Errol Brown passed away at the age of 71 after losing his battle to liver cancer
Errol Brown, the man behind classic ‘70s jam “You
Sexy Thing,” has passed away after losing his battle to liver cancer.
The Hot Chocolate lead singer and co-founder was 71.
"Errol Brown MBE passed away in the Bahamas this morning with his
wife Ginette and daughters Colette and Leonie by his side of liver
cancer," his manager Phil Dale said in a statement on Wednesday, May 6.
"Errol was a lover of life and obviously music. I never went into his home, car, or a hotel room without music playing. Errol was a gentle man and was a personal friend of mine who will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him," Dale continued. “His greatest legacy is that his music will live on!"
Brown, who was born in Jamaica but moved to the UK with his mother when he was 12, kicked off his career by sending John Lennon his band's own version of “Give Peace a Chance” in 1969.
First released in 1975, Brown’s trademark song “You Sexy Thing” charted worldwide, making its way into movies including The Full Monty, Legally Blonde, and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, among others.
In 2009, Brown told BBC Breakfast they didn’t think they would actually hear back from Lennon. “We all laughed about it [and then] amazingly, a week later I got a call to say John Lennon approved it and wanted to sign the band to the Apple record label — and that’s how we began.”
Brown’s group Hot Chocolate even performed at a pre-wedding event for Prince Charles and Lady Diana at Buckingham Palace back in 1981.
Hot Chocolate started their recording career making a reggae version of John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance”, but band leader Errol Brown was told he needed permission. Much to Brown’s surprise, he was contacted by Apple Records, discovered that John Lennon liked his version, and the group was subsequently signed to Apple Records. The link was short-lived as The Beatles were starting to break up, and the Apple connection soon ended.
"Errol was a lover of life and obviously music. I never went into his home, car, or a hotel room without music playing. Errol was a gentle man and was a personal friend of mine who will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him," Dale continued. “His greatest legacy is that his music will live on!"
Brown, who was born in Jamaica but moved to the UK with his mother when he was 12, kicked off his career by sending John Lennon his band's own version of “Give Peace a Chance” in 1969.
First released in 1975, Brown’s trademark song “You Sexy Thing” charted worldwide, making its way into movies including The Full Monty, Legally Blonde, and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, among others.In 2009, Brown told BBC Breakfast they didn’t think they would actually hear back from Lennon. “We all laughed about it [and then] amazingly, a week later I got a call to say John Lennon approved it and wanted to sign the band to the Apple record label — and that’s how we began.”
Brown’s group Hot Chocolate even performed at a pre-wedding event for Prince Charles and Lady Diana at Buckingham Palace back in 1981.
Hot Chocolate started their recording career making a reggae version of John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance”, but band leader Errol Brown was told he needed permission. Much to Brown’s surprise, he was contacted by Apple Records, discovered that John Lennon liked his version, and the group was subsequently signed to Apple Records. The link was short-lived as The Beatles were starting to break up, and the Apple connection soon ended.
No comments:
Post a Comment