“Wow! I don’t know. Ich weiss nicht!”
WRONG. It was Dale Winton.
“Dale was a good friend. It was tough to get radio play and I never complained, but as a DJ, Dale was one of those people, along with [fellow DJ] Greg Edwards, who stood up for us and my brothers and helped tremendously. Dale would have asked me to make him a pop star as a joke. He wasn’t serious, but obviously he became a big star in his own right.”
Your back catalogue still isn’t on Spotify or streaming services. Do you worry that it makes it harder for people to discover your music?
“Well, that is true and of course we’re looking at doing that, but it’s not as easy as one would like to think. I’ve been waiting 40 years for the technology to come along where I don’t have to go to beg the radio stations to play my music and where my fans can have access to everything that I’ve made, but then you find out that the Spotifys and the Apples have taken over the music business in a very aggressive way, and sell your music for cheaper than what I think it’s worth as the creator.
“We’ve had talks and I’ve said, ‘No, I don’t think that’s right’. It might appear that I’m being truculent – but it’s a question of principle. But unfortunately, I’m looking seriously at having to join this bandwagon because that’s where our fans are.”
The verdict: 2/10
“Oh man! You can’t imagine! My brain cells haven’t started warming up yet! [Laughs]”
– Eddy Grant will be inducted to the Music Walk of Fame in Camden, London on September 7, where he will have a paving stone laid in his honour. He is also celebrating 40 years since the release of his album ‘Killer on The Rampage’, which gave us the hits ‘Electric Avenue’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance’.
