Eddy Grant

For other people with similar names, see Eddie Grant (disambiguation).

Eddy Grant
Grant in Perth, Australia in 2009
Grant in Perth, Australia in 2009
Background information
Birth nameEdmond Montague Grant
Born (1948-03-05) 5 March 1948 (age 76)
Plaisance, British Guiana (now Guyana)
OriginLondon, England
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • drums
  • keyboards
Years active1965–present
Labels

Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948)[10] is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound and socially conscious lyrics; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, African polyrhythms, and Latin music genres such as samba, among many others.[11] In addition to this, he also helped to pioneer the genre of "Ringbang".[5] He was a founding member of the Equals, one of the United Kingdom's first racially mixed pop groups who are best remembered for their million-selling UK chart-topper, the Grant-penned "Baby, Come Back".

His subsequent solo career included the 1982 song "I Don't Wanna Dance", plus the platinum 1983 single "Electric Avenue", which is his biggest international hit. He earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song.[12] He is also well known for the anti-apartheid 1988 song "Gimme Hope Jo'anna".

  1. ^ Ulibas, Joseph (6 October 2014). "Reggae rocker Eddy Grant can still get so excited on Electric Avenue". Axs. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  2. ^ Thompson, Dave (2002). Reggae & Caribbean Music. Backbeat Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-87930-655-7.
  3. ^ Pareles, Jon (11 August 1983). "POP: EDDY GRANT SINGS". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. ^ Perry, Andrew (27 June 2008). "How Eddy Grant gave hope to South Africa". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Greene, Jo-Ann. "Eddy Grant – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 6 October 1979 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Best, Curwen (2004). Culture @ the Cutting Edge: Tracking Caribbean Popular Music. University of the West Indies Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-976-640-124-5.
  8. ^ Himes, Geoffrey. "THE CALYPSO KINGS: BACK ON THE MARCH". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  9. ^ Sweeney, Philip (16 December 1993). "ROCK / 'Ring Bang': the way forward: Eddie Grant, reggae singer turned entrepreneur and soca's Mr Big, is a hard man to track down. Philip Sweeney got tired of chasing after his Mercedes and invited him to tea in Bristol". Independent. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  10. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 243. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  11. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (2 August 1983). "Eddy Grant's Electric Rock". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Eddy Grant". Grammy.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.