Hot Chocolate are a British

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

band formed by

Errol Brown Errol Ainsworth Glenstor Brown MBE (born Lester Errol Brown; 12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. In 2004, Brown received the Ivor N ...

and

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include "

You Sexy Thing "You Sexy Thing" is a song by British soul band Hot Chocolate. It was written by lead singer Errol Brown and bass guitarist Tony Wilson and was produced by Mickie Most. The song was released in October 1975 as the second single from their seco ...

", a UK number two which also made the top 10 in three decades, reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also featured in the film ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 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. The film is set ...

'' (1997); "

So You Win Again "So You Win Again" is a song by British band Hot Chocolate, released in June 1977 as the lead single from the album '' Every 1's a Winner''. Written by Russ Ballard and produced by Mickie Most, it is the band's sole UK number one single, spe ...

", which topped the UK Charts; " Every 1's a Winner" which reached number six in the US; " It Started with a Kiss", which reached the UK top five, and " Emma", which charted at number three in the UK and number 8 in the US. In 2004, Brown received the

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

for Outstanding Contribution to British Music from the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...

Beginnings

Formed in 1968, the band initially consisted of vocalist

, guitarist Franklyn De Allie, drummer Jim King (shortly thereafter replaced by the unrelated Ian King), percussionist Patrick Olive, and bassist

, with keyboardist Larry Ferguson joining the band in the following year. The band was originally named Hot Chocolate Band by Mavis Smith, who worked for the

Apple Corps Apple Corps Limited is a British multimedia company that was established in London by the members of the Beatles in the 1960s to form a Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company's name, pronounced "apple core", is a pun. Its chief div ...

press office. This was quickly amended, first to The Hot Chocolate and then to Hot Chocolate, by

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and t ...

. By 1970, the band's line-up had changed again to include

Harvey Hinsley Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

and Tony Connor (who was also a member of

Audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

at the time) replacing De Allie and King respectively. Hot Chocolate started their recording career making a

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

version of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's "

Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, C ...

", but frontman Errol Brown was told he needed permission. He was contacted by

Apple Records Apple Records is a British 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 inclu ...

, discovered that Lennon liked his version, and the group was subsequently signed to Apple Records. The link was short-lived as

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

were starting to break up, and the Apple connection soon ended. Later 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 "You Could've Been a Lady" is a song by the British soul band Hot Chocolate, written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson in 1969. Released as a single in 1971, it peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart during a nine-week run. Although initial ...

" (a US and Canadian hit for

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn until his death in 2023. April Wine first experienced success with their second album, ' ...

), 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 Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1963 in Manchester and formerly fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous tra ...

, "Bet Yer Life I Do", for Julie Felix, "Heaven Is Here", and for

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

, "Think About Your Children". Gradually the band started to become UK Singles Chart regulars. One of the hits from this period, " Brother Louie", featured a guest spoken vocal from

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major i ...

Success

Hot Chocolate became a big success in the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

era of the mid-1970s. A combination of high production standards, the growing confidence of the main songwriting team of Wilson and Brown, and tight vocal

harmonies In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

enabled them to secure further big hits such as "You Sexy Thing" and " Every 1's a Winner", which were also US hits, peaking at No. 3 (1976) and No. 6 (1979), respectively. After Wilson's departure for a solo career, that included a 1976 album ''I Like Your Style'', Brown assumed all songwriting duties. Wilson was initially replaced by Brian Satterwhite, until Satterwhite departed the band and Olive switched to bass as his primary instrument. In 1977, after 15 hits, they finally reached number one with "

". It was one of the few of their recordings that was not written, at least partly, by Brown The track was a

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer. Originally rising to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Argent, Ballard became a prolific songwriter and producer b ...

composition. The band became the only group, and one of just three acts, that had a hit in every year of the 1970s in the UK charts (the other two being

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

). The band eventually had at least one hit, every year, between 1970 and 1984. The band 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" became the only track that made British top ten status in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In 1987, Dutch DJ and producer

