Tony Wilson (musician)

Last updated
Tony Wilson
Birth nameAnthony Wilson
Born (1947-10-08) 8 October 1947 (age 76)
Trinidad
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s) Bass guitar
Labels

Anthony Wilson (born 8 October 1947) [1] is a Trinidadian vocalist, bass guitarist and songwriter, best known for his time with soul and funk band Hot Chocolate. He co-wrote the Hot Chocolate hits "Love Is Life", "Emma", "Brother Louie" and "You Sexy Thing". [2]

Contents

Career

Early career

Wilson was born in Trinidad, [1] and was involved with music from the age of 16. Some of his first bands were called The Flames, The Souvenirs, and The Corduroys. He was a member of the group Soul Brothers, who released three singles. [3] Wilson worked as a songwriter in the 1960s, and wrote songs such as "Bet Yer Life I Do" (Herman's Hermits), [4] "Heaven Is Here" (Julie Felix), and "Think About Your Children" (Mary Hopkin). Wilson met Errol Brown in the late 1960s, as Brown lived in the flat opposite to him. [5] They soon formed Hot Chocolate.

Hot Chocolate

He was a founding member of Hot Chocolate in 1968, and left the band in 1975. [6] Wilson is credited with persuading Hot Chocolate's lead singer Errol Brown to commit his songwriting ideas to paper. [3] He shared lead vocal duties with Brown on Hot Chocolate's early hits. The two wrote many of their earliest hits including: "Love Is Life", "You Could Have Been a Lady", "Emma", "Brother Louie", and "You Sexy Thing". [2]

Wilson left Hot Chocolate in 1975 to begin a solo career. Percussionist Patrick Olive later switched to bass. One main reason for Wilson's departure was because Tony had originally been the lead singer for the band, but Mickie Most, who had been producing for them, wanted to push Brown forward as the frontman instead, which angered Tony, as even Errol and band mates agreed that Tony had the better singing voice:

I told him: "If that is the way that you feel, I don't think we should share royalties any more." His retort was: "I don't want to share anything with you anyway." It must be very tough for him now because that song was "You Sexy Thing" which went on to become a standard. That one argument must have cost him millions of pounds.

— Errol Brown, 1998 [7]

Post–Hot Chocolate

Wilson signed to Albert Grossman’s Bearsville label. [8] His first solo album, "I Like Your Style" was recorded in De Lane Lea Studios in Wembley between 1975–76, and was released in 1976. [8] After the album was released, he and his family moved to Upstate New York.

In 1979, Wilson asked to write a song for Bill Haley for his upcoming album. The next day, he came back into the studio with a cassette tape featuring a song called "Everyone Can Rock and Roll". Haley liked the song so much, that not only was is featured on the album, but it also became the title of the album. [8] In the 1980s, he worked in a band called Real Magic.

Personal life

According to a 1998 interview with Errol Brown, he and Wilson had lost touch. [5] As of 2012, Wilson is living in Trinidad. [9] A 1966 Fender Jazz Bass owned by Wilson was brought into The Repair Shop. It had a missing logo, a broken nut, worn out frets, missing pickup and bridge covers, and was partially missing paint. [10]

Discography

Selected Hot Chocolate songs

(See full discography at Hot Chocolate discography)

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References

  1. 1 2 "Happy Birthday, Hot Chocolate's Tony Wilson". Mojo4music.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Tony Wilson (3)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 Stratton, Jon (17 February 2016). When Music Migrates: Crossing British and European Racial Faultlines, 1945–2010. Routledge. p. 104. ISBN   978-1-134-76288-0.
  4. ↑ "Bet Yer Life I Do - Hermans Hermits". The Sheet Music Warehouse. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. 1 2 Marshall, Andrew G. (1998-02-03). "`My first miracle was that I suddenly became musical' | The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ↑ "Errol Brown: Singer and songwriter whose band Hot Chocolate had a string of infectious hits but also dealt with serious subjects". The Independent. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. ↑ https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/my-first-miracle-was-that-i-suddenly-became-musical-1142642.html
  8. 1 2 3 "It was John & Yoko who helped name the band "Hot Chocolate"". 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  9. ↑ BusinessLive (2012-11-02). "Hot Chocolate still believing in miracles after 42 years". Business Live. Retrieved 2024-05-17.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ Kennett, David (2019-05-05). "The Repair Shop". Flame Guitars. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
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