Hot Chocolate - Classic Or Dud?

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IN FAVOUR -

ENORMOUS skronk-riff on Every1's A Winner

"No Doubt About It" - big gloopy soul ballad about the possibility of alien life!

AGAINST -

"Emma"!!

"You Sexy Thing"!!

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Classic and Dud.

FOR: Heaven's in the back seat of my Caddy

AGAINST: Man to man

regards,

REB

― Rik E Boy (Rik E Boy), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:45 (9 years ago) Permalink

AGAINST -
"Emma"!!

"You Sexy Thing"!!

AGAINST? Gidouddahere!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:50 (9 years ago) Permalink

both those songs are great, although they did better. the biggest case against for me is "So You Win Again", which i'm totally indifferent to and sometimes mildly dislike, the same feelings i have about the Real Thing's "You To Me Are Everything" (i cannot understand why Dr C rates that song so highly).

their best single is probably "Put Your Love In Me", although "Every 1's A Winner" is fucking awesome. "Love Is Life" should be played far, far more than it is.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 4 March 2004 01:55 (9 years ago) Permalink

It's too bad the band themselves look, well, "everyday". They really needed crazy costumes.

At least, I was hoping that the lead singer was an ethnically ambiguous bug-eyed freak that wore a Jonzun Crew style fluorescent pastel wig.

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 4 March 2004 03:06 (9 years ago) Permalink

Classic. Especially for "Every 1s a Winner", "What Kinda Boy You Looking For (Girl)" and "It Started With a Kiss"

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Thursday, 4 March 2004 03:13 (9 years ago) Permalink

What is wrong with You Sexy Thing??

― Allyzay, Thursday, 4 March 2004 07:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

it started with a kiss!!

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Thursday, 4 March 2004 07:51 (9 years ago) Permalink

"You Sexy Thing" and "Every 1's A Winner" alone make for CLASSIC status. "Emma", "You Could've Been A Lady" etc. are mere gravy (groovy!) And hey: "Every 1'S..." may even have inspired Killing Joke's "Bloodsport" for all I know! (Don't tell Alex)

― Myonga Von Bontee, Thursday, 4 March 2004 08:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Oh utterly classic! Tom is right about the skronk riff on EOAW - I have posted here before about the wonderful guitar work of Harvey Hinsley.

Uber classic : EOAW, Emma, So You Win Again ("..and here I stand again - a LOSER!"), Brother Louie, I'll Put You Together Again, No Doubt About It ("Let me tell you about the other night/it was really frightening") and It Started With a Kiss ("You don't remember me do you/you don't remember me DO you")

**the Real Thing's "You To Me Are Everything" (i cannot understand why Dr C rates that song so highly)**

I could talk for hours about why YTMAE is a supreme distillation of everything that's good about 70's pop-disco - the upful urban hustle pivoting around the bass/drums/wah groove, the warm harmonies, Chris Amoo's gravelly yearning, the best chorus eve - but I haven't really got much time this morning. Maybe later.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:46 (9 years ago) Permalink

Has anyone here heared "Give Peace a Chance" on Apple?

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:49 (9 years ago) Permalink

OK my dislike of You Sexy Thing is purely for Full Monty overkill - its driven pretty much every other HC song off the airwaves and it's not THAT good. "Emma" though is just awful plus it's annoying how the chorus can't decide whether the poor girl is called Emma or Emily.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:54 (9 years ago) Permalink

"It Started With A Kiss" is awesome though.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:54 (9 years ago) Permalink

Why do people pee their pants at the thought of Otis Redding or Aretha Franklin and dismiss Errol Brown so easily? There aren't many singers, soul or otherwise, who can do needing quite as well as him. The voice of a man who has had his heart broken too many times, and once more will do for him, but still he keeps trying..

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:58 (9 years ago) Permalink

Emiline... Emma Emiline..

Yeah, the entire song calls her Emiline most often, but they title it Emma.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:08 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yes it's no wonder she lacked the charisma to succeed in the tough competitive Hollywood environment if even her childhood sweetheart can't remember her name.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:10 (9 years ago) Permalink

Aah that explains it...

