Chocolate holds its heat

Greg Bannis of Hot Chocolate. Photo / Getty Images

Every 1's A Winner, So You Win Again, It Started with a Kiss and You Sexy Thing are part of the pop culture canon of iconic songs that are endlessly used and abused, ad nauseam.

But strip away the commodification of British act Hot Chocolate's best known songs and what remains is pure pop: catchy, singable and often the life and soul of the party.

If that statement brings a smile to your face and a tap to your toe, the news Hot Chocolate is touring New Zealand again for the first time in years will have you frothing at the mouth.

It's certainly something founding member Patrick Olive is looking forward to.
"We're as busy as ever and the audiences still seem to enjoy the shows as much as they did years ago," says the band's original percussionist, who these days plays bass and contributes vocals.

"There have been ups and downs along the way but that's show business."
One of the biggest highs in the band's four-decade career was when the 1975 single You Sexy Thing hit the British top 10 three times over three consecutive decades. Hot Chocolate also scored a hit every year between 1970 and 1984.

"It surprised us very much," admits Olive. "But a good song never ages and it has been used in films and commercials many times so it stays fresh in people's minds. Anyone would be proud that their song is still a hit with old and young."

Something else that remains alive in Olive's mind is the band's first self-penned hit single, Love Is Life. It was released in 1970 just a year after former singer Errol Brown, who performed all the band's chart-toppers, formed the group then promptly signed to The Beatles' Apple Records.

"It seems like yesterday that we recorded the song because it's still fresh in our heads," agrees Olive.

"And of course we think of Errol as such a big part of the band. But the shows go on and our singer Kenny Simon does such a brilliant job of singing the songs."

With consummate musicians like lead guitarist Harvey Hinsley, drummer Tony Connor and Olive in the band, Hot Chocolate made the transition to disco in the mid-70s, adapting to the changing tide of musical and cultural trends.

The bicultural makeup of the band's lineup was also progressive, making them a sight for sore eyes on such TV shows as Top of the Pops, American Bandstand, Soul Train and, from the early 80s, Solid Gold and Ready to Roll.

It's therefore little surprise that despite Brown's departure in 1986 to pursue a solo career, the band chose to begin anew in 1992 with Greg Bannis on vocals. Legions of fans across the world were willing them back to the stage.

"[It] never once crossed my mind to be in another band and never will," insists Olive. "Being a member of Hot Chocolate has been the most rewarding experience. It's exciting, fun and always different with every show."

On the question of whether the band will ever record a new studio album to supersede their last, Strictly Dance, released in 1993, and attempt to surpass the overwhelming number of Hot Chocolate compilation albums that dominate their discography, Olive errs on the pragmatic side.

"The music business is so different now, with downloads, etc. "It's become too complicated for us at our age and there's so much demand still for our original music.

"With a compilation, you get all your favourite songs on one CD rather than buying a CD with perhaps one or two songs on it that you like."

With only 11 compilations to the band's credit, it could be time for another Greatest Hits collection.

Hot Chocolate plays Auckland's Bruce Mason Centre on Tuesday, October 21 and Wellington's Opera House on Wednesday, October 22.