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!"
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.
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.
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.
