Hot Chocolate
Encyclopedia
Errol Brown
Errol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
. The act had at least one hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
every year between 1970 and 1984 inclusive, and their song "You Sexy Thing
You Sexy Thing
"You Sexy Thing" is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later...
" made the Top 10 in three decades.
Career
They were originally named 'Hot Chocolate Band' by Mavis Smith, who worked for the Apple CorpsApple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
press office. This was quickly shortened to Hot Chocolate by Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
.
Hot Chocolate started their recording career making a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
version of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Give Peace a Chance
Give Peace a Chance
"Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon, originally under the moniker Lennon–McCartney, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States. It is the first solo single issued by Lennon, and...
", but Brown was told he needed permission. He was contacted by Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
, discovered that John Lennon liked his version, and the group was subsequently signed to Apple Records. The link was short-lived as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
were starting to break up, and the Apple connection soon ended.
In 1970 Hot Chocolate, with the help of record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Mickie Most, began releasing tracks that became hits, such as "Love is Life", "Emma
Emma (song)
Emma, also known as Emma, Emmaline or Emmeline, is a song by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson released as a single by Hot Chocolate in 1974. It reached No.3 in the UK charts and No.8 in the US charts. Brown explained to The Mail on Sunday in 2009: "The story is tied to the death of my mother, aged 38...
", "You Could Have Been a Lady", and "I Believe in Love". All those releases were on the RAK
RAK Records
Rak Records was a British record label, founded by record producer Mickie Most in 1969. Rak was home of artists like Herman's Hermits, Suzi Quatro, Mud, Kenny, Hot Chocolate, Smokie, Arrows, Span, Racey and Kim Wilde. Rak Records were distributed via a licensing deal with EMI, which bought the...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, owned by Most. Brown and bassist Tony Wilson wrote most of their original material, and also provided hits for Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
, "Bet Yer Life I Do", and Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
, "Think About Your Children".
Gradually the five piece, Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based, outfit started to become UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
regulars. "Brother Louie", which featured a guest spoken vocal from Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
, and "Emma
Emma (song)
Emma, also known as Emma, Emmaline or Emmeline, is a song by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson released as a single by Hot Chocolate in 1974. It reached No.3 in the UK charts and No.8 in the US charts. Brown explained to The Mail on Sunday in 2009: "The story is tied to the death of my mother, aged 38...
" introduced the act.
It was in the disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era of the mid-1970s that Hot Chocolate became a big success. A combination of high production standards, the growing confidence of the main songwriting team of Wilson and Brown, and tight harmonies enabled them to secure further big hits like "You Sexy Thing
You Sexy Thing
"You Sexy Thing" is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later...
" and "Every 1's a Winner", which were also U.S. hits, peaking at #3 and #6, respectively. After Wilson's departure for a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career, that included a 1976 album I Like Your Style, Brown assumed songwriting duties.
In 1977, after scoring 15 hits, they finally reached Number One with "So You Win Again
So You Win Again
"So You Win Again" is a popular single from the Hot Chocolate album Every 1's a Winner. The single was released in June 1977.Written by Russ Ballard and produced by Mickie Most, it is the band's sole UK number one single, spending three weeks at the top in July 1977, and one week as a NME...
". It was one of the few of their recordings that was not penned, at least partly, by Brown. The track was a Russ Ballard
Russ Ballard
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English singer, songwriter and musician.-Career:Ballard was initially a guitarist with Buster Meikle & The Day Breakers in 1961, together with Roy Ballard, Russ's older brother on piano and Bob Henrit on drums...
composition.
The band became the only group, and one of just three acts, that scored a hit in every year of the 1970s in the UK charts (the other two being Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
).
The band eventually had at least one hit, every year, between 1970 and 1984. Critically, they were often lambasted or simply ignored, and apart from compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
their albums such as Cicero Park sold modestly.
They continued well into the 1980s, and clocked up another big hit record: "It Started With a Kiss", in 1982, which reached Number 5 in the UK. In all, the group charted 25 UK Top 40 hit singles. Their single "You Sexy Thing
You Sexy Thing
"You Sexy Thing" is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later...
