The Equals comprised of:
Eddy Grant - vocals & guitar (b. 5th March 1948, Plaisance, Guyana.
Dervin ‘Derv’ Gordon - vocals (b. 29th June 1948, Jamaica)
Lincoln Gordon - bass (b. 29th June 1948, Jamaica)
Patrick ‘Pat’ Lloyd - guitar (b. 17th March 1948, Holloway, London)
and
John Hall - drums (b. 25th October 1946, Islington, London)
The Equals were, originally, a Sixties Rock & R&B group, who hit the charts with the single ‘Baby Come Back’ in 1967.
The Equals were of the few racially integrated bands of the Sixties, thus the group’s name.
The group were formed a year earlier in North London.
Eddy Grant had, earlier, relocated to the U.K. in 1960, taking up residence in the Stoke Newington area of London.
‘Baby, Come Back’ sold over a million copies at the time, a far cry from their beginnings, performing on a council state in Hornsey Rise in London.
The song was released, originally, on the President imprint in 1967, as the flipside to ‘Hold Me Closer’, but later charted in 1968, when the track was reissued on the Parlophone label.
‘Baby, Come Back’ reached the number one chart position in Germany and the Netherlands, previously, prompting the re-release.
un-equall-ed equals - 1967 / explosion - 1968 / sensational equals - 1968 / equals supreme - 1968
In 1968 the group released ‘I Get So Excited’ b/w ‘Giddy-Up-A Ding Dong’, which reached the Top 50 U.K. Singles Chart.
The following year all five group members were injured in a motorway car accident in Germany.
The group recovered and continued to release singles, including ‘Rub A Dub Dub
‘ b/w ‘After The Lights Go Down Low’, ‘Viva Bobby Joe‘ b/w ‘Instant Love’, ‘Michael And The Slipper Tree’ b/w ‘Honey Gum’, and ‘Green Light‘ b/w ‘Love Potion’, (all in 1969).
equla strike again - 1969 / viva the equals - 1969 / viva bobby joe - 1969 / equals at the top - 1970
On New years Day in 1971, Eddy Grant suffered a heart attack and a collapsed lung.
He returned home to Guyana, after which he departed the group, for a solo career.
Eddy opened up his own recording studio, (The Coach House), in 1972.
The group’s last studio album was ‘Equals At The Top’ (released in 1970), although retrospective albums were issued in the following couple of years.
That year, the group released the single ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’ b/w ‘Ain't Got Nothing To Give You’, the a-side of which formed the bass track for the Muscle Shoals Horns dancer ‘Breakdown’ in 1976.
born ya! - 1976 / mystic syster - 1978
Also in 1976, Eddy returned to write and produce for the group, which realised the ICE Records album ‘Born Ya’, which featured the club friendly ‘Funky Like A Train’.
Following appearances on the BBC’s ’Top Of The Pops’ music programme (performing ‘Funky Like A Train’), the Equals issued ‘Mystic Syster’ in 1978.
The album featured another club hit in the dancer ’Nobody’s Got Time’.
Eddy the returned to his solo career, with ‘Mystic Syster’ being the group’s final album release.
The Equals disbanded in 1979, reunited in early 1980’s, but without Eddy Grant.
In 1980, The Clash recorded a cover version of The Equals' song ‘Police On My Back’.
albums:
Unequalled Equals (President Records 1967)
Explosion (President Records 1968)
Sensational (President Records 1968)
Baby, Come Back (RCA Victor 1968)
The Equals (Sintonia Records 1968)
Supreme (President Records 1968)
Strike Again (President Records 1969)
Y Ahora...Equals Viva Bobby Joe (Sintonia Records 1969)
Viva The Equals (President Records 1969)
Equals At The Top (President Records 1970)
Rock Around The Clock Vol 1 (President Records 1973)
Born Ya! (ICE Records 1976)
Mystic Syster (ICE Records 1978)
