A spare time lockdown project lay dormant in Melvin Grant’s drawer for three years before resurfacing as an emotional, inspiring coming-of-age novel, spanning themes of abuse, homophobia, racism, love and loss. And if that isn’t enough, The Kingston Queen even has an accompanying musical album, written entirely by Melvin.
Lockdown. A time many of us took up a new hobby, or tried to. By his own admission Melvin Grant unsuccessfully took up French. He also took up novel writing. He’s had more success with the latter.
Melvin has enjoyed writing since childhood, but not novels. He’s written song lyrics since childhood, but only for enjoyment. Speaking to Melvin, it was clear this is something he gets a great amount of joy from and, listening to The Kingston Queen album, something he’s incredibly talented at.
Melvin’s lived in Nottingham his whole life, but his father was from Jamaica, and it’s a country he has visited several times before. He has a close friend from Jamaica, discussions with whom inspired the novel.
Those chats sowed seeds which would begin to sprout during lockdown, when Melvin had time to start scribbling down ideas. He recalls being ‘consumed’ by writing, sometimes spending up to 12 hours a day on his work. Life then returned to normal, and it wouldn’t be until the start of 2025 that Melvin took the draft out of the drawer again.
The Kingston Queen follows Junior, a boy growing up in Kingston in the 1970s. He has a difficult childhood, being raised by a single mother before ending up in care. He soon ends up institutionalised after committing a minor crime which later takes a turn for the worse. He experiences abuse and upon release, finds himself alone in Kingston.
He makes friends with two other young men, Trevor and Dalton, who were of a similar background. They form a close bond before another young man joins the group. Devon. It doesn’t take long for Junior and Devon to develop an attraction to each other, something they keep secret from the other boys. As often is the case with secret relationships, the others find out accidentally, and although initially dismissive, soon become protective of Junior and Devon. Being a young gay man in Kingston in the 1970s isn’t easy, and Junior needs all the support he can get.
Junior moves to London to live with his mum’s cousin and, although the move unshackles him from some of the brutalities of Kingston, London presents new problems. At first, Junior finds comfort in London’s multicultural scene, but it isn’t long before he experiences racism. Initially, he is surprised by London’s gay scene. However, the HIV crisis then hits. London turns out to be no easier than Kingston.
I’ll leave the rest of the novel for you to discover, but page after page is sprinkled by thought-provoking themes and ideas. The story focuses on Junior’s teenage years and early adulthood, spanning the 1970s and 80s, an era in which he becomes no stranger to abuse, homophobia, racism, friendship, migration, romance, love and loss.
When flicking through his archive of lyrics, Melvin found four or five that already perfectly fit The Kingston Queen. The remaining songs on The Kingston Queen album were all written specifically for it, and links to a stage in Junior’s story.
Listening to the album, I am absolutely in awe, and would highly recommend that you go check it out. Even without the context of the novel, the songs are incredibly powerful. The Jamaican musical inspiration brings a somewhat eerie upbeat to the profound lyrics. I found Weapons, Something in the Blood, and Looking for a Rainbow especially powerful, but I’d definitely make time to listen to the whole album.
‘Life covers a lot of subjects’
When asked what he likes to write lyrics about, Melvin shrugged and said, ‘anything, really. Life covers a lot of subjects.’ It does, and I think we can often downplay just how many highs and lows can be encountered through a lifetime.
Melvin said he wants the main message of the book to be one of resilience. I think for anyone, but especially for young men currently who may relate to even just small parts of Junior’s story, this is an incredibly important and topical one.
Melvin wants the book to be for anyone. Although many people go a lifetime without firsthand experience of some of the themes, the vast majority will experience at least one of them. Melvin says he feels ‘quite emotional’ reading back some of the chapters, and there’s one in particular that makes him ‘get teary still.’ You’ll have to read the book to see if you can guess which one.
Writing a book, let alone writing a book and composing an album, is a humungous task. Melvin said he found it ‘consuming’, and is, understandably, in the current state of never wanting to do it again.
I would argue, however, that as Melvin begins to see the impact his book and album have on audiences, he may change his mind. Both are truly great, and deserve to be read, listened to and treasured.
The Kingston Queen book is available on Amazon in both Kindle and Paperback form.
The Kingston Queen album is available on Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music.
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