"Emmeline? Emma? Emily? no don't tell me... Erica? .."

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

Well I like it.

Dods OTM abt Errol.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

Hey guys, lets all swap jackets and ties around...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 March 2004 10:22 (9 years ago) Permalink

Agree with Robin that "Put Your Love In Me" is probably their finest single, though "It Started With A Kiss" is close...

I quite like "So You Win Again" actually, though it stands out far less as an interesting record than the two above. Quite workaday, but decent 70s pop I'd say.

Agree more with Dr C than RC on "You To Me Are Everything"; as well as the chorus itself, one of the greatest after-chorus bits as well, after the first... Not quite one of my few favourites on the fantastic "Pure Groove" compilations, but IMO it is excellent. The intro reminds me a bit of Odyssey's "Native New Yorker", which in its long version is one of the most sublime pieces of urban(e) disco I've ever heard.

Dud: 'You Sexy Thing'; wouldn't be if the next term I heard it was the first. But really, its ubiquity has been grating. It's not a great song IMO either. "Every One's A Winner" is much better, and I need to listen to it again...

― Tom May (Tom May), Thursday, 4 March 2004 11:58 (9 years ago) Permalink

Like it has been said before in the thread: Both.

Never liked their 70s stuff, but they did a lot of classy singles in the 80s. Love "No Doubt About It", "It Started With a Kiss" and "What Kind Of Boy You're Looking For Girl"

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 4 March 2004 12:00 (9 years ago) Permalink

Seriously, "Give peace a chance"!
Apparently, they wrote alternate/better lyrics and showed John Lennon. He dug them and got them recorded and released on Apple as a single. "Hot Chocolate Band" ...
Like I asked, did anyone here ever hear it?

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 March 2004 12:33 (9 years ago) Permalink

Also - "Hot Chocolate" is a f-cking great name for a band. cf 'Hot Butter'.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 4 March 2004 13:30 (9 years ago) Permalink

I should cocoa.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 4 March 2004 13:35 (9 years ago) Permalink

Btw. Modern Talking must have been huge fans of Hot Chocolate, considering the song titles of their absolutely awful 80s songs tended to have a reference to Hot Chocolate. I mean, like Hot Chocolate, they wrote songs about winning, #1, Caddilacs and brother's called Louie...

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 4 March 2004 14:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

Another of rock and roll's mysteries solved...

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 4 March 2004 15:39 (9 years ago) Permalink

Not sure if the band's name is that great...the secretary at Apple Records came up with the name. Chocolate. They're black. Do you see?

― Canada Briggs (Canada Briggs), Thursday, 4 March 2004 18:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

before I ever heard "You Sexy Thing" my sister asked me who sings the song that goes "I believe in MIRACULLLLLLLS!" I responded that I had no idea but I needed to hear this song as soon as possible. God do I love it. I've only heard that and "Emma." I really should have hunted down more by now. Based on the little evidence I've heard they're undoubtedly classic.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 4 March 2004 18:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

the biggest case against for me is "So You Win Again"

Wow, I came in here to say that was my fave Hot Choccie record. But I liked "I'll Put You Together Again" too so my taste is obviously suspect.

I saw Errol Brown coming out of the toilet of a bar in Soho once. I was surprised how short he was.

Anyway, totally classic.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), Thursday, 4 March 2004 19:11 (9 years ago) Permalink

believe it or not i do quite like "I'll Put You Together Again", Don Black lyrics and all.

seeing as Hot Chocolate were huge in Germany, i suspect Geir may well be right (although, being British, the only one of those songs i know is the one about a brother called Louie ...)

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 4 March 2004 23:41 (9 years ago) Permalink

only one of the *Modern Talking* songs i know, that is.

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 4 March 2004 23:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

i ws named after the song emma i cant believe my mum did that is a depressing song

― Emma williams (Emma williams), Friday, 5 March 2004 00:07 (9 years ago) Permalink

"Cicero Park" is a pretty great serious urban decay type soul thing

― Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), Friday, 5 March 2004 01:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

MMMmmmmm!!! Going Through The Motions is great great zonkers funky eurodisco with a bit of grit and dirt. And man, the vocals are BITCHIN!

