Edmond Montague "Eddy" Grant (born 5 March 1948 in Plaisance, Guyana, then a British colony) is a British reggae musician. When he was still a young boy, his parents relocated to London, UK, where he settled. He lived in Kentish Town and went to school at the Acland Burghley Secondary Modern at Tufnell Park.
He had his first number-one hit in 1968, when he was the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the group The Equals, with his song "Baby Come Back". The tune also later topped the UK Singles Chart again when it was covered by Pato Banton. Another Equals' hits included "Viva Bobby Joe". In 1971, Grant went home to Guyana following a collapsed lung and heart infection which put him out of action at the beginning of that year. He promptly left The Equals to pursue his solo career. Also 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. As a result, he is thought to be the only major recording artist who owns the rights to all his songs. In 1979, Grant scored a hit "Living on the Frontline" under a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which bought the masters to all of his recordings with the Equals and set up a record pressing plant. 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. The relationship with RCA proved particularly fruitful as the album would spawn his hits "I Don't Wanna Dance" and "Electric Avenue". Both of these tracks made the UK Top five, with "I Don't Wanna Dance" going to number one in the UK chart in September / October 1982.
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