The Equals (May 1967)

[pfordsq]

It's amazing , if this was their only #1 in the UK or on the Continent. I don't think they charted as high for other labels (Baby, Come Back was lesser hit for RCA in The U.S.)You could listen to one of many 25 , or even 50 ,track compilations , and you'd be hard - pressed to find one bad song.

[pfordsq]

I always just saw the one - upmanship as a good - natured comedy routine , tho' Eddy does'nt even get a chance to say he's originally from (British) Guyana , not Jamaica. Is this from '67? I always thought "Baby Come Back" came out in '68 in Britain , as well as The U.S. No big deal , just wondered.

[jazzhkpc]

@pfordsq - "The Equals released "Hold Me Closer" / "Baby Come Back" 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." - Wiki

[Khultan]

 Hilton1949, THANK YOU : ) : )

[MultiStats]

Fabulous! This was fun--wish I'd been there.

Thanks for posting, Hilton!

[Catherineone]

Seems like the other day I saw them at Tottenham Royal

Steve Wonder when he was about 16 or 17 years old also at the Royal

Could go on and on but tears come to my eyes thinking of such great times

[Wehategod]

I friggin Love this band Hold me Closer Baby come Back and so forth the energy is great

[MrJacksonvill]

it's so funny I never knew that Eddy Gran was a part of this group...great to know he (Eddy went on wrote great hits later in his career...you can see from the get go just from the start of that interview..who would emerge..that little one was a punk in the beginning of the interview..typical group memebers sometimes worrying about their shine...Ashine that he peobably wouldn't get as a solo..that was Eddy Grant the moderater was talking to at first..The real Star of the group.

[Khultan]

@MrJacksonvill  The short got merely put his arm over the shoulder of Eddy and nothing more. Eddy was very wrong to react that way but the short guy undoes this by slapping Eddy's face and giving the pointing finger 'no, no' to him. Now, that's where he steps over the line.

[MrJacksonvill]

@Khultan thats what I meant by wanting to get his shine..I hope Eddie reprimanded him in a sever manner back then..I know group dynamics..I was in one where Egos were flying..but the true star always emerge.

[Khultan]

@MrJacksonvill Yes, you're correct.I know about what you say, b-boys are often egocentric  too.

[PED51]

Saw the Equals live early 70s, had a great night.

[mokacode]

Eddy Grant.....

[giantbluewhale]

VIVA EQUALS!! they were so good!

[neilam6]

i wana go back and see these guys

[czam73]

This Band Rocks!!!! Excellent Sound!!! The Best Band Rythm and Lyric Sound I've ever heard!!!! Baby Come Back was a classic, remember listenning to an Oldie Radio Staion in The U.S., as a kid. Awesome Music!!!!

[toweronepower]

Im jamaican cor blimey i swears i am guv!

[Bohnenblust91]

Good Sound! Good Music! Unvergesslich!:D

[roostertrigger]

august 1968...

[PAULLONDEN]

0:11 MOVE! ......no come back,

Eddie all tensed up ; ] understandable ,they were about to perform,and under adrenaline.☼

ByTheWay.....it's Eddie's screams that made 'Baby Come Back' so exciting.

[PsychedelicGuy]

Really good songs, I never really gave this band a chance, but seeing this made me see they were alot better than just Baby Come Back, only thing that would make this cooler would be if they wore the cool lookin mod outfits they wore in their photo shoots....Thanks for turning me onto them!

[creelump]

fucking brilliant and so groovy I just shat

[Pitfossil]

Even more than you think - they were black and white, so their music was banned in South Africa.

[stubbyguy]

I always thought this band was a white group. They sound ahead of their time

[immortelle3]

one of their members was Eddy Grant!

[art72]

bootboy band.....sounds ahead of their time....b4 suade head generation

[boneypart]

i just have to say that im 54 and i dont remember anyone ever using the words "garage" or "punk" to describe certain bands back in the 60s. it was all just lumped under 'rock&roll" more or less, every band just wanted to get on the radio. my personal opinion is that most so-called garage bands of the mid-sixties were more or less trying to sound like the early rolling stones.

