Errol for Concert Hall

Jan 20 2009 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

POP legend Errol Brown (right) is now more accustomed to appearing on the golf course than on stage.

But the former Hot Chocolate frontman insists he is determined to put on a good show when his farewell tour hits Perth’s Concert Hall on February 5.

Hot Chocolate’s first single, Love Is Life, reached number six in the charts in 1970, sparking a run which saw them feature in the Top 40 at least once in each of the next 15 years.

And Errol, now 60 and based in the Bahamas, claims it is this staying power that separates artists of his era from today’s generation.

“I think the longevity of the music is the most pleasing part of what Hot Chocolate did, it’s still being appreciated today and I think it will be long after I’ve finished.

“When we started, groups were developed by the record companies and signed because they had something different.

“Acts have very few chances now, I think that’s why they don’t have that nice longevity we had.

“Music is a very hard road to go down now – if you mess up once, you’re dropped,” he said.

The veteran showman went on to say that – despite the recent technological revolution within music – the industry has not necessarily changed for the better.

“The equipment they use now is wonderful, but I think music has lost the human quality it had.

“You used to be able to hear different instruments, you could make out the bass guitar on a record, but it all blends into one now,” he said.

Although life in the Caribbean appears to have dulled much of the drive that saw Errol, and the other four original members of Hot Chocolate, notch up 30 singles over three decades, a relative lack of individual success since going solo in 1985 doesn’t sit well with the soulful singer.

“I was invited to perform on Top Of The Pops before my first single ‘Personal Touch’ was released in 1987, but I couldn’t make it.

“It went into the charts at 25 and I have thought that, if I had done the show, it might have went in higher.

“But I don’t regret it too much because maybe I wouldn’t be as content with my life now if I’d kept going,” he said.

Iconic numbers such as the seemingly ever-lasting You Sexy Thing, which charted in the 70s, 80s – and then returned courtesy of The Full Monty’s soundtrack in 1997 – have ensured that Brown’s legacy is secure.

But he hinted that developing the next generation will help ease into full-time retirement.

“I accidently discovered a 17 year-old female singer called Alexia. I want to help promote her over the next couple of years, then I’ll probably work on my golf swing.

“I played at Loch Lomond when I was in Scotland before so, who knows, I might even bring my clubs when I come to Perth,” he said.