" became the only track that made British Top Ten
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
status in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Its renewed appreciation can be perhaps credited in part to its appearances in a string of successful film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s starting with the 1997 comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
The Full Monty
The Full Monty
The Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
. From the late 1980s onwards the group experienced a resurgence of credibility: Urge Overkill
Urge Overkill
Urge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato , and Eddie "King" Roeser . Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction, and became a hit in 1994...
, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
and The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
all added Hot Chocolate songs to their live sets.
When Hot Chocolate disbanded in 1986, Errol Brown began a solo career. Two of his singles made the UK Singles Chart - "Personal Touch" and "Body Rockin'". The band's enduring popularity was verified when two compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s both reached #1 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
(see below). In 2003, Errol Brown
Errol Brown
Errol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
received the MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
; and in 2004, the Ivor Novello Award for his contribution to British music.
In 1992, with a new line-up, manager and agent, Ric Martin, took control over the band's bookings and live appearances. Hot Chocolate continue to make live appearances
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in the UK and Europe.
Discography
Note: chart positions are for the respective UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
Studio albums
- Cicero Park (US #55) (1974)
- Hot Chocolate (UK #34, US #41) (November 1975)
- Man to Man (UK #32, US #172) (August 1976)
- Every 1's a Winner (UK #30, US #31) (April 1978)
- Going Through the Motions (US #112)(1979)
- Class (1980)
- Mystery (#24) (September 1982)
- Love Shot (1983)
Compilation albums
- XIV Greatest Hits (#6) (November 1976)
- 20 Hottest Hits (#3) (December 1979)
- The Very Best of Hot Chocolate (#1) (February 1987)
- Their Greatest Hits (#1) (March 1993)
- Greatest Hits Part Two (January 1999)
- Best of the 70s (2000)
- The Essential Collection (2004)
- A's B's & Rarities (2004)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
NL Mega Top 50 The Mega Top 50 is a Dutch music chart, originally started on May 23, 1969 as the Hilversum 3 Top 30. Throughout the years, the chart has had several names and lengths:*1969 - 1974: Hilversum 3 Top 30... |
NZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| 1969 | "Give Peace a Chance Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is a song written by John Lennon, originally under the moniker Lennon–McCartney, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apple 13 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1809 in the United States. It is the first solo single issued by Lennon, and... " (Hot Chocolate Band) |
- | - | - | - | |
| 1970 | "Love is Life" | 6 | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | "You Could Have Been a Lady" | 22 | - | - | - | |
| "I Believe (In Love)" | 8 | - | - | - | ||
| 1972 | "Mary-Anne" | - | - | - | - | |
| "You'll Always Be a Friend" | 23 | - | - | - | ||
| 1973 | "Brother Louie" | 7 | - | - | - | |
| "Rumours" | 44 | - | - | - | ||
| 1974 | "Emma Emma (song) Emma, also known as Emma, Emmaline or Emmeline, is a song by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson released as a single by Hot Chocolate in 1974. It reached No.3 in the UK charts and No.8 in the US charts. Brown explained to The Mail on Sunday in 2009: "The story is tied to the death of my mother, aged 38... " |
3 | 2 | - | 8 |
|
| "Changing World" | - | - | - | - | ||
| "Cheri Babe" | 31 | 10 | - | - | ||
| 1975 | "Blue Night" | - | - | - | - | |
| "Disco Queen" | 11 | - | - | 28 | ||
| "A Child's Prayer" | 7 | - | - | - | ||
| "You Sexy Thing You Sexy Thing "You Sexy Thing" is a song recorded by the British group, Hot Chocolate. It was written by Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown, and produced by Mickie Most. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, and number 3 in the US Pop charts a year later... " |
