Hot Chocolate is an English group formed in 1968 and originally composed of Errol Brown, Franklyn De Allie, Jim King, Patrick Olive and Tony Wilson.
It was by producing a rather original reggae version of John Lennon's track "Give peace a chance" that the group would stand out the following year in 1969 and sign with the Apple Records label.
Label which allowed them to release a first original Single the following year in 1970, Single which would offer them their first ranked title and launch their careers in earnest.
Recognition, the real one, arrives in 1973 with the release of the Single “Brother Louie”, a title which will know its hour of glory throughout the Anglo-Saxon sphere.
A recognition that will become global the following year with the release in 1974 of their first album "Cicero park", album which will produce the enormous Single "Emma". Single which will literally explode the notoriety of the group and make him one of the biggest phenomena of the moment.
Huge success confirmed a year later in 1975 with the release of the album "Hot Chocolate", album which will give them a new global mega hit with the title "You sexy thing".
A dynamic of incredible success which continued in 1976 with the release of the album "Man to man", album from which no less than 3 top hits will be extracted : "Don't stop it now", "Man to man", " Heaven is in the back seat of my Cadillac ”.
The year 1977 will definitively consecrate them with the release of 2 mega hits "So you win again" and "Put your love in me". Both extracts from the enormous album "Every 1's a winner", album which will be released a year later in 1978. Album which will even produce a third mega hit with the title "Every 1's a winner" which will also be released in 1978.
A year 1978 which saw the group reach new heights with the release of another mega hit with the title "I’ll put you together again".
An incredible adventure that continued in 1979 with the release of a new hit album with "Going trougth the motions", less successful than its predecessor certainly but success nonetheless. Album carried at arm's length by the Singles "Mindless boogie" and "Going through the motions".
An exceptional dynamic which will take the lead in the wing at the turn of the 80s with the more or less failed release of the album "Class", album which will struggle to produce hits of scale equivalent to the previous ones.
But that's without counting on the release of the album "Mystery" two years later in 1982, album which saw the group come back in force on the international scene in an incredible way and which will allow them to add two enormous stars to a prize list already abundantly filled with the enormous Singles "Girl crazy" and "It started with a kiss".
And that continued in 1983 with the successful release of a non-album Single called "What kynda boy you’re lookin’ for (Girl)". Then from the album" Love shot ", album of average success but which will still produce a new Single of very high caliber with the title " ears on the telephone".
Single which will be the last notorious feat of arms of the group because everything that will come out thereafter will only experience a very limited level of success.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
60s Decade :
Give peace a chance (Hot Chocolate Band) 1969
70s Decade :
Love is life 1970
You could have been a lady 1971
I believe (In love) 1971
You'll always be a friend 1972
Brother Louie 1973
Rumours 1973
Emma 1974
Cheri babe 1974
Disco queen 1975
A child’s prayer 1975
You sexy thing 1975
Don’t stop it now 1976
Man to man 1976
Heaven is in the back seat of my Cadillac 1976
So you win again 1977
Put your love in me 1977
Every 1’s a winner 1978
I'll put you together again 1978
Mindless boogie 1979
Going throught he motions 1979
80s Decade :
No doubt about it 1980
Are you getting enough of what makes you happy 1980
Love me to sleep 1980
Gotta give up you love 1981
You’ll never be so wrong 1981
Girl crazy 1982
It started with a kiss 1982
Chances 1982
What Kinda Boy You're Lookin' For (Girl) 1983
Tears on the telephone 1983
I'm sorry 1983
I gave you my heart (Didn't I) 1984
Heartache N° 9 1986
Never pretend 1988
90s Decade :
Cry little girl 1993
Tracks :
1969 ... a revisited version for the less successful of a flagship title by John Lennon released the same year and which above all has the merit of making the group speak well. It's already that !
1970 ... the band's first 'real' title. And for a first original title, it is particularly successful to the point of offering the group its first success in the Charts. A start on the hats of wheel as they say !
1971 ... aptitudes for Dance more than obvious and which will make of this group one of the flagship groups in this field in the years to come ...
1971 ... this does not prevent them from exploring all possible and imaginable avenues including the Intimist domain. A particularly promising versatility as they say ...
1972 ... they are really not bad in the 'emotional' register but it is not this register that will make their glory and their fortune. But it is always good to have several strings to one's bow as they say ....
