The Equals

The Equals performing on the Dutch TV programme Fenklup on 27 May 1967

The group's members met on a Hornsey Rise council estate,[4] where Grant, Lloyd and Hall were school friends at Acland Burghley. In 1965, Hall suggested that they form a band. John Hall (drums), Eddy Grant (Lead Guitar), Pat Lloyd (Rhythm Guitar), Derv Gordon (vocals) and Lincoln Gordon (Bass Guitar) became The Equals.

At first The Equals performed in London, and gained a following "with their apparently limitless energy and a distinct style fusing pop, blues, and R&B plus elements of ska and bluebeat."[2] They often opened the bill at shows by visiting American R&B and soul artists such as Bo Diddley, Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett.[5][6] A neighbour of Grant's, singer Gene Latter,[6] put them in touch with President Records, whose boss Edward Kassner heard them and agreed to sign them.[5]

The Equals released their first single “I Won’t Be There” in 1966,[7] followed by “Hold Me Closer”, with “Baby, Come Back” as the B-side.[2] It did not do well in the United Kingdom, but after DJs in Europe began playing “Baby, Come Back”, it went to the number one position in Germany and the Netherlands.[2]

The year 1968 saw the release of “I Get So Excited”, which reached the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. The subsequent re-issue of “Baby, Come Back” in early 1968 reached the top position in the UK, giving President Records its only number one hit.[8] In June 1969, the group received a gold disc for a combined one million sales of the disc.[4] A string of single releases followed, several of which charted in the UK, including two further top 10 hits, “Viva Bobby Joe” (1969) and “Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys” (1970).[2]

Their songs were written by Eddy Grant, with contributions from the Gordon brothers Pat Lloyd. Though the majority were on traditional teenage pop themes, some, such as “Stand Up and Be Counted”, “Police on My Back”, and the funky “Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys”, touched on social and political issues.[5]

The band also released several albums on President in quick succession—seven in four years[5]—including Unequalled Equals (1967) and Equals Explosion (1968), both of which reached the UK albums chart.[9] Several of their albums were repackaged by RCA, President’s distributors, for the American market. According to Derv Gordon, Kassner did not allow the band to tour the U.S. because of problems that might have arisen because of their multiracial line-up, though the band did tour other parts of the world, including Africa.[5][6]

They made regular TV appearances on programmes including Top of the Pops in Britain and Beat-Club in Germany.[3] The band also gained attention for their colourful clothes, presaging the glam rock style, and for Grant’s occasional dyeing of his hair blonde, and wearing a woman’s blonde wig. Writer Jason Heller commented: “The Equals were effectively code-switching between two audiences—immigrant rude boys and white pop fans—in the same song, if not the same line."[3]

In September 1969, all five group members were injured in a motorway car accident in Germany.[10] Grant was the most severely injured and as a result left the touring version of the Equals while initially continuing to write songs for them. In January 1971, Grant suffered a collapsed lung and heart infection, following which he returned to Guyana.[11] He soon started to pursue a solo career; in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several Top 40 singles, including "Living on the Front Line", "Electric Avenue", "Romancing the Stone" and "Gimme Hope Jo'anna". Grant also topped the UK Singles Chart in 1982 with "I Don't Wanna Dance".

In 1982, due to German public demand, concert promoter Rainer Haas contacted Pat Lloyd to get The Equals back touring in Germany. Consequently, in 1982, Pat Lloyd reformed The Equals and became the registered Trademark and Copyright owner with Eddy Grant. The Equals in 1982 consisted of Pat Lloyd, Derv and Lincoln Gordon, Ronnie Telemacque and Rob Hendry. Lincoln Gordon left the band shortly after its reformation and in the same year David (Dzal) Martin who had been a temporary member between 1973-1975, rejoined permanently as lead guitarist. In 2017 Derv Gordon left The Equals and later that year two new members joined The Equals; Decosta Boyce (lead vocals), previously of the funk band Heatwave, and Mark Haley on keyboards, previously with The Kinks and The Rubettes featuring Alan Williams.

The Equals continued to record, increasingly influenced by funk and reggae music.[3] Although The Equals never charted again after Grant's departure, they released an album Roots in 1995, mainly written by Pat Lloyd with contributions from David (Dzal) Martin. Today, The Equals continue to tour in UK, Europe and to Worldwide audiences. Pat Lloyd is the only remaining and longest-serving original founder member of The Equals since its formation in 1965.[12]

• Unequalled Equals – (1967) (UK no. 10)
• Equals Explosion – (1968) (UK no. 32)[9]
• Sensational Equals – (1968)
• Equals Supreme – (1968)
• Baby, Come Back - (US compilation, 1968)[17]
• Equals Strike Again - (1969)[17]
• Equals at the Top - (1970)[17]
• Rock Around the Clock Vol. 1 - (1973)
• Born Ya! - (1976)
• Mystic Syster - (1977)
• Roots - (1996)

• Doin' the 45's – (1975)[18]
• First Among Equals – The Greatest Hits – (1996)[19]
• Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys – The Anthology – (1999)[20]