Colin Grant (author)

Last updated

Colin Grant
Born1961 (age 6162)
Hitchin, England, UK
NationalityEnglish
Occupation(s)Writer, historian
Notable workNegro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and His Dream of Mother Africa (2008); Bageye at the Wheel (2012)
Website colingrant.info

Colin Grant (born 1961, Hitchin, England) is a British writer of Jamaican origin, who is the author of several books, including a 2008 biography of Marcus Garvey entitled Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and His Dream of Mother Africa and a 2012 memoir, Bageye at the Wheel . Grant is also a historian, Associate Fellow in the Centre for Caribbean Studies [1] and was a BBC radio producer. [2]

Contents

Biography

Early years

Grant grew up on a council estate in Luton, had a brother Christopher [3] and attended St Columba's College, St Albans. [4]

Career

Grant joined the BBC in 1991, and has worked as a TV script editor and radio producer of arts and science programmes on Radio 4 and on the World Service. In 2009, a two-part documentary about Caribbean Voices (1943–1958) was produced by Grant. [5]

He has written and directed plays, including The Clinic, based on the lives of the photojournalists Tim Page and Don McCullin. Among several radio drama-documentaries he has written and produced are African Man of Letters: The Life of Ignatius Sancho , A Fountain of Tears: The Murder of Federico Garcia Lorca , and Move Over Charlie Brown: The Rise of Boondocks.

Grant's first book was the biography Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey and His Dream of Mother Africa (2008), described in The Jamaica Gleaner as "magisterial, meticulously researched", [6] in The Independent on Sunday as "drawing on gargantuan research", [7] and in The Guardian as "eminently readable". [8] In 2011, I & I: The Natural Mystics: Marley, Tosh, and Wailer was published, a group biography, about which Lemn Sissay said: "Colin Grant has cleverly personified the birth of a nation, the birth of a religion and the birth of reggae through the lives of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer." [9] This was followed in 2012 by Bageye at the Wheel , a memoir about growing up Jamaican in Luton that was shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize. [10]

Grant's next book, a Smell of Burning, was a history of epilepsy and was chosen by The Sunday Times as a Book of the Year 2016. [11] His 2019 book, Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week . [12] In 2023, his memoir I'm Black So You Don't Have To Be was published, its title described by The Guardian as "a jab at the privileges of the children of the Windrush generation who, hell-bent on being accepted by British society, have left the labour of Blackness to their parents." [13]

Having left the BBC in 2018, Grant is now director of WritersMosaic, a division of the Royal Literary Fund. [14]

Personal life

Grant lives in Brighton, UK; he moved there to escape police harassment. He lives there with Jo Alderson and their three children, Jasmine, Maya and Toby. [15]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>Catch a Fire</i> 1973 studio album by Bob Marley & The Wailers

Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Zephaniah</span> British poet and author (1958–2023)

Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. Described as "the people's laureate" by the Birmingham Mail, Zephaniah drew on his lived experiences of incarceration, racism and his Jamaican heritage to encourage a wide range of audiences to engage with his creative works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Marley and the Wailers</span> Jamaican reggae band

Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redemption Song</span> 1980 song by Bob Marley

"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey titled "The Work That Has Been Done."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Marley</span> Cuban-Jamaican singer; widow of Bob Marley

Alfarita Constantia Marley is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, she was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemn Sissay</span> British author and broadcaster (born 1967)

Lemn Sissay FRSL is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, was chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 until 2022, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trustees two years later, having previously been appointed one of the museum's fellows. He was awarded the 2019 PEN Pinter Prize. He has written a number of books and plays.

<i>Soul Rebels</i> 1970 studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Soul Rebels is the second studio album by the Wailers, their first album to be released outside Jamaica. The Wailers approached producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in August 1970 to record an entire album, and the sessions took place at Randy's recording studio above Randy's Record Mart at 17 North Parade in Kingston, Jamaica, until November. First issued in the UK by Trojan Records in December 1970, the album has since been re-released several times on several different labels. Perry's production is sparse and haunting, only featuring guitar, bass, drums, electronic organs, and vocals with no horns or other embellishments.

The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston "Family Man" Barrett</span> Jamaican musician

Aston Francis Barrett CD, often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a retired Jamaican musician and Rastafarian.

<i>Throw Down Your Arms</i> 2005 studio album by Sinéad OConnor

Throw Down Your Arms is the seventh studio album by Sinéad O'Connor, also known as her reggae album. O'Connor sings cover versions of classic roots reggae songs, with production by Sly and Robbie.

Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica and the youngest member of the vocal group, The Wailing Wailers.

