Tony Wilson, the bassist and singer with Hot Chocolate who co-wrote some of their biggest hits, including You Sexy Thing, has died aged 89. Wilson set up the band with frontman Errol Brown in London in 1968 and had writing credits on You Sexy Thing, Love is Life, Brother Louie and Emma, all Top 10 UK singles in the early 1970s.
Early Life and Meeting Errol Brown
Wilson was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 8 October 1936, one of four children of Gladys (nee Hernandez), a french polisher, and her husband Wilfred Wilson. He attended Tranquillity Boys and Belmont Modern secondary schools, where he showed more interest in sport than music. However, he became a fan of American soul music. After moving to the UK in 1961 at age 25, he became involved in the London music scene, releasing two solo singles: Yes I Do (1964) and What Did I Do? (1967). Not long after the second release, he bumped into Brown in West Hampstead, northwest London, where they had been living opposite each other.
Formation of Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate came into being after the pair began working on a version of John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance. According to Wilson, he and Brown went to the Apple offices in London with a demo and ended up playing it in person to Lennon and Yoko Ono, who were impressed. When Lennon discovered they had no name for their new project, receptionist Mavis Smith came up with Hot Chocolate Band. The song was released on Apple but sank without trace. Wilson and Brown then recruited Patrick Olive on percussion, Franklyn De Allie on guitar and Jim King on drums, before signing to Mickie Most’s RAK label.
Hit Songs and Success
Some of the first Wilson/Brown compositions were used by Most for other artists, including Bet Yer Life I Do for Herman’s Hermits, Heaven Is Here for Julie Felix and Think About Your Children for Mary Hopkin, all in 1970. That same year, Hot Chocolate released their debut single, Love is Life, which reached No 6 on the UK charts. I Believe in Love got to No 8 in 1971, while Brother Louie – about the trials of an interracial love affair and featuring a memorable Wilson bass line – peaked at No 7 in 1973, becoming a US No 1 when the Stories created their own version. Emma, a dark tale, reached No 3 in 1974. You Sexy Thing would almost certainly have gone higher than No 2 in 1975 if it had not been blocked by Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. It re-emerged as a Top 10 hit in the UK with a remix in 1987 and again in 1997 after featuring in the film The Full Monty.
Departure and Solo Career
Wilson initially shared singing duties with Brown, but by the time of You Sexy Thing, their record label had consciously begun to project Brown as the band leader. Brown later conceded: “Everybody thought that Tony had the better voice, and he was certainly better at hitting the notes and had a better range. However, Mickie Most felt that I should become the lead singer because I had the more commercial voice.” The resulting tension led to Wilson’s departure in 1975. He embarked on a solo career with two soul/disco albums, I Like Your Style (1976) and Catch One (1979), both released on Bearsville Records in New York state. Neither had commercial success. He also wrote Everyone Can Rock and Roll for Bill Haley, which became the featured track on Haley’s 1979 album. In 1980, Wilson produced the soca-tinged single Use My Body for Trinidadian singer Mavis John, which later featured in two American TV series, High Maintenance and High Fidelity.
Later Years and Legacy
A third and final solo album, Walking the Highwire, came out in 1988, but by then Wilson had moved back to Trinidad, focusing on nurturing and recording musical talent from his birthplace. He is survived by his partner, Dalia, three children, Joanne, Robert and Danny, and four grandchildren, Jake, Mia, Hope and Ellie-May. Anthony Nathaniel Wilson, musician and songwriter, born 8 October 1936; died 24 April 2026.
