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Eddy Grant music biography continued...

to London when he was 12. In 1965, Grant formed the Equals, a multi-racial band that scored their first hit with 1967's"I Get So Excited." In 1968, "Baby Come Back," climbed to number one on the British charts, earning the Equals a measure of success. But after some health issues kept him sidelined, Grant disbanded the group and went off in search of a solo career. A shrewd businessman, in 1972 he set up the first black-owned recording studio in Europe, Coach House, and began recording his own music on his Ice Records. In 1979, Grant scored a hit "Living on the Frontline" under a distribution deal with Columbia Records. In 1981, Grant relocated to Barbados and built the Blue Wave studio complex. Around this time, Grant moved Ice Records distribution in Europe to RCA and recorded the album, Killer on the Rampage, which landed on both the British and American charts at number ten. The album yielded "I Don't Wanna Dance," which topped the chart in the U.K., while "Electric Avenue," from his next album, 1982's Going for Broke, landed at number two on both sides of the Atlantic. The two hits proved Grant a musical sensation and savvy businessman all at once.



After his own success as an artist began to wane, Grant stayed in the spotlight by shifting his focus to Ice Records, and beginning to reissue recordings by calypso and soca artists, such as the Mighty Sparrow, Roaring Lion, Lord Melody and others. He pursued further experimentation promoting a genre of music he called ringbang. Many of the genre's elements were found in the artist's earlier recordings, from African rhythms to military tattoos, alongside soca itself and dancehall rhythms. Grant's foray into ringbang created controversy, but no one ever accused him of lacking a creative spark or entrepreneurial passion. In terms of his own music, Grant has continued to experiment with different styles in ever-changing combinations. Pop, funk, new wave, reggae, Caribbean, African, and even country have all found their way into his repertoire. In 2008 Grant undertook his first UK tour for more than twenty years, reminding fans of what had made him so special in the first place.