The Equals -

The Equals were an English soul-rock band, best known for the hits “Viva Bobby Joe,” “Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys,” and the 1968 UK chart-topper “Baby, Come Back.” Guitarist Eddy Grant later found fame as a reggae pop singer.

Members: Derv Gordon (vocals), Lincoln Gordon (guitar), Eddy Grant (guitar), Patrick Lloyd (guitar), John Hall (drums)

Background

The Equals formed in North London in 1965 when guitarist Eddy Grant and drummer John Hall left a loose circle of jam-session players to assemble a quintet with singer Derv Gordon and guitarists Lincoln Gordon and Pat Lloyd.

Hall came from Johnny and the Walkers, a local group that split early that year. Grant moved from British Guiana to Kentish Town in 1960 and attended Acland Burghley School, where he played trumpet and guitar in school ensembles. His father Patrick Grant, a trumpeter with the Lucky Strike Orchestra in Guyana, taught him guitar chords. Lloyd also attended Acland Burghley School. The Jamaican-born Gordon brothers left Barnsbury School for jobs prior to the formation of the Equals. Hall proposed the name Equals because each member held an equal vote.

The quintet played the Dolphin at St Leonards on May 8, 1965, followed by dates at the Royal Star Ballroom in Maidstone and the Elms Club in South Harrow. All-Star Club owner Ken Edwards auditioned the group in Artillery Passage and later gave the musicians rehearsal space above the club. The Equals supported visiting acts including Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and The Vibrations across the London R&B circuit.

Grant became chief writer for the three-guitar/no-bass lineup. He wrote “I Won’t Be There” while the group rehearsed at his home. Singer Gene Latter, who lived next door, heard the rehearsal and took the Equals to music publisher Edward Kassner at 25 Denmark Street. Kassner signed the group to President Records while Latter became manager.

The Equals released “I Won’t Be There” on President on Nov. 25, 1966 (b/w “Fire”). The group followed with “Hold Me Closer” on June 9, 1967 (b/w “Baby, Come Back”). The quintet then entered Regent Sound Studio A on University Street for Unequalled Equals with engineer Adrian Ibbotson.

Discography:

Unequalled Equals (1967)
Equals Explosion (1968)
Sensational Equals (1968)
Equals Supreme (1968)
Equals Strike Again (1969)
Equals at the Top (1970)

Sources:

Discogs: The Equals

References and notes

MOJO, November 2022 — interviews with John Hall, Eddy Grant, Derv Gordon, and Lincoln Gordon. Hall says Johnny and the Walkers split in early 1965, after which he advertised for musicians and began the sessions at the Hall family home. Grant describes his decision with Hall to organize a permanent group; Lincoln confirms the Guyanese/Jamaican/London backgrounds. This strongly favors 1965 over secondary accounts that place formation in late 1964. (Pocketmags)
Eddy Grant/JIVE interview, 2008. Grant confirms his move from Guyana at age twelve, his father as a musician, trumpet study, school guitar activity, and the sequence from the Hall jam sessions through recruitment of the Gordon brothers and Lloyd. (Charles Thomson)
Garage Hangover gig chronology. Newspaper and Melody Maker listings place the Equals at the Dolphin on May 8 and May 21, 1965; the Royal Star Ballroom on May 22; the Elms Club on June 3; and Bromley Court Hotel on July 12. The May date also supports an early-1965 formation. (Garage Hangover)
Record Mirror, March 5, 1966. A contemporary advertisement lists the Equals at the All-Star Club in Artillery Passage on March 4, providing period confirmation for the club activity Grant recalled. (World Radio History)
45cat — UK Equals discography. This gives “I Won’t Be There” / “Fire,” President PT 117, Nov. 25, 1966, followed by “Hold Me Closer” / “Baby, Come Back,” President PT 135, June 9, 1967. The official Equals biography dates the debut single to 1967, but the 45cat chronology is supported by a Record World review from Dec. 10, 1966, so I would use the November 1966 date. (45cat)
The Equals official Bandcamp — Unequalled Equals. The group account credits Grant with production and arrangements, Adrian Ibbotson with engineering, and Regent Sound Studio A on University Street with the recording. It gives an Aug. 1, 1967 album release. (The Equals)
The Book of Golden Discs. Joseph Murrells independently identifies Grant, Lloyd, and Hall as Acland Burghley schoolmates, places rehearsals at Hornsey Rise, and describes the demo contact that led to President Records. (World Radio History)