Sweet like Chocolate
"Sweet like Chocolate" is a song by British garage music duo Shanks & Bigfoot with vocalist Sharon Woolf. It was released as a single on 17 May 1999 and was included on the duo's debut album, Swings and Roundabouts (2000). Vocals on the track are sung by Sharon Woolf, who had also sung on their track "Straight from the Heart", which was released under their previous band name, Doolally.
| "Sweet like Chocolate" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Shanks & Bigfoot | ||||
| from the album Swings and Roundabouts | ||||
| Released | 17 May 1999[1] | |||
| Studio | Soul II Soul (London, England) | |||
| Genre | UK garage | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers | Shanks & Bigfoot | |||
| Shanks & Bigfoot singles chronology | ||||
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"Sweet like Chocolate" is a song by British garage music duo Shanks & Bigfoot with vocalist Sharon Woolf. It was released as a single on 17 May 1999 and was included on the duo's debut album, Swings and Roundabouts (2000). Vocals on the track are sung by Sharon Woolf, who had also sung on their track "Straight from the Heart", which was released under their previous band name, Doolally.
Background
[edit]"Sweet like Chocolate" was originally released on vinyl in 1998 as a promotional single, which had a short-run pressing of 1,000 copies. By January 1999, "Sweet Like Chocolate" was already a KISS FM priority track and "at the centre of a bidding war".[2] When released as an official single four months later, it topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks and reached the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. The song was the first UK garage track to hit number one on the UK Singles Chart. In 2019, The Guardian listed the song at number 20 in their list of "The Best UK Garage Tracks".[3]
Chart performance
[edit]"Sweet like Chocolate" topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1999, selling 251,000 copies during its first week and 142,000 copies during its second week.[4] It achieved platinum status in the UK and was the country's eighth biggest-selling single of 1999.[5][6] It was the first song to top the UK Singles, Dance, R&B, and Indie charts, though not simultaneously.[4] Internationally, the song was a top-10 hit in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand; in the latter two countries, the song was certified platinum and gold, respectively.[7][8] It also charted in Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Canada, the song peaked at number 14 on the RPM Dance 30 chart in September 1999.[9]
Music video
[edit]A music video, which is animated, was produced for the song by graphic designers "Visualisation Services".[10] It is set in a surreal world where every object, except for the protagonist, is constructed out of chocolate.
Track listings
[edit]|
UK CD single[11]
UK 12-inch single[12]
UK cassette single[13]
|
European CD single[14]
Australasian CD single[15]
|
Credits and personnel
[edit]Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes.[11]
Studios
- Recorded at Soul II Soul Studios (London, England)
- Mastered at Battery Studios (London, England)
Personnel
- Shanks & Bigfoot – production
- Danny Langsman – writing
- Steven Meade – writing
- Sharon Woolf – vocals, backing vocals
- David Newell – engineering
- Streaky Gee – mastering
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[7] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[8] | Gold | 5,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[5] | Platinum | 707,000[35] |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Cover versions
[edit]In 2016, English singer Tulisa interpolated the chorus of "Sweet like Chocolate" in her song of the same name which features English rapper Akelle.
A reggae version by Hollie Cook reached No. 41 on the UK Physical Singles Chart in November 2018.[36]
In 2019, DJ Spoony and Lily Allen recorded their version for the UK garage orchestral covers album Garage Classical.
References
[edit]- ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 17 May, 1999: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 15 May 1999. p. 23. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "BBC plans millennium megashow (news in brief)" (PDF). Music Week. 30 January 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (16 May 2019). "The best UK garage tracks". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ a b Jones, Alan (5 June 1999). "Chart Commentary". Music Week. p. 15.
- ^ a b "British single certifications – Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 May 2019. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Sweet Like Chocolate Shanks & Bigfoot in the "Search:" field.
- ^ a b "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England. 22 January 2000. p. 27.
- ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b "New Zealand single certifications – Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ a b "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Image 8461". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Visualisation Services Limited". Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ a b Sweet like Chocolate (UK CD single liner notes). Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 1999. 0530352.
- ^ Sweet like Chocolate (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 1999. 0530350.
- ^ Sweet like Chocolate (UK cassette single sleeve). Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 1999. 0530354.
- ^ Sweet like Chocolate (European CD single sleeve). Jive Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 1999. 0583752.
- ^ Sweet like Chocolate (Australasian CD single sleeve). Jive Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 1999. 052375 2.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 23. 5 June 1999. p. 8. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn (8.7–15.7. 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 July 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sweet like Chocolate". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 6/6/1999 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart on 29/5/1999 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart on 29/5/1999 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart on 29/5/1999 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart on 5/6/1999 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1999". ARIA. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ "Jaarlijsten 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Myers, Justin (27 May 2019). "The highest charting UK garage tunes". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Sweet Like Chocolate". Official Charts.
