INTERVIEW: Eddy Grant
- Posted on July 3, 2008 11:19 AM
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Interview By Zarina Raja
Eddy Grant, the British Reggae musician, is back this summer to take the UK by storm. It’s been twenty years since he last toured here, so there is a lot of catching up to do.
With songs like Baby Come Back, Electric Avenue, Walking on Sunshine and Living on the Frontline, Eddy Grant is undeniably the nostalgic soundtrack to the summer.
With a new CD, The Very Best of Eddy Grant, a tour, and two recent appearances at the Nelson Mandela Concert and Glastonbury, Eddy Grant is back at the height of his game.
You played at Glastonbury this weekend. How was that?
It was absolutely sublime. It was a beautiful experience. We played on the Jazz stage.
Did you manage to go and see anyone play?
No, no-one. I only managed to meet up with some old friends from years ago. But I didn’t get to see a set because I was signing autographs for people. I didn’t even know who was playing until I got there. What was more important for me though was taking in the environment. It was kept in pristine condition. There was no rubbish – it was nothing that I had expected with regards to the festival. It is like the place that time forgot.
Your career has made a composer, a musician, and a producer out of you.
Is there anything left that you want to do?
I just want to keep on making music.
Your CD, ‘The Very Best Of Eddy Grant’ is out now. How do you go about choosing the tracks for a CD like this? There must be so many songs that you want to use.
Yeah, that is the unfortunate thing about it. You must include the major hits and also you have to use music for all the generations or educate them in some way. I have got to the point now where I can take other people’s advice and they let me know what they think.
Let’s go back to the start, what is your first musical memory?
My first musical memory is being about five-years-old and pulling my father’s trumpet case from under the bed and blasting away at 6 O'Clock in the morning.
Which musician has been a sole influence in your life?
First of all, my father, then there is The Mighty Sparrow, Chuck Berry, James Brown and just about every Blues player there has ever been.
Your MySpace tells us of a ‘meticulous method’ of recording. Can you expand on this method for those of us who aren’t technical?
I play all the instruments on my recordings so you have to go about recording it all in a special way. You just end up sitting on more and more music and not knowing when to stop.
Has your method of recording changed over the years?
Well, there are more sophisticated forms of technology, but I have never allowed it to overpower my input.
You have been making music for a long time now. Is there anything contemporary that impresses you?
It’s very difficult because you hear something, and think, well, that’s nice…but then there is no real continuity. There are so many of the older artists out there that are still doing a phenomenal business. It is kind of like cooking and everything else.
You have been all over the world with your music. Which place has been the country to have influenced you most or meant the most to you?
It is very hard – I am a person of the world. I really do believe that I belong all over the world as opposed to any one spot.
There has been a fair amount of illness in your life and you have had to temporarily stop making music. Has there ever been a moment where you thought you might have to stop altogether?
Stop making music? That would be a crime against God.
The details of your career have been highly impressive. What has been the defining moment in your career?
I think the defining moment for me was writing Living on the Frontline. I love playing it live.
You have your UK tour lined up – the first in twenty years. How are you feeling about it?
It is an opportunity to get out there and play for some people that brought the records on the past and to go and see some places that I haven’t seen for years.
Have you planned your set list yet?
Well, after we have done the first set, we consistently alternate it because we have so many songs.
What is the most memorable gig that you have ever played?
Well, I would have to say now that it is the Mandela Concert. That will stand out in my memory. This one had such a great significance to it. It was a significant moment in history.
What is the most memorable gig that you have been to as a audience member?
That is quite easy. James Brown, live at the Walthamstow Granada in 1966. Nothing has beaten that since then.
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