Hot Chocolate co-founder Tony Wilson has died aged 89

Wilson co-wrote '70s hits including 'Emma' and 'You Sexy Thing' alongside bandmate Errol Brown

Tony Wilson, the co-founder of '70s soul band Hot Chocolate, has died aged 89. 

As reported by BBC News, the singer, songwriter and bassist died at his family home in Trinidad on Friday (April 24). "It's been an emotional weekend. On Friday, my dad, the one and only Tony Wilson passed away, aged 89, at his home in Trinidad," Wilson's son Danny wrote via Facebook on Sunday (April 26).

"Words don't do justice to the admiration I have for him as a human being or for his dedication to make his dream of getting the songs he wrote be heard," he continues. "I am very lucky. I can open up YouTube and see him and hear his voice whenever I want. And this weekend, I've been doing that a lot. He meant so much to so many people - of that I have become acutely aware through social media posts since his passing."

Born in Trinidad in 1947, Wilson moved to the UK as a child and began his journey in music in the '60s when he was just 16, before going on to form a string of bands including The Flames, The Souvenirs, The Corduroys and Soul Brothers.

After years working as a songwriter for other musicians (including Manchester pop-rock band Herman's Hermits), in the late '60s Wilson formed Hot Chocolate with Jamaican musician Errol Brown after Brown moved into a flat across the road from him in West Hampstead, London.

The duo started their career creating a raggae cover of John Lennon's 'Give Peace a Chance', though they were initially prevented from releasing it due to permission restrictions from The Beatles' label, Apple Records. 

After contacting the label, and hearing that Lennon approved of the rework, Hot Chocolate were briefly signed to Apple Records in 1970 before The Beatles began to break up.

Wilson was the vocalist and co-writer on Hot Chocolate's early hits 'You'll Always Be My Friend', 'You Could Have Been a Lady', 'Emma' and 'You Sexy Thing', which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in November 1975, and later achieving chart success in the US, Canada and Australia.

Credited as one of the first Black British soul bands to achieve success in America, Wilson left the band in 1975, which Errol Brown claimed was due to their producer, Mickie Most, wanting to replace him as the lead singer.

Wilson's first solo album, 'I Like Your Style', was released via Bearsville Records in 1976, on which he would also release a second album, 'Catch One' in 1976 - neither achieved chart success. By the late '80s, Wilson stopped releasing music altogether.

In an interview with The Independent in 1998, Brown claimed that he and Wilson had lost touch. Despite this, when Brown passed away in 2015, Wilson paid tribute to his former bandmate via Facebook, writing: "Rest in peace Errol Brown. Heartfelt condolences to your family, friends, and all fans."

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X

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