Eddy Grant rolls back into Electric Avenue after a 20-year break

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 14:45

AFTER a 20-year hiatus, there's been a steady roll of gigs for reggae rocker Eddy Grant since hitting the road again last year.

So why, after such a long absence, did the Electric Avenue hitmaker start touring again?

"It all started last year when I performed at a Mandela Concert, Glastonbury and Womad," smiles the affable singer, who plays a solo show at Studio 24 to warm-up for his forthcoming UK tour with soft-reggae legends UB40.

"As a result (of those gigs], I decided that having sold all of these records all of these years and not having played to a significant number of the people who bought them, I should really go make their acquaintance.

"I've missed the fantastic times of being on the road with the band and stuff," he adds.

Now 61, and with four decades of musical experience, Guyana-born Grant, who first found fame in the late 60s with chart-topping group The Equals, says he has never thought about retiring.

"That time hasn't arrived yet," smiles Grant, whose other big hits include I Don't Want To Dance and Baby Come Back.

"I've got a fairly young outlook on life. I don't think time has been eroding my energy or my need for creating music. I think I've managed a certain balance with my lifestyle, and, therefore, I've had a longer period of creativity."

Swapping band life to become a solo artist, says Grant, has been key to his longevity.

"If you're one member in five, you have your own particular political thoughts and sometimes you want to air them, but it might not be the same beliefs of the other guys," he says.

"I would see that as being slightly unfair to them. That was one reason which precipitated my leaving (The Equals].

"The other reason was just the time, and in 1971 I had become extremely ill with my heart and that prompted me to look at my career. I couldn't continue what I was doing with a dicky heart, so I took my leave of my situation – which turned out was the right thing to happen at that time."

The veteran singer could be said to come from a long line of protest writers, so what issues are important to him at the moment?

"There are many, but I don't write for the sake of writing," he says. "If something happens politically which upsets my sensibilities, eventually that will come out in a song. I don't just sit there and think, 'Oh there's something happening in Afghanistan, I've got to write about that' – I'm not that kind of writer.

"But if there is a particular injustice highlighted in the media which particularly catches my attention, I'll write about it," he adds.

Following his gig at Studio 24 next week, Grant says he's looking forward to touring with UB40, who famously scored a number one single with his song Baby Come Back.

"UB40 and I have a crossing of paths because we've known each other a long time," he says. "We have a lot of respect for each other."

Eddie Grant, Studio 24, Calton Road, Wednesday, 7pm, 20, 0131-558 3758