2 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
|
|
| 1976 | "Don't Stop it Now" | 11 | - | - | 42 | |
| "Man to Man" | 14 | - | - | - | ||
| "Heaven Is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac" | 25 | - | - | - | ||
| 1977 | "So You Win Again So You Win Again "So You Win Again" is a popular single from the Hot Chocolate album Every 1's a Winner. The single was released in June 1977.Written by Russ Ballard and produced by Mickie Most, it is the band's sole UK number one single, spending three weeks at the top in July 1977, and one week as a NME... " |
1 | 5 | 8 | 31 |
|
| "Put Your Love in Me" | 10 | 20 | - | - |
|
|
| 1978 | "Every 1's a Winner" | 12 | 10 | 7 | 6 | |
| "I'll Put You Together Again" | 13 | 14 | 31 | - | ||
| 1979 | "Mindless Boogie" | 46 | 46 | - | - | |
| "Going Through the Motions" | 53 | 49 | 33 | 53 | ||
| 1980 | "No Doubt About It" | 2 | 9 | - | - |
|
| "Are You Getting Enough Happiness" | 17 | - | - | 65 | ||
| "Love Me to Sleep" | 50 | - | - | - | ||
| 1981 | "Gotta Give Up Your Love" | - | 42 | - | - | |
| "You'll Never Be So Wrong" | 52 | 15 | - | - | ||
| "I'm Losing You"/"Children Of Spacemen" | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1982 | "Girl Crazy" | 7 | 4 | - | - | |
| "It Started With a Kiss" | 5 | 7 | 2 | - |
|
|
| "Chances" | 32 | - | - | - | ||
| 1983 | "What Kinda Boy You're Lookin' For (Girl)" | 10 | 17 | - | - | |
| "Tears on the Telephone" | 37 | 18 | - | - | ||
| "I'm Sorry" | 89 | - | - | - | ||
| 1984 | "I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) I Gave You My Heart (Didn't I) "I Gave You My Heart " is the third single taken from Hot Chocolate's 1983 album Love Shot. It was the only Top 20 single from the album, peaking at #13 in the UK Singles Chart in 1984. It remains a popular favourite among fans, but is not one of their more significant hits. The song writer was... " |
13 | - | - | - | |
| 1986 | "Heartache No. 9" | 76 | - | - | - | |
| 1987 | "You Sexy Thing (Ben Liebrand Ben Liebrand Ben Liebrand is a dance music DJ. He has produced artists such as Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Salt N Pepa, Sting, TLC, Fun Fun, Tavares, Bill Withers, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Rick Astley, SWV and Phil Collins... remix)" |
10 | 56 | - | - | |
| "Every 1's a Winner (Groove Mix)" | 69 | 59 | - | - | ||
| "No Doubt About It (remix)" | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1988 | "Heaven Is in the Backseat of My Cadillac (remix)" | - | - | - | - | |
| "Never Pretend" | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1993 | "It Started with a Kiss" (re-issue) | 31 | - | - | - | |
| 1997 | "You Sexy Thing" (re-issue) | 6 | - | - | - | |
| 1998 | "It Started with a Kiss" (second re-issue) | 18 | - | - | - | |
Current lineup
- Tony Connor - born 6 April 1947, RomfordRomfordRomford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
- drummer. - Patrick Olive - born 22 March 1947, GrenadaGrenadaGrenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
- percussionist / took over bass duties in 1975. - Harvey Hinsley - born 19 January 1948, NorthamptonNorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
- guitarist. - Steve Beast -keyboards/guitarist.
- Andy Smith - keyboards.
- Kennie Simon - vocalist.
Former members
- Errol BrownErrol BrownErrol Brown MBE is a singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of Hot Chocolate. He has British citizenship by marriage to Ginette and they live in The Bahamas...
- born 12 November 1948, KingstonKingston, JamaicaKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. - vocalist / songwriter. - Larry Ferguson - born 14 April 1948, NassauNassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, Bahamas - keyboards. - Tony Wilson - born 8 October 1947, TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
- bassist, co-producer, songwriter (up to 1975). - Brian Satterwhite - born 22 March 1957, Oak RidgeOak RidgeOak Ridge or Oakridge is the name of many places:In the United Kingdom:* Oakridge, Gloucestershire, England* Oakridge, Hampshire, EnglandIn the United States of America:* Oak Ridge , a ridge in Santa Clara County...
- vocalist / bassist (from 1973-?). - Ian King - born 1947 - drums (1970–1973)
- Greg Bannis - vocalist.
- FiL StraughanFiL StraughanFiL Straughan is a US/UK soul singer. He is known for his energetic performances and a rich smooth voice reminiscent of the legendary Luther Vandross...
- vocalist.