1973 ... the tempo accelerates slowly but surely. Like the level of success in Charts. All that remains is to find THE title that will make them go from the shadows to the light ...
1973 ... for the big takeoff, it will not be for this year 1973. But it could be that something huge happens during the following year ...
1974 ... and the huge thing, there it is ! Even if the Intimist will bring them little success, in this case it will allow them to obtain a first global mega hit. A first notorious success which will propel them to the front of the stage in a shattering way
1974 ... a year 1974 which saw them rise in power in an impressive way. Everything is now in place so that the group can show the full extent of its talent !
1975 ... a year 1975 which started quietly but it was not going to last. Given what is on the horizon, it is seriously likely to accelerate at the end of the year in terms of success in the Charts ...
1975 ... the 'little' hit of the year. While waiting for a sequel that promises to be super for the group. The consecration, the real one, comes just behind ...
1975 ... and the awesome sequel, here it is ! The group simply delivers here what will remain as one of the most emblematic Dance titles of the decade and of the end of the twentieth century period. With the key of course on the direct ticket for posterity. MAS-TER-FUL !
1976 ... even if this sequel can hardly compete with the previous steamroller, it still allows the group to continue on its momentum. The world is now theirs !
1976 ... it would have been difficult for the year 1976 to match the quality level of 1975. but what they continue to deliver largely holds up and that is what is essential above all !
1976 ... one could easily think that the group gave their all the previous year and that the descent to the cow floor is likely to be a little brutal. When you see what's new on the horizon, no need to worry about their short-term future !
1977 ... they had not given everything far from it ! Here they get a new global mega hit which shows that we will still have to count on them in the years to come and not just a little !
1977 ... the group literally walks on water in this year 1977. The level of success is stratospheric and hardly weakens from one title to another. Bluffing !
1978 ... we start again on almost the same bases in this year 1978. Nothing, and no one, is able at this stage to slow down their advance towards the stars for a while, that's clear !
1978 ... a title completely out of time and the musical standards of the moment. Damn daring bet but won hands down given the success achieved by the latter !
1979 ... the end of the decade which saw them maintain a level of inspiration largely sufficient to allow them to stay ahead of the pack. Too strong little guys !
1979 ... a decade of 70 which saw them hatch and then literally explode on the international scene. What will the next decade have in store for them, good question ...
1980 ... for the moment, the transition to the 1980s is rather under ideal conditions. We will cross our fingers to make it last as long as possible ...
1980 ... the new decade was off to a good start, but the tube machine was going to stall a bit. The sound and the style must evolve quickly to hope to be able to stay in contact with the best, that's clear ...
1980 ... things get more and more complicated. The level of success is plummeting and the group is starting to seriously lose ground on the front of the pack. Attention danger...
1981 ... there is better, it is clear, the sound evolves slowly but surely. But there is still work to be done to go up the slope, we are not going to lie to each other ...
1981 ... a recovery in hand which is confirmed with this title and which is especially timely. There is therefore every reason to hope for the rest of the events ...
1982 ... the group made up for lost time and returned to contact with the best. A desire to believe in it always and again which necessarily forces respect ...
1982 ... a comeback which allows them to win a new prestigious star with this title. Like what, in music, nothing is ever finished !
1982 ... a BIG year 1982 which will undoubtedly remain as their best vintage of the decade. Unstoppable little guys ...
1983 ... the great adventure continues unabated. The years go by on the clock and that does not in any way affect the group's desire to always and still move forward. Who would complain ...
1983 ... admittedly, the level of success has nothing to do with the level reached at the end of the previous decade but they have nothing to be ashamed of what they now offer, far from it ...
1983 ... a level of success which is now falling title after title. We feel that this time the group has reached the end of its adventure and that this time it is irremediable ...
1984 ... 15 years after their debut, the circle is now almost complete. This does not prevent them from continuing to issue titles of more than certain quality. We take, we take !
1986 ... still there little guys ! And not out of fashion for a penny, the icing on the cake. But how far are they ready to go, they are the only ones to have the answer ...
1988 ... what is certain is that they intend to go until the end of the decade. Afterwards, they will do it more for the glory than anything else because the success in the Charts will be very modest ...
1993 ... and the transition to the 90s will unfortunately change nothing. A magnificent adventure which ends with this title, an adventure which will nevertheless have consecrated them as one of the major groups of the end of the 20th century. Respect as they say !
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :