At the beginning of the 1980s, as identified by the Scarman Report, tensions over unemployment, racism and poverty exacerbated by racist policing culminated in the street events now known as the 1981 Brixton riot.

Shortly after, Grant left the UK to live in Barbados, and his most recent batch of songs was lost during baggage transit.

[1] Filmed in Barbados,[1] the song's music video helped it to gain popularity in the United States.

[6] After Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" aired and was highly successful, MTV scrambled to get other black artists into their rotation.

It was kept out of the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 by "Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara and later by "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.

In 1997, Refugee Camp All-Stars covered the song for the original soundtrack of the film Money Talks.

The premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, Doug Ford, declared "Electric Avenue" to be Ontario's new "theme song" and then danced to the song during a visit to Oshawa on May 12, 2023, following a conference where he announced the creation of two new electric GO Transit buses for Oshawa and the Greater Toronto Area.

[71][72] On 15 September 2024, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled Trump had breached Grant's copyright for the song, and is now liable for damages as well as the singer's legal fees.