MUSIC legend Eddy Grant has revealed that he is writing a book about his life and already has his next two albums recorded.
The classic album Killer on the Rampage was released over forty years ago and it has finally made it’s way to streaming platforms, much to the delight of fans.
The album has achieved a high following on Spotify with hit song Electric Avenue gaining over 20,000 streams attracting both long-time Eddy Grant fans and a new wave of listeners.
Speaking exclusively with The Sun about the re-released album, Eddy said: “Well it’s open to a new listenership not only of the young, but also those who didn’t have the opportunity to grab the album.
“Music and culture has changed significantly since that record and many of its time, so the chances are that it will do exceedingly well because it has done so without any help.
“I’m happy about it.”
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The 76-year-old musician of Guyanese descent is widely recognised for his contributions to many genres from Reggae to Pop becoming a musical icon who dominated the eighties with his many successful hits.
The singer-songwriter has released fifteen studio albums with Killer on the Rampage achieving worldwide success at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart in the US.
Eddy discussed some of his upcoming projects revealing that he’s already got two new albums recorded, he said: “There’s always Eddy Grant projects I mean I’ve got my next two albums recorded.
“The albums will come but first we’ve got the business of getting the past into the streaming environment so that we’re not falling all over ourselves.”
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As well as announcing two new albums the music star revealed that he is in the process of writing an autobiography which will document his incredible life.
“It’s hell, I mean I’ve been writing for years, I mean because it’s a lot of variation in themes and in times and in music’s and in culture and all of that.
“You are also dealing with people and that’s one of the things about writing an autobiography because relationships change over time, go from good to bad and bad to good.
“But I suppose eventually it must get to a point where even if I’m going to have to do two or three books, the first one must come out and I’m trying my hardest.”
As a trailblazer in the music industry Eddy has wowed crowds all over the world, but confesses that being on tour is no walk in the park.
Describing tour as “hell” the music legend said: “Preparing for touring is hell, simply because again cross-genre music requires cross-genre people, yeah or else you’re not really getting very far.
“So it takes a lot of preparation, as much as I love to play, the bringing together, the finding those people is very very difficult for me and it has made me not tour as much as.
“Some time has been lost with me in touring and that but again, at the end of the day it’s a question of what will survive, the records survive.
“I have to put an emphasis more on making recordings than on touring-touring is hell.”
When asked if he would do another one, he said: “Maybe I’ll do it next year or maybe I’ll do it when I’m 80, I don’t know but I try to keep fit that should the occasion arise, I can take the stress.”
Eddy’s song-writing often carried a political message as much as it was commercial.
The iconic track Electric Avenue topped the UK charts in 1982 and is an homage to the first market street to be lit by electricity located in the London district of Brixton.
“Electric Avenue is a special place to Brixton because of what it signified, the electrification of the place.
“It’s become a cultural icon, invariably because the record did so well and it’s carried a very strange name to many parts of the world.
When asked about the current gentrification of Brixton, Eddy said: “Well, first of all nobody likes to be gentrified because invariably it causes some loss.
“I think Brixton will survive and will survive very nicely because most of us who know it today won’t be around when that time comes which is sad, but it’s a reality.”
The famed musician was a member of The Equals, a multi-racial band of the 60s, who had smash hits like I Get So Excited and Baby Come Back, which sold over a million copies.
Much like their song Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys, The Equals were the first successful interracial rock group to come out of the UK, a concept that was so alien at the time.
Eddy shared his thoughts on what it felt like being in the band, he said: “It was like stepping out of the satellites or whatever it is, the rockets that they send up to the moon or these places, it was like stepping out into the vacuum of space.
“My father actually told me, he says I don’t know why you’re wasting your time with that, because England doesn’t have a place for one like you and I said, no, England’s got to make a place for one like me.”
The hitmaker has inspired many artists over the years including rock band The Clash who covered his track Police Is On My Back.
“People cover the songs and they like it, they don’t like it, some I like, some I don’t, I like The Clash’s Police On My Back,” says Eddy.
“I also like the Asian Dub Foundation’s cover of Police On My Back, that particular song has had a hell of a lot of covers all over the world.”
When asked if he had ever declined a request to sample or cover his music, he said: “Only if they’ve tried to steal it occasionally it happens and then the artist blames the management.”
As a master of genre-fusion Eddy has become a pioneer for a host of music styles such as Reggae, Soca and Pop.
In 1994, he took his innovation to the next level by creating his own genre Ringbang- a Caribbean fusion of music.
The singer shared his thoughts on the impact that heritage can play in connecting with audiences and inspiring future generations.
He emphasised the importance of artists embracing and sharing their cultural pride, saying: “All that the musician does if he’s doing it genuinely is playing himself.
“Whatever his cultural content is that’s ideally what you play but in some cases like my case for example you’re ‘trans-genre-ing’, you’ve been a part of so many cultures that it’s an amalgam.
“Again, this is one of the things that I’m writing in my book.
“It’s interesting what happens when culture travels.”
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Last week, Eddy spoke at the British Library as part of the Beyond the Bassline: 500 years of Black British music exhibition, delving into the importance of many topics in the music world.
You can check out his talk here: https://www.blplayer.co.uk/eventlink/796/Onb53ZkC#video-iframe
