Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys

"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.[1]

"Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys"
Single by The Equals
B-side"Ain't Got Nothing to Give You"
ReleasedDecember 1970
Length2:50
LabelPresident 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".[2]

In 2019, "Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys" was covered by The Specials as the opening track on their album Encore.[3] 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...".[4]

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
  1. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 92. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  2. Chris Taylor, "Old music: The Equals – Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys", The Guardian, 15 November 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2019
  3. Hermes, Will (2019-02-02). "British Ska-Punk Legends the Specials Return in Top Form on 'Encore'". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  4. Interview with Lynval Golding, Record Collector, #489, February 2019, pp.106-107
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