LOS ANGELES – A true great of Caribbean music, Eddy Grant may be the only major artist in the world who owns every song he has recorded in a 40-year plus career. Now Grant has entered into an exclusive licensing arrangement with Universal Music Enterprises for the distribution of that catalogue so fans may access those recordings as he returns to the stage.
The Reparation World Tour reaches the U.S. August 1-28 and October 2-30. The first album to be issued under the deal is THE VERY BEST OF EDDY GRANT – THE ROAD TO REPARATION (Mercury/UMe), released July 8, 2008.
Spanning his solo career from 1979 to 2005 — from his second album, WALKING ON SUNSHINE, to his latest, REPARATION — the collection includes 11 classic tracks selected by Grant himself. Notable among them are his two biggest hits in the U.S. (the #2 pop “Electric Avenue” and Top 30 pop “Romancing The Stone”) and three U.K. Top 10s (“Gimme Hope Jo’Anna,” “Do You Feel My Love” and #1 “I Don’t Wanna Dance).
Born in Guyana but raised in North London, Grant founded The Equals, in the mid-’60s the first multicultural pop-rock outfit to achieve global acclaim (“Baby Come Back”). While it was not fashionable at the time to be associated with Jamaican culture, he also experimented with reggae, creating records for other artists as a writer-producer. His solo breakthrough came with WALKING ON SUNSHINE, which boasted the title track as well as his first solo hit, the #11 U.K. “Living On The Frontline.” 1981’s CAN’T GET ENOUGH then yielded “Do You Feel My Love.”
But it was the next year’s KILLER ON THE RAMPAGE, recorded at his studio in his new home in Barbados, that made him an international star.
His blend of social commentary lyrics with a complex yet pop friendly sound deftly mixing international influences was epitomized by “Electric Avenue,” which talked about tensions in the streets over a pulsating instrumental track of new-wave synthesizers and funky grooves. THE VERY BEST OF EDDY GRANT also adds the album’s “War Party.”
In 1984, he wrote the title song for the hit adventure film “Romancing The Stone,” showcasing Grant’s wailing, rock-style guitar solo. His GOING FOR BROKE album that year included “Romancing The Stone,” “Come On Let Me Love You” and “Boys In The Street.”
He returned to the international pop scene in 1988 with “Gimme Hope, Jo’Anna,” an anti-apartheid message (Jo’Anna meaning Johannesburg) wrapped in a funky, catchy Caribbean-pop melody. The most recent track on THE VERY BEST OF EDDY GRANT is “Gotta Be Positive” from 2005’s REPARATION.
Over the years, Grant’s classic works have been covered by artists as diverse as Prince Buster, Jaheim, UB40, Pato Banton, and The Clash. Now the original returns, both on stage and with THE VERY BEST OF EDDY GRANT – THE ROAD TO REPARATION.
Eddy Grant has gained an enormous amount of press in the UK, including: the BBC’s, “Later, with Jools Holland,” an interview with Gary Crowley from BBC London radio, and featured interview in the Daily Telegraph, not to mention his participation in July’s O2 Wireless Festival and Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Concert in Hyde park later this month. “Electric Avenue” will also be featured in a new movie out this August, “Pineapple Express” starring Seth Rogan from “Knocked Up.”
