Hot Chocolate (album)

Hot Chocolate is the second studio album by British soul band Hot Chocolate. It was released in November 1975 on the RAK Records label, owned by Mickie Most, who was the band's producer. The album peaked at number thirty-four on the UK Albums Chart[3] and forty-one on the US Billboard 200 album chart.[4]

Hot Chocolate
Studio album by Hot Chocolate
Released	November 1975
Recorded	Chateau du Regard, Coye la Forêt, Oise, France (by the RAK Records Mobile) Morgan Studios, London
Genre	Pop funk R&B
Length	1:01:24 (with bonus tracks)
Label	RAK, Big Tree (US)
Producer	Mickie Most
Hot Chocolate chronology
Cicero Park (1974) Hot Chocolate (1975) Man to Man (1976)
Singles from Hot Chocolate
"A Child's Prayer" Released: July 1975 "You Sexy Thing" Released: October 1975

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]

The original 1975 LP release comprised ten original songs, of which only one ("You Sexy Thing") was credited to the band's writing team, lead vocalist Errol Brown and bassist Tony Wilson. Brown and Wilson wrote rest of the album separately, with the band members Harvey Hinsley, Patrick Olive and Tony Connor contributing "A Warm Smile". The album includes the group's best-known hit, "You Sexy Thing" and the top-10 UK and Irish hit "A Child's Prayer".

The album was issued on CD for the first time with six bonus tracks in 2009.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Errol Brown; except where indicated.

Side one

1. "Hello America" – 3:25
2. "The Street" – 5:09
3. "Call the Police" (Tony Wilson) – 3:59
4. "Dollar Sign" – 2:58
5. "You Sexy Thing" (Brown, Wilson) – 4:05

Side two

6. "A Child's Prayer" – 3:52
7. "A Warm Smile" (Harvey Hinsley, Patrick Olive, Tony Connor) – 5:24
8. "Amazing Skin Song" – 4:05
9. "Love's Coming on Strong" (Wilson) – 3:42
10. "Lay Me Down " (Wilson) – 3:29

CD bonus tracks (2009)

11. "Cheri Babe" – 2:52
12. "Sexy Lady" (Brown, Wilson) – 3:20
13. "Blue Night" – 4:02
14. "You Sexy Thing" (B-Side Version) (Brown, Wilson) – 4:01
15. "Everything Should Be Funky" (Wilson) – 3:06
16. "You Sexy Thing" (Single Version) (Brown, Wilson) – 4:04

Charts

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Australian (Kent Music Report)	27[5]

Personnel

Hot Chocolate

• Errol Brown – lead vocals
• Harvey Hinsley – lead and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
• Larry Ferguson – keyboards
• Tony Wilson – bass, vocals
• Tony Connor – drums, backing vocals, electric piano
• Patrick Olive – percussion, backing vocals, bass

Additional

• The CCS Horns – 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, alto, baritone and tenor saxophones
• Mickie Most – producer
• John Cameron – arrangements (1 to 3, 5, 7 to 16)
• Phil Dennys – arrangements (4, 6)
• P. Linard & Co. – album art

References

1. Henderson, Alex (2015). "Hot Chocolate — Hot Chocolate | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: H". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. "Hot Chocolate | Artist". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
4. "Hot Chocolate". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 142. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.