The legendary Eddy Grant played WOMAD as part of his first UK tour for more than 20 years.

Eddy Grant stole the show and the crowd went crazy for the opportunity to see this great Caribbean musical ambassador in action, and there was a whole lot of action going on that stage to the delight of the massive crowd that turned out to see him. With over 40 years in the industry Eddie Grant seemingly breezed through the set with the aplomb of an artist who knows what's wanted and delivers far more than you could hope for, an artist that certainly exceeds expectations. All the well loved classics were there and some newer tracks as well.

Finishing with all the great crowd pleasers 'I don't Wanna Dance','Electric Avenue',  'Gimme Hope Jo'anna' and finally a tremendous rendition of 'Come Back' it was over all to soon and the crowd was left calling  'Come Back Eddy' - sadly it wasn't to be - licensing laws meant that we couldn't get Eddy back again - gutted - mind you that crowd wouldn't have let him go and I think we'd all still be there now were it possible!

Born on 5 March 1948 in Plaisance, Guyana Eddy Grant moved to England as a child with his parents who settled in Kentish Town in London. He had his first number-one hit in 1968 with with his song "Baby Come Back" with his then band The Equals. A serious heart attack at a very young age meant that he was very nearly lost to us, but thankfully he made a full recovery returning to his native Guyana in 1971 to recover, he remained there for many years and set up his own recording company, Ice Records.

Always politically active  the single, "Gimme Hope Jo'anna", was released during the apartheid regime ("Joanna" stood for Johannesburg, South Africa) was a song about apartheid in that country, other songs that have a political edge include "War Party" and "Living on the Front Line".

Eddy Grant now resides in Barbados where he continues to champion Classic Calypso, Soca and ‘Ringbang’and involve the local community, in particular youth culture. Eddie Grant has four children and he has been married for over 20 years, his performance at WOMAD was part of his first big tour in over 20 years, let's hope he returns to the Uk again - only much, much  sooner.

Eddy Grant Official Website

Eddy Grant Wikipedia

Eddy Grant Ice Records

Eddy Grant MySpace