
Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (1983)
From Leo AI: "Electric Avenue" is a 1983 hit song by Guyanese-British musician Eddy Grant, released on his album Killer on the Rampage. The track is a funk-reggae fusion anthem written in response to the 1981 Brixton riots in London, highlighting issues of police brutality, racism, and poverty faced by the Caribbean immigrant community.
The song reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the biggest hits of 1983. Its success was significantly boosted by its MTV music video, which helped break barriers for black artists on the network. The track was certified Platinum in both the US and Canada, though it lost the Grammy for Best R&B Song to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." The song has seen various remixes, including a 2001 version that reached No. 5 in the UK. In 2024, a federal judge ruled that Donald Trump had infringed copyright by using the song in his 2020 campaign without permission.
The music video was directed filmed in Barbados in 1983. The video features Grant running on a beach, watching television, and clips of motorcyclists prowling city streets at night to evoke the atmosphere of Brixton, London. Video director Steve Barron also directed Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and a-ha's "Take On Me".











