Songfacts®:

• The 2 Bears are a London-based musical alternative dance duo comprising Hot Chip's Joe Goddard and DJ Raf Rundell. They met in 2009 while working together at the Greco-Roman soundsystem parties and got together one drunken all-nighter after a friend proposed that the pair, plus Joe Mount from the band Metronomy, form a band called 'The 3 Bears'. Goddard and Rundell ultimately formed as a two piece without Joe Mount. This is the title track of their first complete album, which was released on January 29, 2012.
• The album is intended to be an antidote to the UK economic crisis as reflected by its title. Said Goddard to The Sun: "I think there is a need for music to uplift people in some kind of way or another."
• Rundell told The Sun that Be Strong was recorded in "a very un-rock 'n' roll" manner. He explained: "The studio's in Joe's house so his wife and the new baby were downstairs while we were making the record. It was a very un-rock 'n' roll process. There was a lot of ping-pong and soup being made. It wasn't like any record I'd been involved with previously — people usually drink through the night. That's probably why it's such a cheerful record. We were feeling good and weren't out partying every night."