Eddy Grant is in a
pretty unique position in that aspects of his work are revered by all sorts of
musical communities. He is regarded as a
pioneer by connoisseurs of skinhead reggae and soul, freakbeat, glam rock, rare
groove, disco, soca, electro, house, and so on.
But there is no one definitive discography or documentary, book or boxed
set, which draws all these strands together.
There are very few
artists who have been as passionate about independence and self-sufficiency,
but you won’t find many mentions of him in high-brow titles published by Faber. There have been few artists of Caribbean
origin who have been as successful, but he gets barely a mention in Dick
Hebdige’s Cut ‘N’ Mix. There have been few singers as outspoken
about the Black British experience, but you won’t find a chapter on him in Paul
Gilroy’s There Ain’t No Black In The
Union Jack. He is, like Jorge Ben, a
master of musical miscegenation, but his artistic achievements are not analysed
at length by academics.
What the hell. This edition is a celebration of Eddy Grant's music. And today Eddy Grant just happens to be celebrating his birthday ...