The Equals
Encyclopedia
The Equals were a pop
/reggae
/rock
group that formed in North London
, England
in 1965. They are mainly remembered for its million-selling chart-topper, "Baby Come Back
". Eddy Grant
, then sporting dyed blonde hair, founded the group. Completing the original line-up were John Hall, Pat Lloyd, and twin
brothers
Derv and Lincoln Gordon.
" single
in 1966. It did not do well in the United Kingdom
, but went to the number one position in Germany
and The Netherlands. On the song's re-issue in the UK, it also reached the top position, giving President Records
their only number one hit. In June 1969, the group received a gold disc
for a combined one million sales of the disc
. The year 1968 saw the release of "I Get So Excited" was released in 1968, and reached the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart
. In September 1969, according to reports, all five group members were injured in a motorway car accident in Germany.
A string of single releases followed up to 1970, all of which charted in the UK. The group also attracted attention as one of the few racially integrated bands of the 1960s, which was reflected in the group's name: The Equals.
At the beginning of 1971, Grant suffered a collapsed lung and heart infection, following which he returned to Guyana. He promptly left The Equals to pursue his solo
career. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Grant released several Top 40 singles, including "Living On The Front Line", "Electric Avenue
" and "Romancing the Stone". Grant also topped the UK Singles Chart
in 1982 with "I Don't Wanna Dance
". Although The Equals never charted again after Grant's departure, they remained a popular live act, performing into the late 1970s and beyond.
In 1980, The Clash
recorded a cover version
of The Equals' song "Police On My Back" (a track from the group's Baby, Come Back
album). In 2006 Willie Nile
released his cover of "Police on My Back" on his Streets of New York
CD
.
The Equals' song "Green Light" was covered by The Detroit Cobras
, on their 2007 album
, Tied & True
.
The song "Baby Come Back" refused to go away. It returned in 1994, when Pato Banton
scored an unexpected UK number one with his cover.
Chelsea Handler
described a meeting with Pat Lloyd in chapter 6 of her book, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group that formed in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1965. They are mainly remembered for its million-selling chart-topper, "Baby Come Back
Baby Come Back (The Equals song)
"Baby, Come Back" is a song written by Eddy Grant, and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band The Equals.-The Equals version:...
". Eddy Grant
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant is a musician, born in Plaisance, Guyana.- Life and career :When he was still a young boy, his parents emigrated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park...
, then sporting dyed blonde hair, founded the group. Completing the original line-up were John Hall, Pat Lloyd, and twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
brothers
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
Derv and Lincoln Gordon.
History
In 1965, the group began playing together on a Hornsey Rise council estate. The Equals released "Hold Me Closer" / "Baby Come BackBaby Come Back (The Equals song)
"Baby, Come Back" is a song written by Eddy Grant, and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band The Equals.-The Equals version:...
" single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1966. It did not do well in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but went to the number one position in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and The Netherlands. On the song's re-issue in the UK, it also reached the top position, giving President Records
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
their only number one hit. In June 1969, the group received a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
for a combined one million sales of the disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. The year 1968 saw the release of "I Get So Excited" was released in 1968, and reached the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In September 1969, according to reports, all five group members were injured in a motorway car accident in Germany.
A string of single releases followed up to 1970, all of which charted in the UK. The group also attracted attention as one of the few racially integrated bands of the 1960s, which was reflected in the group's name: The Equals.
At the beginning of 1971, Grant suffered a collapsed lung and heart infection, following which he returned to Guyana. He promptly left The Equals to pursue his solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Grant released several Top 40 singles, including "Living On The Front Line", "Electric Avenue
Electric Avenue (song)
"Electric Avenue" is a song by Eddy Grant, from his 1982 album Killer on the Rampage. It was released as a single in 1982, and went on to be very popular, reaching #2 on both United States and United Kingdom singles charts...
" and "Romancing the Stone". Grant also topped the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1982 with "I Don't Wanna Dance
I Don't Wanna Dance (Eddy Grant song)
"I Don't Wanna Dance" was a UK number one single for three weeks in November 1982 for Eddy Grant. It was also released in the US in the fall of 1983....
". Although The Equals never charted again after Grant's departure, they remained a popular live act, performing into the late 1970s and beyond.
In 1980, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
recorded a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Equals' song "Police On My Back" (a track from the group's Baby, Come Back
Baby, Come Back (album)
Baby, Come Back is an album by British Invasion group The Equals. It was released in 1968 by their UK label, President Records. In the U.S., RCA Victor obtained the rights to manufacture and distribute the album in all of the Americas....
album). In 2006 Willie Nile
Willie Nile
Willie Nile is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”...
released his cover of "Police on My Back" on his Streets of New York
Streets of New York (album)
Streets of New York is the fifth studio album by New York City based singer/songwriter Willie Nile. This is Nile’s tribute to the city that gave him international exposure to the music world through the critical eyes and ears of the New York Times...
CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
The Equals' song "Green Light" was covered by The Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras are an American garage rock cover band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1994.-History:The Detroit Cobras signed with Sympathy for the Record Industry and released their first full-length album, Mink Rat or Rabbit, in 1998...
, on their 2007 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Tied & True
Tied & True
Tied & True is the fourth album by The Detroit Cobras, released 24 April 2007 .-Track listing:#As Long As I Have You#* Original by Garnett Mimms#Nothing But A Heartache#* Original by The Flirtations...
.
The song "Baby Come Back" refused to go away. It returned in 1994, when Pato Banton
Pato Banton
Pato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname 'Pato' from his stepfather, and 'Banton' from the disc jockey slang for a "heavyweight DJ".-Biography:Born in Birmingham, Banton first came to public attention in the early 1980s when he worked with The...
scored an unexpected UK number one with his cover.
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Handler
Chelsea Joy Handler is an American stand-up comedian, humorist, television host, actress, model and best-selling author. She currently hosts a late-night talk show titled, Chelsea Lately on the E! Cable Television Network. In 2009 she won a Bravo A-List Award...
described a meeting with Pat Lloyd in chapter 6 of her book, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea is a 2008 best-selling book by Chelsea Handler that was released on April 22 by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The book is a collection of humorous and mostly autobiographical essays about her life...
.
Original line-up
- Derv Gordon - lead vocals - born Dervin Gordon, 29 June 1948, JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- Lincoln Gordon - guitar - born 29 June 1948, Jamaica
- Eddy Grant - guitar - born Edmond Montague Grant, 5 March 1948, PlaisancePlaisancePlaisance is a French word, meaning pleasantness, derived from the Latin placentia 'acceptable things'.The name Plaisance may refer to:Locations in Europe* Neuilly-Plaisance, in the Seine-Saint-Denis département in France...
, GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British... - Pat Lloyd - bass guitar - born Patrick Lloyd, 17 March 1948, HollowayHolloway, LondonHolloway is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Islington located north of Charing Cross and follows for the most part, the line of the Holloway Road . At the centre of Holloway is the Nag's Head area...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - John Hall - drums - born 25 October 1946, IslingtonIslingtonIslington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
UK chart singles
- "I Get So Excited" / "The Skies Above" - (1968) (UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#44) - "Baby Come BackBaby Come Back (The Equals song)"Baby, Come Back" is a song written by Eddy Grant, and originally performed and recorded by him and the rest of his band The Equals.-The Equals version:...
" / "Hold Me Closer" - (1968) (UK #1, IRLIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
#2, NORNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
#4, USBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#32) - "Laurel And Hardy" / "The Guy Who Made Her a Star" - (1968) (UK #35)
- "Softly Softly" / "Lonely Rita" - (1968) (UK #48)
- "Michael and The Slipper Tree" / "Honey Gum" - (1969) (UK #24)
- "Viva Bobby Joe" / "I Can't Let You Go" - (1969) (UK #6, IRL #3)
- "Rub A Dub Dub" / "After the Lights Go Down LowAfter the Lights Go Down Low (song)"After The Lights Go Down Low" is a popular song written by Phil Belmonte, Allen White and Leroy C. Lovett and published in 1956. It has been recorded by many artists...
" - (1969) (UK #34) - "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" / "Ain't Got Nothing to Give You" - (1970) (UK #9)
UK chart albums
- Unequalled Equals - (1967) (UK #10)
- Equals Explosion - (1968) (UK #32)
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)
- UK No.1 Hits of 1968
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of performances on Top of the Pops
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- Caribbean music in the United KingdomCaribbean music in the United Kingdom- Music from Trinidad :Large-scale Caribbean migration to England began in 1948. The Empire Windrush carried almost 500 passengers from Jamaica, including Lord Kitchener, a calypso singer from Trinidad. By chance, a local newsreel company filmed him singing "London Is The Place For Me" as he got...
- IBC StudiosIBC StudiosThe IBC Recording Studios were recording studios in 35 Portland Place, London, England. After the Second World War it was the address of the leading independent studio in London and the British Isles...
- Laurie RecordsLaurie RecordsLaurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
- RCA RecordsRCA RecordsRCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
External links
- Complete list of LPs and singles
- [ The Equals biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...