1. Edmond Montague Grant was born on 5 March 1948 and 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.
Eddy Grant 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".
Eddy Grant earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song.
Eddy Grant is well known for the 1988 anti-apartheid song "Gimme Hope Jo'anna".
Eddy Grant was born in Plaisance, British Guiana, later moving to Linden.
Eddy Grant's father, Patrick, was a trumpeter who played in Nello and the Luckies.
Eddy Grant lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park, where he learned to read and write music.
Eddy Grant became a big fan of Chuck Berry, and after seeing him play at the Finsbury Park Astoria decided on a career in music.
In 1965, Eddy Grant formed the Equals, playing guitar and singing background vocals, and the band had two hit albums and a minor hit with the single "I Get So Excited" before having a number one hit in 1968 with his song "Baby, Come Back".
On 1 January 1971, Eddy Grant suffered a heart attack and collapsed lung, leading to his departure from the Equals to concentrate on production, opening his own Coach House Studios in the grounds of his Stamford Hill home in 1972, and starting Ice Records in 1974, initially distributed by Pye Records and later by Virgin Records.
Eddy Grant produced the Pioneers' 1976 album Feel the Rhythm, as well as early recordings by his younger brother Rudy, working under the name the Mexicano.
Eddy Grant returned to that chart in 1980 with the top 10 hit "Do You Feel My Love", the opening track of Can't Get Enough, the 1981 album giving him his first entry in the UK Albums Chart.
From 1982 onward, Eddy Grant was based in Barbados, the same year releasing his most successful album, Killer on the Rampage, which included his two biggest solo hits, "I Don't Wanna Dance", which spent three weeks at number one in the UK as well as selling well internationally, and "Electric Avenue", which reached number 2 in both the UK and the US.
Eddy Grant began producing and promoting local artists such as David Rudder, Mighty Gabby, Tamu Hibbert, and Grynner.
Eddy Grant's albums Going for Broke, Born Tuff, and File Under Rock failed to chart and produced no further hit singles.
Eddy Grant participated in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament.
Eddy Grant returned to the charts in 1988 with the anti-apartheid single "Gimme Hope Jo'anna", a number 7 hit in the UK.
Eddy Grant continued releasing albums in the 1990s, including Barefoot Soldier, Paintings of the Soul, Soca Baptism and Hearts and Diamonds.
In 2004, Eddy Grant created a song for the yogurt based drink Yop, to the tune of "Gimme Hope Jo'anna".
In September 2020, Eddy Grant sued Donald Trump, who was President of the United States at the time, for unauthorised use of Eddy Grant's 1983 chart hit "Electric Avenue" in an August 2020 presidential campaign video.
Eddy Grant's song plays during 40 seconds of the animated 55-second video.
Eddy Grant asked that Trump and campaign advisor Dan Scavino's testimony be permanently sealed because it would give an "unwarranted competitive advantage" to his opponents in the 2024 presidential election, and because it "could be used against them in other, parallel, litigations unrelated to this matter".
In 2016, it was announced that Eddy Grant would receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the government of Guyana.
Eddy Grant was previously honoured with a postage stamp featuring his likeness and ringbang logo by the Guyana Post Office Corporation in 2005.
Eddy Grant was nominated for a Grammy in the 26th Annual Grammy Awards for his song "Electric Avenue".