Sweet like Chocolate explained

Sweet like Chocolate
Cover:Shanksbigfoot sweetlikechocolate.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Shanks & Bigfoot
Album:Swings and Roundabouts
Released:[1]
Studio:Soul II Soul (London, England)
Genre:UK garage
Length:3:37
Producer:Shanks & Bigfoot
Prev Title:Straight from the Heart
Prev Year:1998
Next Title:Straight from the Heart
Next Year:1999

"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, the following year. 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" was originally released on vinyl in 1998 as a promotional single, which had a short-run pressing of 1,000 copies. When released as an official single in 1999, 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".[2]

Music video

A music video, which is animated, was produced for the song by graphic designers "Visualisation Services".[3]
It is set in a surreal world where every object, except for the protagonist, is constructed out of chocolate.

Chart performance

"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. 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. 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.

Track listings

UK CD single[5]

  1. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot radio edit) – 3:28
  2. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Metro 7-inch remix) – 3:13
  3. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot original mix) – 6:55
  4. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Ruff Driverz vocal) – 5:46

UK 12-inch single[6]

A. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot original mix) – 6:55

B. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Ruff Driverz vocal) – 5:46

UK cassette single[7]

  1. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot radio edit) – 3:28
  2. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Ruff Driverz vocal) – 5:46

European CD single[8]

  1. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Metro 7-inch remix) – 3:13
  2. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot radio edit) – 3:28

Australasian CD single[9]

  1. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Metro 7-inch remix) – 3:13
  2. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot radio edit) – 3:28
  3. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Shanks & Bigfoot original mix) – 6:55
  4. "Sweet like Chocolate" (Ruff Driverz vocal) – 5:46

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes.[5]

Studios

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 10
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[11] 28

Year-end charts

Chart (1999)Position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 46
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 157
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 22
UK Singles (OCC)[15] 8

Notes and References

  1. New Releases – For Week Starting 17 May, 1999: Singles. Music Week. 23. 15 May 1999. 19 July 2021.
  2. Web site: The best UK garage tracks. Petridis. Alexis. Alexis Petridis. The Guardian. 16 May 2019. 15 September 2019.
  3. Web site: Visualisation Services Limited . 12 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040540/http://www.vsl3d.com/about.htm . 10 November 2018.
  4. Chart Commentary. Jones. Alan. Music Week. 15. 5 June 1999.
  5. Sweet like Chocolate. Shanks & Bigfoot. 1999. UK CD single liner notes. Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 0530352.
  6. Sweet like Chocolate. Shanks & Bigfoot. 1999. UK 12-inch single sleeve. Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 0530350.
  7. Sweet like Chocolate. Shanks & Bigfoot. 1999. UK cassette single sleeve. Jive Records, Pepper Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 0530354.
  8. Sweet like Chocolate. Shanks & Bigfoot. 1999. European CD single sleeve. Jive Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 0583752.
  9. Sweet like Chocolate. Shanks & Bigfoot. 1999. Australasian CD single sleeve. Jive Records, Chocolate Boy Recordings. 052375 2.
  10. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 16. 23. 8. 5 June 1999. 26 January 2020.
  11. News: Íslenski Listinn (8.7–15.7. 1999). Dagblaðið Vísir. is. 10. 9 July 1999. 5 October 2019.
  12. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1999. ARIA. 9 April 2021.
  13. Web site: Jaarlijsten 1999. nl. Dutch Top 40. 11 May 2022.
  14. Web site: End of Year Charts 1999. Recorded Music NZ. 15 March 2020.
  15. Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100. Music Week. London, England. 27. 22 January 2000.