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Tony Wilson, bassist, songwriter and founding member of Hot Chocolate, has passed away at the age of 78.
His family confirmed that the musician died on Friday 24 April 2026 in his birthplace of Trinidad, bringing to a close a career that played a key role in shaping one of Britain’s most successful soul acts of the 1970s.
Wilson’s daughter announced the news in a moving Facebook message, saying her father “left us today, April 24th 2026,” and adding that he “left a lot of music behind… forever and ever.”
She reflected on their final moments together as deeply personal, sharing that he had recently asked for prayers and spoke with a sense of calm about his passing.
She wrote: “The peace that I have is knowing that his soul escaped. He is in and at peace."
Wilson’s son Danny also paid tribute in an emotional message, describing the weekend as “emotional” while highlighting his father’s tireless commitment to songwriting.
He shared that old notebooks from the early 1970s revealed just how much effort Wilson put into building his career.
He wrote: “The knock backs, the interviews, the touring, the radio shows, the meticulous documenting of record sales… all the pressures of what was a cut-throat music industry in the 70s."
Danny added that revisiting those diaries together during a family trip last year remains a memory he deeply values.
A cause of death has not been disclosed at this time.
Born in Trinidad, Wilson later relocated to the UK as a young man and began his musical journey in the early 1960s, first releasing a solo single, Yes I Do, in 1964 through Decca Records.
His path shifted in 1969 when he joined forces with Errol Brown to form Hot Chocolate. The group went on to make history for Black British artists on the US charts, establishing a lasting legacy in pop and soul music.
Hot Chocolate achieved worldwide recognition with a run of hit records, most notably the 1975 classic You Sexy Thing, which Wilson co-wrote.
The song became one of the defining tracks of the era and continues to stand as one of the most iconic releases in British pop.
Wilson left Hot Chocolate in 1975 and went on to release two solo albums, I Like Your Style and Catch One.
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Stagecoach Festival was temporarily cleared Saturday night after strong winds pushed organizers to pause performances and evacuate the grounds, leading to major changes in the evening schedule, including the removal of Journey from the lineup.
Following the interruption, revised set times released by the festival confirmed that Journey, who had been set to take the Mustang Stage, would no longer perform that night.
https://twitter.com/Stagecoach/status/2048257968358224130
Headliner Lainey Wilson is now scheduled to take the Mane Stage an hour later than planned, with a new start time of 10:30 p.m., while Riley Green has also been pulled from the evening lineup.
Further updates saw Pitbull move his late night Mustang Stage performance from an 11 p.m. slot to midnight, running until 1 a.m., while Gavin Adcock, whose earlier set was cut short, is now set to appear during the Whiskey Jam All Star Sing Along inside the Palomino Tent later in the night.
The evacuation followed escalating winds sweeping through the Empire Polo Club in Indio, where the festival takes place. Screens across the venue displayed an emergency evacuation notice instructing attendees to move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit, while push alerts from the official app advised festivalgoers to leave the grounds.
The disruption impacted several stages, including the Mane Stage, which was between performances when the alert was issued. Wind conditions had been intensifying throughout the day, with stronger gusts arriving in the evening under a regional advisory.
Billboard’s Jessica Nicholson, who was on site, described what happened at the Palomino Stage, where Adcock’s set was brought to a stop.
“I was at the Palomino Stage when they stopped Gavin Adcock’s show,” Nicholson said. “The screens on either side of the Palomino stage lit up red and had a message that said ‘Stage Area Closed, please keep away from this area,’ then it later said to evacuate the area.”
Footage shared by attendees showed large groups leaving the venue, though the scene remained orderly as people made their way toward exits.
Stagecoach later confirmed on social media that the event would resume shortly, saying it was working to reopen the site safely before welcoming fans back inside later that night. Updated set times were then posted across its social platforms to reflect the changes.
Stagecoach, one of the biggest country music festivals in the United States, takes place each year at the same location as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and attracts tens of thousands of fans.
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