Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate was an English pop band of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s formed by Errol Brown. The band were chart regulars throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The act has at least one hit every year between 1970 and 1984 and "You Sexy Thing" made the Top 10 in three decades. With their seductive lead singer Errol Brown, Hot Chocolate became as entwined with 1970s pop culture as Star Wars.

Career

They were originally named 'The Hot Chocolate Band' by Mavis Smith, who worked for the Apple Corps press office. This was quickly shortened to Hot Chocolate by Mickie Most.

Hot Chocolate started their recording career making a reggae version of John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance", but Brown was told he needed permission. Much to Brown's surprise, he was contacted by Apple Records, discovered that John Lennon liked his version, and the group was subsequently signed to Apple Records. The link was short-lived as The Beatles were starting to break up, and the Apple connection soon ended.

In 1970 Hot Chocolate, with the help of record producer Mickie Most, began releasing tracks that became hits, such as "Love Is Life", "Emma", "You Could Have Been A Lady", and "I Believe in Love". All those releases were on the RAK record label, owned by Most. Brown and bassist Tony Wilson wrote most of their original material, and also provided hits for Herman's Hermits, "Bet Yer Life I Do", and Mary Hopkin, "Think About Your Children".

Gradually the five piece, Brixton, London based, outfit started to become UK Singles Chart regulars. "Brother Louie", which featured a guest spoken vocal from Alexis Korner, and "Emma", were even more successful as singles, and introduced their distinctive sound.

It was in the disco era of the mid 1970s onwards, 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" and "Every 1's A Winner", which were major U.S. hits, peaking at #3 and #6, respectively. After Wilson's departure for a solo career, that included a 1976 album I Like Your Style, Brown assumed songwriting duties.

Between those two tracks came Hot Chocolate's only UK chart topper. In 1977, after scoring 15 previous hits, they finally reached Number One with "So You Win Again". Oddly, it was one of the few of their recordings that was not penned, at least partly, by Brown. The track was a Russ Ballard composition.

The band became the only group, and one of just three UK chart acts, that scored a hit in every year of the 1970s. Considering the other two acts to do so were Elvis Presley and Diana Ross, that achievement put Hot Chocolate in very elevated company. The band eventually had at least one hit, every single year, between 1970 and 1984. Critically, they were often lambasted or simply ignored, and apart from compilations their albums such as Cicero Park sold modestly. But their string of successes points to the indisputable fact that they were well-loved and cherished.

Whilst their longevity had its highs and lows, 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 no less than 25 UK Top 40 hit singles. Their epic - "You Sexy Thing" - seemed to have a life of its own. It appeared in various guises to become the only track that made British Top Ten status in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. They enjoyed an Abba-esque resurgence of credibility: Urge Overkill, PJ Harvey and The Sisters of Mercy all added Chocolate to their live sets.

"You Sexy Thing"'s renewed appreciation can be perhaps credited in part to its appearances in a string of successful films starting with the 1997 male stripper comedy The Full Monty. In one of the most memorable scenes in the film, the male lead, Gaz (played by Robert Carlyle) performs an unintentionally hilarious and awkward "striptease" with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, to the music of "You Sexy Thing". The song is later heard over the closing credits. The film's success thrust "You Sexy Thing" and Hot Chocolate back into the spotlight. "You Sexy Thing" has also been heard in other films including Boogie Nights, Bicentennial Man, Rat Race, and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Another U.S. resurgence in 1999 can be credited to a Burger King television commercial in which "You Sexy Thing" played while the camera examined a Double Whopper.

When Hot Chocolate disbanded in 1986, Errol Brown did not have much solo success, although two of his singles did make the UK Singles Chart - "Personal Touch" and "Body Rockin'". The band's enduring popularity was verified when two compilation albums both reached #1 in the UK Albums Chart (see below).

In 2003 Errol Brown received the MBE; and in 2004, the Ivor Novello Award for his contribution to British music.

In 1992 manager and agent, Ric Martin, took control over the band's bookings and live appearances. Today Hot Chocolate are again making live appearances in the UK and Europe.