[oldphoque]

I hit the thumbs down on accident. Sorry. You are right. Many just craved the sucess the beatles had and mimmicked.

[bIackbunny]

I miss VH-1 in germany!! : ((

[oldphoque]

Don`t feel bad. We don`t watch it in the states anymore because they don`t show music. Same with MTV. No videos, no viewers.

[minutegongcoughs]

Eddie Grant well ahead of the possee. Great band. I was nine and still love this track

[KubikCv]

nice....no playback...great 5 stars

[bluesbrother37]

Lots of racial tension at the start!

[sanchorb]

Great group and song, what an ass of a presenter. "I´m from England", says the white boy, "yeah, I can see", says the idiot. What a fucking genius, condescending moron.

[patrickshark]

I never realised what a great record this really was or how punky they were. they're so original. It's a shame there haven't been more black people people in rock bands over the years.

[Babyhowdy233]

Thes guys were just terrific and if justice had been done they would have been HUGE. THANKS for posting this rarity! :)

[gittahfiend]

you bet.I totally agree!

[FrederickShopping]

THEY INVENTED punk before the white people even made loads of money from it.........

[RP50]

Yeah - tell that to the Leaves, the Standells, the Blues Magoos, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Music Machine, the Sonics, the Seeds and 100 other bands that were doing punk rock long before 1967.

[ironsrock]

Thanks for posting - this is awesome!

Cheers!

Bobbi and Joe (Viva!)

[naychud]

Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys was great and so was Softly Softly and I Get So Excited. A strange group, no real bass...all tinny sound. Baby Come Back wss too kiddish. Lively back. Eddie Grant was the biz...not really featured on these dinosaur films. Derv Gordon? Was he the singer?

[naychud]

Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys was great and so was Softly Softly and I Get So Excited. A strange group, no real bass...all tinny sound. Baby Come Back wss too kiddish. Lively back. Eddie Grant was the biz...not really featured on these dinosaur films. Derv Gordon? Was he the singer?

[VintageVideoVault]

The Equals had a hit called Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys (Ain't gonna fight no wars)...has anyone found it anywhere...

[yardmanja]

look for Eddie Grant the lead singer, you should be able to find it under his name.

[metrodash]

Nuh, Eddy lead guitarist, listen for him yell "That's what I said!"

[Babyhowdy233]

Eddy was born in Guyana but had actually moved to the UK with his family when he was a child. If you listen closely to him talking here you can detect his soft British accent. He was the lead guitarist and chief songwriter for the Equals (these are Eddy's songs) He was just a lad of nineteen but was already a terrific songwriter! Eddy got very physically run down touring and got a heart infection and collapsed lung and had to leave the Equals and go into hospital in '71...almost died!

[missmaryewing]

Thanks for sharing this. I first heard the Equals on Radio Luxembourg in 1967. They had a single called 'Give Love a Try' which was not a hit, but its a good song. I bought the album Unequalled Equals which contained Baby Come Back and several other brilliant songs. Does anyone know if this albumcan be bought on CD? it had a beautiful song called 'Cant You Hear That Melody' which I have not heard for years. Happy days!

[NickB1967]

What is Eddy Grant up to today? He had a big hit and some minor hits in the 1980's too.

[betokkikke]

From a couple of simple catchy armonies like in this 1966 hit by The Equals, pop music never did come back to such that simplicity and developed a complexity in pop songs today, as themes written to incredible singers like Mariah Carey with a longer range of notes in melody and sometimes reaching almost three ottavas.

[betokkikke]

How incredible that from a couple of simple catchy tunes like they play in this 1966 hit The Equals, music never did come back to that simplicity and developed in such a complex manners that we still can hear now how pop songs written to incredible singers like Mariah Carey have a long range of melody covering more than just eight notes and sometimes almost three ottavas.

[kickassfan]

Good ones...!

[quundar]

underated & & overcopyed 10 yers after