Background
Grant, Eddy was born on March 5, 1948 in Plaisance, Guyana.
Grant, Eddy was born on March 5, 1948 in Plaisance, Guyana.
He is also known for a successful solo career that includes the platinum single "Electric Avenue". The AllMusic journalist Jo-Ann Greene noted: "Eddy Grant stands among an elite group of artists as one who has not just merely moved successfully across the musical spectrum, but has actually been at the forefront of genres and even created one of his own. From popular star to reggae radical, musical entrepreneur to the inventor of ringbang, the artist has cut a swathe through the world of music and made it his own." He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park.
Grant had his first number one hit in 1968, when he was the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the group The Equals, with his self-penned song "Baby Come Back".
The tune also topped the United Kingdom Singles Chart in 1994, when covered by Pato Banton featuring Robin and Ali Campbell of the reggae group UB40. Notably, he openly used his songwriting for political purposes, especially against the then-current apartheid regime of South Africa.
The Clash recorded a version of "Police on My Back" for their Sandinista! set. Ice Records Grant set up his own recording company, Ice Records and the Coach House studio, but more recently has returned to the West Indies from London, choosing Barbados as a more realistic venue for a recording company, rather than his country of origin.
He has also produced Sting, Mick Jagger and Elvis Costello.
Other political protest songs included "War Party" and "Living on the Front Lincolnshire".
He was a founding member of The Equals, one of Britain"s first racially integrated popular groups.
