God first. I also give thanks to everybody who has supported my musical career, especially the song Close to You. I only wish that my parents and my brother were here to be a part of this. I want to say a big thank you to everybody for supporting my music and allowing me to have a career that I truly enjoy,” the British-born singer, who is of Jamaican parentage, stated.

Known for a string of hits including covers of Wild World, Crazy Love, Some Guys Have All the Luck, How Can We Ease the Pain (with Beres Hammond), Set the Night to Music (with Roberta Flack), That Girl (with Shaggy) Just a Little Bit Longer, Groovin in the Midnight, and House Call (with Shabba Ranks), Maxi Priest has three albums that have been certified gold by the BPI — Bonafide, Maxi, and The Best of Me.

Asked what this silver certification signified, Maxi Priest said: “It takes me back to when I was a young boy going through hard times and thinking, ‘There must be another way. There must be a way to make my life better. There’s got to be more than just London, England. There’s gotta be more than this.’ It signifies that if you put your heart and soul into something you can achieve. Set your goals high. Pray, be humble and respectful… but most importantly, for me, having respect, humility, hard work, and dedication. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to encourage everyone to keep the faith.”

But what was it that inspired a song like Close to You and how did the idea for the song come about?

Maxi Priest said: “I was working with Gary Benson and Winston Sela at the time over in Tottenham, and that’s quite a drive from where I was in SE London. So, I was in my jeep with the top down, and throughout the drive I was just admiring the beautiful ladies on the street. The sun was shining — which can be rare in England — it was a beautiful day, and in my admiration, I just started singing, ‘I just wanna be close to you,’ repeatedly, all throughout the ride. I knew I had something, but that’s just the respect I have for any ideas that come my way. By the time I got to the studio, I just kept singing it. Mind you, we were working on other songs during this time, but I just kept singing, ‘I just wanna be close to you,’ and Gary and Winston said: ‘Where’d you get that from? What is that from?’ and I just said it was an idea, a vibe.”

He continued: “We stopped everything, shut everything off, and focused on this line. We wrote the core of the song, did a melody for the rap. Gary went away and pulled some lyrics together for the rap, and we finished it the next day. By the time Erskine, my manager at the time, and I brought the song to Sly and Robbie, Geoffrey Chung, and Handel Tucker, they said, ‘Yeah, this is gonna be a monster,’ and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Close to You was a massive hit in the United States, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1990. It also went to #1 in Australia, #7 in the United Kingdom, #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, and made the top 10 on national charts in Switzerland, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Canada, Austria, and in Belgium.

Maxi Priest spoke about working with the producers on Close to You.

“Working with Sly, Handel, Robbie, Geoffrey Chung, Mikey Chung, and Willie Lindo — you have to understand, all of them are my friends, family, and a true joy — by the time we did Close to You we had already established a friendship and understanding… We’re family. It was a joy and a blessing,” he said.

Recorded in London, the artiste told the Observer that the success of Close to You was a game changer for his career.

“Close to You opened so many doors. But most importantly, the song went across the globe to the people, and I humbly say thank you. It has opened so many doors: for charts around the world, plaques around the world, travelling, meeting new people, and doing shows in places that I would never have dreamed I’d be able to go. It opened so many doors for me and my family, and I hope also for the culture and music that I came from. Hopefully, it opened doors for others, because that was always the intention. This has never been just about me; it was always about us—from the struggles and beyond,” he shared.

Close to You was previously certified gold in America, Australia, and Sweden.