Errol Brown, the Hot Chocolate lead singer whose energetic, powerful vocals topped such hits as “You Sexy Thing” and “Every 1’s a Winner,” died on Wednesday. He was 71. His manager Phil Dale tweeted, “I lost my friend today. It was a joy being his Manager and his legacy is his music which will live on.” According to a statement Dale gave to the BBC, the cause of death was liver cancer. Hot Chocolate’s heyday was in the ’70s and ’80s, when the band, which Brown formed with friend Tony Wilson, had a string of smashes in Britain and a handful of hits in America. The best known is probably “You Sexy Thing,” produced by Mickie Most, which hit No. 3 in the United States and was later used in several movies, including “The Full Monty.”
