Derv Gordon
The Equals in 1968 (l-r): Pat Lloyd, Derv Gordon, Eddy Grant, John Hall, Lincoln Gordon
The Equals in 1968 (l-r): Pat Lloyd, Derv Gordon, Eddy Grant, John Hall, Lincoln Gordon
Background information
Birth nameDervan Gordon
Also known asDerv Gordon
Born (1946-01-29) 29 January 1946
Jamaica
OriginNorth London, England, U.K.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1964-present
LabelsPresident, Just Add Water
Formerly ofThe Equals, The Four Gees

Dervan Gordon (born 29 January 1946) is a Jamaican-born English singer, who was the lead vocalist for The Equals from 1964 to 2017.

Early life

Dervan "Derv" Gordon was born in Jamaica in 1946. He is the older brother to Equals guitarist/bassist Lincoln Gordon (who is commonly misbelieved to Derv's twin brother, when actually there's a two year gap between the two brothers). In 1953, he and his family moved to London.

Career

The Equals

Gordon formed The Equals in 1964 in North London with his brother Lincoln, Eddy Grant, Pat Lloyd, and John Hall. They signed onto President Records after Grant's neighbour, who was a professional singer, got them in contact with President record boss Edward Kassner. Their first single "I Won't Be There" / "Fire" was performed by the group on Beat-Club, a German show they would appear on a number of times between 1967-1968.

The Equals in 1967 (Gordon furthest right)

Their 1968 song Baby, Come Back went to number one in the United Kingdom.[4] The group were known for their interracial personnel, as they consisted of three black people (Derv, Lincoln Gordon, Eddy Grant) and two white people (Pat Lloyd, John Hall),[5] as well as their songs that focused on political issues, such as “Stand Up and Be Counted”, “Police on My Back”, and “Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys”, which differed from the traditional pop themes at the time, and the latter song peaked at number nine in the U.K in 1970.[6][7]

The Equals, without Grant, who had moved back to Guyana in 1971 but still wrote songs for the band, continued to put out new albums into the late 70s, before sticking mainly to performing. In 1987, their song "Funky Like a Train", originally from their 1976 album "Born Ya!" that had been reissued as a single, went to number eighty two in the United Kingdom and was on the charts for three weeks.[4] Their last album, "Roots", was made in 1996.

Gordon continued to tour with the Equals with original guitarist Pat Lloyd until 2017, when he announced his departure from the group after fifty-three years, to focus more on his solo career. The first Equals release without Gordon, a cover of their 1978 song called "Nobody's Got Time", was released in 2022, and was recorded between 2020 and 2021, during the Global pandemic.[8]

Solo

In 1970, Gordon released two solo singles, both under President records. The first was "Every Step I Made" / "I Can Feel The Pain",[9][10] and the second, which featured singer B.B. James, was "Anything You Want" / "Kiss Me, Kiss Me".[11] Gordon left his short solo career behind for nearly five decades, before he revived it in 2017.

His American debut was at The Elbo Room in San Francisco, California, U.S. on 27 January 2017.[12][13] By May 2017, Gordon was singing at concerts in the East Coast of the United States.[14] One of his first performances in San Diego, California, U.S. (one is his most regular cities to perform in) was at the 21-and-up Space Bar in on 15 July 2017.[15]

Gordon mainly tours solo in the United States with backing band called "So What", who have backed Derv since accepting to back him at a one-off event in January 2017.[16][17] So What are a group based in Oakland, California.[14] Gordon toured Europe in October and November 2018.[16] Gordon appeared at the fourteenth Gonerfest event, a yearly musical festival hosted by Goner Records in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2017 with So What.[18][19][20]

Derv (being backed by So What) is set to tour the United States between February and March 2024.[21] The tour will be the first time Gordon has performed in front of a paying crowd since 2019.[21] The tour will take place in U.S. cities in California, Washington state, and Oregon.[21] Gordon is presented on the tour by the music label "Just Add Water".[21]

Other works

In 1967, Derv, Lincoln Gordon , Eddy Grant, and his brother Patrick Grant released a single ("Ethiopia" / "Rough Rider") under the name "The Four Gees", a nod to all four members surnames starting with the letter "G".[22][23] The single was released under Ed Kassner Music, ran by Equals manager Edward Kassner. Gordon co-wrote "Ethiopia" with Lincoln and Eddy, and co-wrote "Rough Rider" with all three other members.[24] The Four Gees only released one single and never performed at a gig.

