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Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) 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 music, British rock, soul music, funk, reggae, electronic music, African polyrhythms, and Latin music genres such as samba, among many others. In addition to this, he also helped to pioneer the genre of "ringbang". He 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".
His subsequent solo career included the 1982 song "I Don't Wanna Dance", plus the platinum 1983 single "Electric Avenue", which is his biggest international hit. He earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song. He is also well known for the 1988 anti-apartheid song "Gimme Hope Jo'anna".
In this period he also worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists, including Symarip (producing their debut single "Train Tour to Rainbow City") and Prince Buster, for whom he wrote "Rough Rider", and started the Torpedo record label, releasing British-made reggae singles.
From 1982 onward, Grant was based in Barbados (where he opened his Blue Wave Studios), 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. He also began producing and promoting local artists such as David Rudder, Mighty Gabby, Tamu Hibbert, and Grynner. A lean period followed; his 1984 title song for the movie Romancing the Stone was cut from the film and stalled outside the UK top 50 when released as a single, although it fared better in the US and Canada. His albums Going for Broke (1984), Born Tuff (1987), and File Under Rock (1988) failed to chart and produced no further hit singles. Grant participated in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament (1987).
Grant returned to the charts in 1988 with the anti-apartheid single "Gimme Hope Jo'anna", a number 7 hit in the UK. The song was banned by the South African government.Perry, Andrew (2008) " How Eddy Grant gave hope to South Africa", The Daily Telegraph, 27 June 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2016 In the late 1980s he pursued other business interests including music publishing and a nightclub, and built up the success of his Blue Wave studio, which was used by the Rolling Stones, Sting, Cliff Richard and Elvis Costello.
Grant continued releasing albums in the 1990s, including Barefoot Soldier (1990), Paintings of the Soul (1992), Soca Baptism (1993) and Hearts and Diamonds (1999). In 1994 he introduced a new genre, ringbang, at the Barbados Crop Over festival. Grant said of ringbang: "What ringbang seeks to do is envelop all the rhythms that have originated from Africa so that they become one, defying all geographical boundaries." In 2000 he organised the Ringbang Celebration festival in Tobago. In 2001, a remix of "Electric Avenue" reached number 5 in the UK and an attendant Greatest Hits album reached number 3 in that country.. Chart Attack, 9 October 2001
In 2004, Grant created a song for the yogurt based drink Yop, to the tune of "Gimme Hope Jo'anna". On 18 April 2006, Grant released the album Reparation.Jeffries, David. " Reparation Review", AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2016 The title of this album is a call for restitution for the transatlantic slave trade. There was an 11 year gap before his next album, when he released his 2017 album Plaisance.
In 2008, he performed at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday concert, and also played several dates in the UK, including the Glastonbury Festival. As of 2023, Grant has refused to allow his music on Streaming media platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify, out of protest for how the platforms pay artists. However, in February 2024, his album Killer on the Rampage became available on the aforementioned streaming services again, including the original version of "Electric Avenue."
Trump's attorney told the court that the deposition contained sensitive information about Trump's presidential campaign strategy. He 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". On 13 September 2024, the court ruled that fair use did not apply to the campaign ad and that Trump had to pay Grant damages in an amount to be determined by a jury, as well as Grant's legal fees. "The video is best described as a wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad," the judge wrote. Copyrightlately noted: "With liability established, the case will now focus on determining damages."
On 20 November 2024, the court issued an order stating that the two sides had settled the lawsuit and that the case would be discontinued. The order did not disclose the terms of the settlement.
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