Tony Wilson, co-founder and bassist of the British soul group Hot Chocolate who co-wrote some of the band’s biggest hits, died on April 24. He was 78.
Wilson died at his home in Trinidad, his family confirmed on social media.
“Dad left us today,” Wilson’s daughter wrote in a Facebook post. “He left a lot of music behind ... forever and ever.”
Wilson partnered with the band’s frontman, Errol Brown, to write “You Sexy Thing” and “Emma,” the BBC reported.
The upbeat, funk-infused “You Sexy Thing” was released in November 1975 and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on Feb. 7, 1976. The song, with it’s catchy hook, “I believe in miracles,” spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the band’s biggest hit.
It would enjoy a resurgence in 1997, when the track was featured in the film “The Full Monty.”
“Emma,” which the duo co-wrote in early 1975, was another Top-10 hit for the group, rising to No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100 on April 26, 1975.
Wilson was born in Trinidad and played in bands that included The Flames, The Souvenirs, and The Corduroys, the BBC reported.
Wilson moved to the United Kingdom and began recording music in the early 1960s, according to The Winnipeg Sun. He released his first single, “Yes I Do,” in 1964 on Decca Records, according to the newspaper.
Wilson and Brown formed Hot Chocolate in the late 1960s and got their break in 1969 when they sent a reggae version of “Give Peace a Chance” to John Lennon, the BBC reported.
Lennon approved of the version and wanted to sign the band to Apple, The Beatles record label, Brown told BBC Breakfast in a 2009 interview.
Wilson left the band in 1975 to resume a solo career, according to the BBC.
He released two solo albums, “I Like Your Style” and “Catch One,” the Sun reported.
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