Legacy

The Equals have been noted as being "the first major interracial rock group in the UK"[25] and "one of the few racially mixed bands of the era".[5] In 2016, Jason Heller of Pitchfork media described Gordon's vocals on "I Won't Be There" as "a bouncy pop anthem spiked with bursts of brass and lead singer Derv Gordon’s spirited growl."[25]

Discography

The Equals

Selected singles

(See full discography at The Equals)

Solo

Singles

  • "Every Step I Made" / "I Can Feel The Pain" (1970)[9][10]
  • "Anything You Want" / "Kiss Me, Kiss Me" (1970)[11]

References

  1. ↑ Valziri, Aidin (July 26, 2017). "The Equals' Derv Gordon returns with classic soul". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-02-07. Derv Gordon of the Equals, England's first multi-racial rock band, is back
  2. ↑ Nachmann, Ron (June 23, 2010). "THE EQUALS: BRITISH MULTIRACIAL SOUL". Dangerous Minds. Guyanese-born London resident Eddy Grant put together the Equals, one of England's most stomping multi-racial soul-rock bands.
  3. 1 2 "The Equals | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-29. High-energy pop/bluebeat band formed in 1965 and featuring original vocalist Eddy Grant.
  4. 1 2 "EQUALS". Official Charts. 1968-02-27. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  5. 1 2 "The Equals Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  6. ↑ "The Equals Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  7. ↑ "BLACK SKIN BLUE EYED BOYS - THE EQUALS | Official Charts".
  8. ↑ "BIO". The Equals. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  9. 1 2 "45cat - Derv Gordon - Every Step I Made / I Can Feel The Pain".
  10. 1 2 "Every Step I Made - Recorded by Derv Gordon on President Records PT 300". The Sheet Music Warehouse. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  11. 1 2 "Anything you want / kiss me, kiss me de B.B. James And Derv Gordon, 45T x 1 chez cdandlp". www.cdandlp.com (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  12. ↑ "Derv Gordon of The Equals plus So What, Apache, DJ Mitch Cardwell at The Elbo Room". www.brownpapertickets.com. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  13. ↑ William (2016-12-04). "Anorak Thing: Derv Gordon of The Equals live in California 1/27/17". Anorak Thing. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  14. 1 2 Pearis, Bill (2017-03-09). "The Equals' Derv Gordon playing first-ever East Coast shows in May (Baby's and Monty Hall)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  15. ↑ Twitter; Email; Facebook (2017-07-15). "Derv Gordon of The Equals to do rare San Diego show at Space Bar tonight". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. 1 2 "DERV GORDON: Former Leader of Legends The Equals Prepares European Tour". Mynewsdesk. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  17. ↑ lilmikesf. "Derv Gordon Comes Back Demand Equal Time In Oakland". lilmike.me. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  18. ↑ Mehr, Bob. "Gonerfest 14 lineup announced, Derv Gordon of U.K. legends the Equals to headline". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  19. ↑ Pearis, Bill (2017-08-24). "Gonerfest 14 - final lineup & schedule; Cobra Man prep new LP (stream "Ociffer")". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  20. ↑ "Gonerfest 14 lineup announced!". MemphisFlyer. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Punknews.org (2023-12-07). "Derv Gordon of the Equals to tour USA in 2024". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  22. ↑ "The Four Gees - Discography".
  23. ↑ Metason. "The Four Gees". ArtistInfo. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  24. ↑ "THE FOUR GEES-ethiopia". shmrecords.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  25. 1 2 "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys: The Story of Pioneering Interracial Rock Band the Equals". Pitchfork. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
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