music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" is a song written by Guyanese-British musician Eddy Grant and recorded in London in 1970 by his band the Equals. Their recording, produced by Grant, reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1971 and was the band's last chart hit.[2]

"Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys"
Single by the Equals
B-side	"Ain't Got Nothing to Give You"
Released	December 1970
Genre	Funk[1]
Length	2:50
Label	President PT 325
Songwriter(s)	Eddy Grant
Producer(s)	Eddy Grant

The Equals were noted for being one of the first ethnically-mixed bands in the UK. The song was described by journalist Chris Taylor as "a hymn to diversity" which "explicitly linked its racial theme with the anti-Vietnam war sentiment of the time".[3] The song is also notable for heralding a shift in the band's sound, from the Caribbean-influenced pop-rock which had given them their initial success in the late 1960s to an embrace of funk music.[1] Lloyd Bradley has described the song as "the first recognisably black British statement - a song that saw itself as being (British) in both words and music, and announced that London's indigenous black soul music was entirely self-sufficient".[4]

In 2019, "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" was covered by the Specials as the opening track on their album Encore.[5] Lynval Golding of the Specials said: "I've always thought of The Equals as our spiritual ancestors: they were a massive inspiration to all of us, genuine heroes.... Doing their song on the album is a tribute, our way of thanking them for everything they've done and how much they meant to us...".[6]

The song was also covered by Australian band Hush, and released as a single in 1973. The single was taken from Hush's album Aloud 'N' Live.

References

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