Harvey Hinsley (born January 19, 1948) – Let Them Be The Judge (1977)

The longtime Hot Chocolate guitarist co-wrote this funky message song with a warning for all who might try to stop the music.

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Harvey Hinsley is the longtime guitarist with the British soul/funk group Hot Chocolate, whose songs were mainstays of the UK charts in the 1970s and early 80s. They were the only artist besides Diana Ross and Elvis Presley to score at least one UK hit record during every year of the seventies.

Harvey Vincent Hinsley was born in Northampton, England. He joined Hot Chocolate in 1970, two years after they formed, replacing original guitarist Franklyn De Allie.

Hot Chocolate lead singer Errol Brown and bassist Tony Wilson co-wrote most of the A-sides for the group’s singles, like the 1976 disco-funk classic “You Sexy Thing” which hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

B-sides were usually penned by Hinsley, drummer Tony Connor, and percussionist Patrick Olive, who took over as bassist after Wilson left the band to go solo in the mid-seventies. These included many of the group's lesser known but solid cuts. For their self-titled second album, released in 1975, Hinsley, Connor, and Olive co-wrote the superb mellow jam “A Warm Smile.” It was issued as the B-side to the single version of “You Sexy Thing” in Europe and Japan.

They co-wrote the very funky jam “Sex Appeal” (1976) for their third LP Man to Man, which was featured as the B-side to the album’s equally funky opening cut “Heaven is in the Back Seat of My Cadillac.”

Every 1's a Winner was the group’s fourth studio LP, released in April, 1978. Its advance single “So You Win Again” went to #1 in the UK. The album’s next single was the Giorgio Moroder-esque “Put Your Love In Me” which dropped in November, 1977 and reached #10 on the UK charts.

The single’s B-side was the funky message song “Let Them Be The Judge,” co-written by Hinsley, Connor, and Olive. It was produced by superstar producer Mickie Most, who produced most of the group’s albums, with lyrics that spelled out a warning for all who might try to stop the music.

Hinsley’s guitar lines were an integral part of Hot Chocolate’s sound.  And on the album’s title track “Every 1’s A Winner,” he played one of the first Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizers heard on a record (first manufactured in 1977) to create the song’s unforgettable sound. Released as the LP’s third single, it went to #6 on the Hot 100 and #12 in the UK, becoming their second biggest all-time hit.

Pioneer disco remixer and producer John Luongo feels Hot Chocolate have never quite gotten their due, despite decades of chart success in the UK.  “This group was remarkably under appreciated,” Luongo posted in 2020.

“The simplicity of the talent they exhibited in their powerful lyrics and incredible emotional performances set them apart from so many today who received so much more attention than they did.”

Happy Birthday, Harvey Hinsley.

Further info:

“Guitar sound Of Hot Chocolate's Every 1's A Winner,” Gearspace, June 5, 2005.

“Hot Chocolate still smooth, sweet and sexy,” Sydney Morning Herald, October 11, 2013.

“Unsung Heroes: Harvey Hinsley,” TheFutureIsPast, June 3, 2018,

#soul #funk #disco #HotChocolate #HarveyHinsley