Errol Brown, Hot Chocolate frontman, dead at 71
Brown died in the Bahamas, with his wife and daughters by his side succumbing to liver cancer. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and then he moved to London as a child. Sadly shortly after, his mother passed away at the early age of 36, never seeing how successful her son would become. Yet her influence and the sacrifices she made to ensure that Brown went to a public school and received the best possible education had a dramatic influence on the singer.
Along with some friends he began his music career by sending a reggae version of "Give Peace a Chance" to John Lennon in 1969. The Beatles liked what they heard and signed Hot Chocolate to Apple. He fronted the groupfrom the late 60s through the early 80s; he then quit the group in 1985 to dedicate himself to his family. Brown co-wrote and sang the 1975 hit "You Sexy Thing" (which got a second life from inclusion in The Full Monty movie) and the 1973 single "Brother Louie", which served as the theme song for TV's Louie.
After leaving Hot Chocolate he did two solo tours in the UK in the 90s and carried out a farewell tour in 2009, telling the world he'd "done all he wanted to do". In 2003 he was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to pop music and made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). His manager Phil Dale tweeted: "I lost my friend today. It was a joy being his manager and his legacy is his music which will live on."
RIP Errol.