Hot Chocolate Singer Errol Brown Passes Away at 71

Hot Chocolate Singer Errol Brown Passes Away at 71

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“You Sexy Thing” singer was battling through liver cancer

Errol Brown, the lead singer of soul band “Hot Chocolate” passed away on Wednesday at his home in Bahamas. He was battling through liver cancer.

Phil Dale, the manager of Errol Brown was the person who broke the sad news of his death, saying Errol’s death was totally unexpected to as “he had been poorly over the past few months but he never discussed it.”

The manager added “Errol was a gentleman and was a personal friend of mine who will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him. His greatest legacy is that his music will live on.”

Errol Brown, best known for hits “You Sexy Thing” and “It Started With A Kiss” was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His family moved to England when he was 12 years old. Errol made his way to the music industry with a remodeled version of John Lennon’s 1969 hit “Give Peace A Chance”. It was the time when he and his friend Tony Wilson formed a band named “Hot Chocolate” which was later joined by other members of the group.

The first song of the band “Love is Life” was released in 1970 and made to the top 6 of the music charts. The band had at least one hit from years 1970 to 1984 and one of their songs “You Sexy Thing” remained in the top 10 for 30 consecutive years. In 1981, they also performed at a pre-wedding party for Prince Charles and Lady Diana in Buckingham Palace. Despite a lot of success, Errol left the band in 1985 because he wanted to spend some more time with his family. Errol made a return in 1990 but this time around as a solo singer, BBC reports.

Talking about Errol’s love for music, manager Phil Dale said. “Errol was a lover of life and obviously music. I never went into his home, car or a hotel room without music playing. And it always played constantly in his dressing room before a concert.”

Errol Brown was appointed as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2003 and received Ivor Novello Award the following years for his outstanding contributions to the popular music.