― gaseous (gaseous), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 03:48 (6 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Night Ride is my favourite train-themed disco song. and that is saying a lot.

― ☪, Tuesday, 4 December 2007 00:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

i seem to be hearing a bit of hot chocolate when i'm out these days, including rub n tug deploying 'heaven's in the backseat of my cadillac' last night to pretty devastating effect. still trying to work out if it was an edit or not, because it kicked a lot harder than i remember!

― haitch, Saturday, 24 May 2008 10:29 (5 years ago) Permalink

let me take you thayyyyyyyyyyyyere

YEAH YEAH

― haitch, Saturday, 24 May 2008 10:58 (5 years ago) Permalink

I always played Hot Chocolate when DJing -- pretty much every time. Usually "Brother Louie" into, say, Earthquake's version of "Emma" (into "Sister Havana" by Urge Overkill, since they also covered "Emma"), or maybe Hot Chocolate's "Emma" original into the Stories' version of "Brother Louie". Or something like that. But yeah, "Heaven's In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac" too sometimes. Or "Rumours." XIV Greatest Hits (RAK Germany, 1977) is awesome. Don't really know their individual albums, though.

― xhuxk, Saturday, 24 May 2008 12:24 (5 years ago) Permalink

(They were always good for playing immmediately after Junior or Linx, too, if I wanted to get a little Brit-soul-conceptual for the people. Not that the people every really noticed, or anything.)

― xhuxk, Saturday, 24 May 2008 12:26 (5 years ago) Permalink

My first EVAH single was Girl Crazy. I still think they are TOPS.

I don't care about the colour of her hair. I don't care about the colour of her skin that she's wrapped in.
All I want is a personality that's righth for me.

Words to live by. The song still makes me happy as fuck every time I hear it or sing it to myself.

― stevienixed, Saturday, 24 May 2008 13:03 (5 years ago) Permalink

xhuxk, do you beat match all this stuff???

― Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 24 May 2008 19:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

'cadillac' is amazing.

― or something, Saturday, 24 May 2008 19:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

do you beat match all this stuff???

Hells no. (Well, by my ears maybe. I just play stuff that would sound good next to each other. That's hard enough as is, without adding numbers to it.)

― xhuxk, Saturday, 24 May 2008 20:15 (5 years ago) Permalink

i was obsessed with the s/t second hot chocolate album last year. so amazing. and so varied. "hello america", "dollar sign", "call the police". "you sexy thing" might have been the smash, but the whole thing is great. i need their first album and some of the later stuff. such a cool group. i might have to dig out my every 1's a winner 12 inch today.

― scott seward, Saturday, 24 May 2008 20:52 (5 years ago) Permalink

Anyone here ever play out Every 1's a Winner? I did the other night and (thankfully) people loved it...
It was a big slow down but it's got that monster guitar riff that gets everyone in a dancing mood.
In fact, I'd say that Hot Chocolate is a pretty good music-slower-downer-but-party-keepin-on-going pick.

― altair nouveau, Saturday, 24 May 2008 21:26 (5 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

there is a machine in my office kitchen space that makes this (and other things i haven't delved into)
i am trying it for the first time
i feel like i am taking a break on a cold day of ice skating
but i am just taking a break from being super busy not ice skating

― terminator boyfriend (rrrobyn), Friday, 26 September 2008 20:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

"Every 1's a Winner" is sounding REALLY good right now.

― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Monday, 11 January 2010 21:50 (3 years ago) Permalink

actually this cafe has been playing a pretty smoking mix of disco and late soul.

― figuratively, but in a very real way (amateurist), Monday, 11 January 2010 21:51 (3 years ago) Permalink

what do you think of this version of it?
http://www.robotsinheat.com/trax/EveryonesAWinner.mp3

― jaxon, Monday, 11 January 2010 22:19 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

― hail dayton (brownie), Friday, 17 August 2012 16:11 (9 months ago) Permalink

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