[3] The group's members met on a Hornsey Rise council estate,[5] where Grant, Lloyd and Hall were school friends at Acland Burghley.

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.

"[3] They often opened the bill at shows by visiting American R&B and soul artists such as Bo Diddley, Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett.

[6][7] A neighbour of Grant's, singer Gene Latter,[7] put them in touch with President Records, whose boss Edward Kassner heard them and agreed to sign them.

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.

[5] 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).

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.

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.

[13] In 1982, due to German public demand, concert promoter Rainer Haas contacted Pat Lloyd to get The Equals back touring in Germany.

Lincoln Gordon left the band in 1986 and in the same year David (Dzal) Martin, who had been a temporary member between 1973 and 1975, re-joined permanently as lead guitarist.