The Smile Jamaica Concert was a reggae concert held on 5 December 1976, at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, Jamaica, aimed at countering political violence. Bob Marley had agreed to perform but two days before the concert he was shot in his home. He recovered and with The Wailers played a 90-minute set for the 80,000 people in attendance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Marley</span> Jamaican reggae musician (1945–1981)

Robert Nesta Marley, baptised Berhane Selassie, was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady; and Marley was world renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Bob Marley's contribution to music, irrefutably increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was thought to be politically motivated. He also supported legalisation of marijuana, and advocated for Pan-Africanism.

John Masouri is one of the world's foremost reggae music journalist. He's also an author, reviewer and historian for Jamaican music and several of its musical offshoots including dub, roots and dancehall.

<i>Marley</i> (film) 2012 American film

Marley is a 2012 documentary-biographical film directed by Kevin Macdonald documenting the life of Bob Marley.

<i>Bageye at the Wheel</i> 2012 memoir by Colin Grant

Bageye at the Wheel is a 2012 memoir by British author Colin Grant, giving a semi-autobiographical account of 1970s' Luton through the portrayal of his father Clinton "Bageye" Grant, a Jamaican migrant to the UK. The story itself is one of observation of a period whereby a provincial town of immigrants and their larger families congregate, yet try to assimilate into a British culture that had not yet been accustomed to diversity among ethnicities. Nevertheless, this indifference to a somewhat unforgiving environment is neatly summed up by the unwavering, independent "Bageye", who refuses to blend in but rather stand out as a linchpin for the so-called "Windrush generation".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunny Wailer</span> Jamaican musician (1947–2021)

Neville O'Riley Livingston, known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he is considered one of the longtime standard-bearers of reggae music. He was also known as Jah B, Bunny O'Riley, and Bunny Livingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Tosh</span> Jamaican reggae musician (1944–1987)

Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM, professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.

Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, was unveiled in 2006 after "two years of research and behind the scenes negotiating". The scheme has been run and managed by the not-for-profit organization Nubian Jak Trust Ltd since August 2016, with a remit to commemorate and celebrate the diverse history of modern Britain. Its objectives include the promotion of social equality and to encourage activities that promote cultural diversity in society.

<i>This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975</i> 2004 box set

This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975 is a reggae retrospective anthology issued as a 4-CD box set in 2004 by Trojan Records. The anthology, which was compiled by Colin Escott and Bas Hartong, is arranged in chronological order and features tracks by various artists, starting with mento and ska from the first half of the 1960s, then progressing to the slower rhythms of rocksteady and reggae, which both emerged later in the decade, continuing into the 1970s. Several of the acts featured are Derrick Morgan, Desmond Decker & the Aces, Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley and the Wailers.

References

  1. "Associate Fellows". www2.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. "Official website". Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  3. Grant, Colin (2016). Smell of burning. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. ISBN   9780224101820. OCLC   930824897.
  4. Grant, Colin (2012). Bageye at the Wheel. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN   9780224091053. OCLC   781997714.
  5. "Caribbean Voices", BBC World Service, 21 July 2009 (archived page).
  6. Adebajo, Adekeye (9 April 2021). "Griots of the Windrush Generation". The Gleaner. Jamaica.
  7. Le Gendre, Kevin (10 February 2008). "Negro With a Hat: The rise and fall of Marcus Garvey, By Colin Grant". The Independent on Sunday.
  8. Busby, Margaret (9 February 2008). "A radical enigma". The Guardian.
  9. Sissay, Lemn (13 January 2011). "I & I Natural Mystics, Marley Tosh and Wailer". Lemn Sissay. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  10. Parks, Carla (17 July 2013). "Colin Grant writes memoir about growing up Jamaican in Luton". Neo-Griot. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  11. McConnachie, James (4 December 2016). "Books of the year: thought". The Sunday Times.
  12. "Homecoming". BBC Radio 4.
  13. Morris, Kadish (23 January 2023). "I'm Black So You Don't Have to Be by Colin Grant review – sharp and nuanced memoir". The Guardian.
  14. Mistlin, Sasha (11 January 2023). "Interview: 'My father ruled through pain': Colin Grant on the stories behind I'm Black So You Don't Have to Be". The Guardian.
  15. "'My father ruled through pain': Colin Grant on the stories behind I'm Black So You Don't Have to Be". the Guardian. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  16. Poe, Marshall (29 January 2013). "Colin Grant, 'Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey'". New Books in African American Studies. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  17. Sandhu, Sukhdev (25 May 2012). "Bageye at the Wheel by Colin Grant – review". The Guardian]access-date=28 October 2017. ISSN   0261-3077.
  18. Sharp, Rob (11 May 2012). "A Page in the Life: Colin Grant". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  19. Grant, Colin (1 June 2017). "My brother died from epilepsy. I wish he and I had understood the dangers". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 28 October 2017.