Ben Liebrand Ben Liebrand (; born 27 September 1960) is a Dutch dance music disc jockey, DJ and remixer. He has record producer, produced for artists such as Forrest (singer), Forrest and MC Miker G & DJ Sven and remixed tracks by artists such as Alexander O ...

made

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es of the Hot Chocolate hits; "You Sexy Thing" and "Every 1's a Winner". Liebrand also made a combination remix of those two hits called "Two in a Bed" for the exclusive

Disco Mix Club The DMC World DJ Championships is an annual DJ competition founded by the Disco Mix Club (DMC) which began in 1985. It has been described as a "pre-eminent competitive DJ event". History Competitors are each given 6 minutes to perform, with wi ...

Later years

Renewed interest in Hot Chocolate came in part with the band's appearances on a string of successful film soundtracks, starting with the 1997 comedy ''

'', as well as in a 1989

Clearasil Clearasil is an American brand of skin care and acne medication, whose products contain chiefly benzoyl peroxide, sulfur and resorcinol, triclosan, or salicylic acid as active ingredients. Clearasil has a wide range of products both for rapid and ...

acne Acne ( ), also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term Cutaneous condition, skin condition that occurs when Keratinocyte, dead skin cells and Sebum, oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include comedo, ...

lotion commercial (featuring a young

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is a British actress and DJ. After appearing as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), she came to prominence for her p ...

). From the late 1980s onwards, the group experienced a resurgence of credibility:

Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago in 1986, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass). They are widely known for their song " ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

and

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...

all added Hot Chocolate songs to their live sets, and

Cud Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More precisely, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the phy ...

's cover of "You Sexy Thing" featured in

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

Festive 50 The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...

in 1987. Errol Brown and Larry Ferguson departed the band in 1986, ultimately leading the group to disband. Brown then began a solo career. Two of his singles made the UK Singles Chart – "Personal Touch" and "Body Rockin'". Hot Chocolate had a hit in 1988 in Germany. "Never Pretend" was written by Harvey Hinsley and Susan Stuttard, and the vocalist was Grant Evelyn. The band's enduring popularity was verified when two

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s both reached No. 1 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

(see below). In 2003,

received the MBE; and in 2004, the

for his contribution to British music. In 1992, the band reformed with new vocalist Greg Bannis and keyboardists Steve Ansell, Andy Smith, Willy Dowling, and Steve Matthews (the latter two of whom departed the band in 1994), and manager and agent Ric Martin took control over the band's bookings and live appearances. Kennie Simon took over lead vocals in 2010 following the departure of Bannis and Hot Chocolate continue to make live appearances in the UK and Europe. On 6 May 2015, original frontman and principal songwriter Errol Brown died from liver cancer. He was 71. Original guitarist Franklyn Delano De Allie (born 21 January 1944, St. Marks Parish, Grenada, West Indies) later became a police officer, and died in

Warwick, Bermuda Warwick Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1587-1658). It is located in the central south of the island chain, occupying part of the main island to the southeast of the Great Sou ...

on 30 December 2018.

Personnel

Members

Principal members of the band that played on most hit records are

, Patrick Olive, Larry Ferguson,

, and Tony Connor. ;Current members * Patrick Olive – percussion (1968–1975), bass (1975–1984, 1988, 1992–present) * Tony Connor – drums, percussion (1970–1986, 1988, 1992–present) *

– guitars (1970–1986, 1988, 1992–present) *Steve Ansell – keyboards, guitars (1994–present) *Andy Smith – keyboards (1994–present) *Kennie Simon – lead vocals, keyboards (2010–present) ;Former members *

– lead vocals (1968–1986; died 2015) *

– bass, lead & backing vocals (1968–1975) *Franklyn De Allie – guitars (1968–1970; died 2018) *Jim King – drums, percussion (1968–1969) *Ian King – drums, percussion (1969–1970) *Larry Ferguson – keyboards (1969–1986; died 2015) * Derek Lewis – percussion, backing vocals (1975) *Brian Satterwhite – bass, backing vocals (1975) *Rick Green – keyboards (1975) *Chris Cameron – keyboards, backing vocals (1982–1985) *Grant Evelyn – lead vocals (1988) *Greg Bannis – lead vocals (1992–2010) *Willy Dowling – keyboards, backing vocals (1992–1994) *Steve Matthews – keyboards, backing vocals (1992–1994)

Line-ups

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:80 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1968 till:03/06/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1968 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Piano value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:Albums value:black legend:Studio_release id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Errol text:Errol Brown bar:Grant text:Grant Evelyn bar:Greg text:Greg Bannis bar:Kennie text:Kennie Simon bar:Franklyn text:Franklyn De Allie bar:Harvey text:Harvey Hinsley bar:Larry text:Larry Ferguson bar:Willy text:Willy Dowling bar:Steve2 text:Steve Matthews bar:Steve text:Steve Ansell bar:Andy text:Andy Smith bar:Tony text:Tony Wilson bar:Brian text:Brian Satterwhite bar:Jim text:Jim King bar:Ian text:Ian King bar:Tony2 text:Tony Connor bar:Patrick text:Patrick Olive bar:Derek text:Derek Lewis PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Errol from:start till:01/01/1986 color:vocals bar:Grant from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:vocals bar:Greg from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/2010 color:vocals bar:Kennie from:01/01/2010 till:end color:vocals bar:Kennie from:01/01/2010 till:end color:piano width:3 bar:Franklyn from:start till:01/01/1970 color:guitar bar:Harvey from:01/01/1970 till:01/01/1986 color:guitar bar:Harvey from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:guitar bar:Harvey from:01/01/1992 till:end color:guitar bar:Larry from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1986 color:piano bar:Steve from:01/01/1994 till:end color:piano bar:Steve from:01/01/1994 till:end color:guitar width:3 bar:Andy from:01/01/1994 till:end color:piano bar:Willy from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:piano bar:Willy from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Steve2 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:piano bar:Steve2 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Tony from:start till:01/01/1975 color:bass bar:Tony from:start till:01/01/1975 color:vocals width:3 bar:Brian from:01/01/1975 till:01/07/1975 color:bass bar:Brian from:01/01/1975 till:01/07/1975 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Patrick from:start till:01/07/1975 color:perc bar:Patrick from:01/07/1975 till:01/01/1986 color:bass bar:Patrick from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:bass bar:Patrick from:01/01/1992 till:end color:bass bar:Derek from:01/01/1975 till:01/07/1975 color:perc bar:Derek from:01/01/1975 till:01/07/1975 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Jim from:start till:01/01/1969 color:drums bar:Jim from:start till:01/01/1969 color:perc width:4 bar:Ian from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1970 color:drums bar:Ian from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1970 color:perc width:3 bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1970 till:01/01/1986 color:drums bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1970 till:01/01/1986 color:perc width:3 bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:drums bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:perc width:3 bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1988 till:31/12/1988 color:piano width:7 bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1992 till:end color:drums bar:Tony2 from:01/01/1992 till:end color:perc width:3 LineData = at:01/06/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1975 color:black layer:back at:01/08/1976 color:black layer:back at:01/04/1978 color:black layer:back at:01/06/1979 color:black layer:back at:01/06/1980 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1982 color:black layer:back at:01/10/1983 color:black layer:back at:01/06/1993 color:black layer:back

Discography

* '' Cicero Park'' (1974) * ''

Hot Chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

'' (1975) * '' Man to Man'' (1976) * '' Every 1's a Winner'' (1978) * ''Going Through the Motions'' (1979) * ''Class'' (1980) * ''Mystery'' (1982) * ''Love Shot'' (1983) * ''Strictly Dance'' (1993)

References

External links

Errol Brown's siteHot Chocolate's site

Errol Brown interview by Pete Lewis, ''Blues & Soul'' February 2009

The Complete Apple RecordsHot Chocolate on Discogs.com
{{authority control Musical groups established in 1969 Apple Records artists English disco groups English pop music groups British soul musical groups English funk musical groups Musical groups from the London Borough of Camden British rhythm and blues musical groups Rak Records artists Big Tree Records artists British musical sextets