However, the Nigerian government banned exported records during the album's high sales peak, leaving Grant with 10,000-20,000 further copies he was unable to send.

In 1989, the title track was re-released to promote a Grant best-of album and reached number 63 in the UK, while in 2008, a deluxe edition of Walking on Sunshine was released by Ice and Universal Records.

After leaving the Equals in 1971–72, Eddy Grant prioritised his productions of other artists, which he released through his own label Ice Records, and recorded the solo albums Eddy Grant (1975), which was only released in Britain and Trinidad and Tobago,[2] and Message Man (1977),[3] on which he began creating his own reggae style,[4] and explored what soon became soca music.

[7] Grant explained of his overseas successes in 1978: "I'm not like all the other guys who have small record companies – not to decry them, but I think I can be of more assistance to more people by aiming at an international market.

This approach is particularly exemplified with "Living on the Frontline" from Walking on Sunshine, in which "the loop was set forever", as he later explained: "I did a little bit of the of song to make people comfortable but, in my mind, I could hear the synthesisers that no one liked at the time.

[2] When the album was mixed at Morgan Studios, Willesden, Grant became aware of the music's bright, crisp top end, finding this to be a welcome change from his earlier solo works, further reminding him of George McRae's 1974 hit "Rock Your Baby".

[6] The songs with reggae,[4] funk and calypso rhythms are a musical continuation of Message Man,[7] and Grant's synthesiser parts exude calypso-styled steel drum and orchestral-style sounds.

[9][13] "Living on the Frontline" features fiery, anti-oppression lyrics and fuses danceable electronic beats and 'tinkling' synthesiser with funk[9] and reggae, leading to an "electronic-reggae" sound.

"[9] The original 1978 Ice Records release of Walking on Sunshine was marketed specifically to African countries, especially Nigeria, where it became Grant's third Gold-certified album,[6] and where "Say I Love You" became a hit single.

[17] Due to the combination of its unusual success story and unconventional sound, Cliff White from Smash Hits felt it was "the most left-field smasharoonie for a long time," while Grant described how it would have never become a hit through the means of regular media, instead only becoming possible because of "the people in the street", explaining: "Those kids in the discos, they went and got an obscure record, issued through an obscure record company, and they commanded the disc jockeys to play it.

[18] The title track was rush-released as a single in August 1979,[19][20] and was playlisted by Plymouth Sound FM, as well as receiving additional play on Radio 1.

[17] After signing an American distribution deal with Epic Records, Ice released Walking on Sunshine anew in the UK, US and Europe on 1 October 1979.

[3][17] Among contemporary reviews of the 1979 release, a writer for The Press and Journal felt that the "talented" Grant "can make reggae sound interesting", and praised Walking on Sunshine for its accessible, melodic material.

[27] Billboard praised the "imaginative" album for spotlighting Grant's "considerable talent", and described the blend of funk and reggae on "Living on the Front Line" as providing "a pointer to the way the two forms can successfully combine in the '80s".

[14] In an article on Grant for Sounds, Vivien Goldman wrote how "the whole album grows on me more and more – even the alien calypso rhythms have me hooked after a few spins.

"[3] Jim Green of Trouser Press, who described Message Man as a flawed debut with promise, felt Walking on Sunshine showed Grant's potential "in full flower" and was "well worth owning".