Eddy Grant
b. Edmond Montague Grant, 5 March 1948, Plaisance, Guyana, West Indies. Grant was 24 years old, with several hits to his credit, when he left the Equals to form his own production company. After producing other acts, he made his own debut in 1977 with MESSAGE MAN. It was certainly a solo effort. Not only did he sing and play every note, but it was recorded in his own studio, the Coach House, and released on his own label, Ice Records. Grant had developed his own sound—part reggae, part funk, strong musical motifs, strong melodies—pop with credibility. More than 10 years after the Equals’ first hit, Living On The Front Line (1979) was a UK number 11 hit, and the now dreadlocked Grant had found himself a whole new audience. Do You Feel My Love and Can't Get Enough Of You kept him in the UK Top 20. In 1982 he moved his home and studio to Barbados, signed Ice Records to RCA, and achieved a memorable UK number 1 hit with I Don't Wanna Dance. The following year Electric Avenue reached number 2 on both sides of the Atlantic, and the parent album KILLER ON THE RAMPAGE proved his biggest seller. The huge hits eluded him for four years until he stormed back in January 1988 with Gimme Hope Jo'anna, as if he had never been away. The dressing of the anti-Apartheid message in the apparent simplicity of a pop song was typically inspired.