Eddy Grant

Edmond Montague Grant was born on 5 March 1948 in Plaisance, British Guiana, now Guyana. His father was a trumpeter, and his parents lived and worked in London, sending money home for his education. In 1960 Grant emigrated to join them, settling in Stoke Newington in London, where he learned to read and write music.

In 1965 he formed The Equals, one of Britain's first multi-racial pop groups, with the Jamaican-born twin brothers Derv and Lincoln Gordon and two English musicians. Grant, the lead guitarist and principal songwriter, wrote 'Baby, Come Back', which was reissued as a single in 1968 and went to number one in the UK, becoming the band's first million-seller. He also wrote political songs such as 'Police on My Back', later covered by The Clash.

He started his own label, Ice Records, in 1974, and had a solo career that produced some of the most distinctive pop records of the early 1980s. 'I Don't Wanna Dance' reached number one in the UK in 1982, spending three weeks there, and 'Electric Avenue' became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1983. He also wrote the title song for the 1984 film Romancing the Stone.

In 1982 Grant moved to Barbados and opened Blue Wave Studios near St Lawrence Gap, where he recorded his most commercially successful album, Killer on the Rampage. The studio has hosted major artists and producers over the years. He is also the creator of ringbang, his own genre blending reggae, calypso, soca and rock.

Grant's music was often political. During the 1980s he supported the anti-apartheid movement with 'Police on My Back' and 'Gimme Hope Jo'anna' (1988), which was banned by the South African government and reached number seven in the UK. He received Guyana's National Award, and was honoured with a postage stamp in 2005. He still runs Blue Wave Studios.