A youth and community worker Don John saw their potential and set about managing them, and with a rudimentary knowledge of music they grew to become local heroes within a community and in a city bereft of black role models.  Their status was further enhanced when they qualified for the finals of the Melody Maker Battle of the Bands national competition. Judges Annie Lennox and John Conteh, amongst others, were impressed by their talents; and their success resulted in a recording contract with EMI Records. The band toured extensively in mostly the South of England and established an enthusiastic following and collaborated with Black Slate, Aswad and Steel Pulse amongst others.

Over the years Ebony Rockers reformed, on a number of occasions , with some of the original members and have continued to play with a variety of different musicians further enhancing the band’s wonderful mixture of music influenced by Reggae, Soul, Hip-Hop and other music forms that have played a part in their life experience as the children of the “Windrush Generation” and are still viewed by many as a significant part of the Black History of Southampton

However one legacy of the band emerged in early 2000 when bassist George David's son Craig was very successful in the RnB world and went on to be a huge international star A young Craig saw the Ebony Rockers rehearsals and as Don claims:  "We like to think that it rubbed off on him!"

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