It looks like we'll all be feeling Hot Hot Hot for the next couple of weeks - as the Met Office forecasts the UK is going to bake in a heatwave. With the coronavirus lockdown restrictions being eased slightly, we can all spend more time outdoors, so this is an ideal time to enjoy some sunny weather.
Meteorologists predict sunny spells for the remainder of this week, with temperatures rising over the next two weeks from around 20°C up to 27°C in some parts of the country. Although social distancing is still in place, you can exercise outdoors as often as you like to enjoy the fine weather.
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Someone who became famous for feeling Hot Hot Hot was singer, songwriter and musician Alphonsus Cassell - better known as Arrow. Back in June 1982, the charismatic soul-calypso singer, from Montserrat, West Indies, recorded the hit song that introduced his music to a wider audience.
Originally an album track, it was released as a single in 1983 to great critical acclaim and became Arrow's first hit in the UK singles chart. It made the top ten in the Australian ARIA chart and launched the 34-year-old on to the international stage.
People unfamiliar with soul-calypso music (abbreviated to "soca") dubbed Arrow the King of Soca as a result. The rhythmic, dance-oriented musical style is most familiar in the Caribbean. Arrow's hit record became the biggest-selling soca single of all time and one of the most-played songs in history.
It could be heard everywhere, from cruise ships and beaches, to wedding receptions and night clubs. Since Arrow's original hit, cover versions of Hot Hot Hot have been recorded in at least 12 languages. Over the years, the song has sold more than four million copies.
Arrow's rise to fame
Born in November 1949, Arrow was one of nine siblings in a very musical family. He was bought up with Calypso music and two of his brothers, Lorenzo and Justin, both won Montserrat's Calypso King Contest, using the stage names Young Challenger and Hero respectively.
Arrow performed his first concert at 10 and won the Calypso King contest when he was just 13. This was when his stage name began, as it was a play on the name of one of his icons, The Mighty Sparrow, alias Slinger Francisco, from Grenada. Francisco, the leading calypso singer of the post-war era, still performs today at 84.
Arrow won the Montserrat Calypso King title four times in total. He performed many live concerts while still a student at Montserrat Secondary School and became known outside his own area as a talented artist. He became a professional singer in 1969, aged 20, releasing his first album, Arrow on Target, in 1971.
He released seven albums in total during the 1970s and early '80s, all of which enjoyed success in Montserrat and in the West Indies, but they didn't break him into the international market.
Hot Hot Hot
His album, Hot Hot Hot, released in 1982, came about as a result of Arrow's new writing partnership with Leston Paul. The title track of the album had been composed by Arrow's brother, Justin. Cassell fused calypso music with other genres, including R&B, zouk and salsa, when the track was recorded.
This led to some criticism of the direction Arrow's music was taking, with traditionalists claiming it was damaging Montserrat's calypso heritage. Other fans disagreed and said the updated genre was attracting a new audience, seeing this as a good thing.
Unsurprisingly, the title didn't refer to the weather in 1982 - which the Met Office described as "mild and sunny" in the summer, but "rather dull" at times!
This didn't matter since Justin had taken his inspiration for the lyrics from the sizzling hot atmosphere of a nightclub. The famous "Hot Hot Hot" line refers to the dancing crowd, as Arrow chants, "We need a party sound!" As the club heats up, he says, "See people rockin'! Hear people chantin'!"
It could've been below freezing outside and the revellers in the club would still have felt hot, thanks to the pulsating rhythm of the music. "He's hot! She's hot! I'm hot! You're hot!" was the closing verse, as the song ended with a booming brass section.
International hit
After Hot Hot Hot was released as a single in 1983, Arrow was catapulted to international success, but he never forgot his soca roots and his music stayed true to his genre. He headlined the Soca '96 festival in Bermuda and continued to release many albums.
He received the Living Legends award in 1988 from the organisers of the Caribbean Song Festival and the Bahamas Tourist Board. In 1996, he organised a charity calypso festival to raise money for the devastated island of Montserrat following the volcanic eruption.
Arrow was much in demand for live shows and performed at the Cricket World Cup's opening ceremony in 2007, alongside fellow artists Shaggy and Byron Lee. His final performance was in January 2010, at a fundraising concert for Haiti at the Montserrat Cultural Centre.
During his long career, he released many albums and singles with his own Arrow Records company and with other leading companies including Chrysalis, London, Island and Mango, remaining active until 2010. Sadly, he lost his fight against cerebral cancer on 15th September 2010, at the age of just 60, leaving behind the wonderful legacy of his music.
One of the most famous cover versions of Hot Hot Hot was released in 1986 as the official song of the FIFA World Cup football championship in Mexico. The chants of "Olé, olé!" in the chorus were ideal for the fans to join in.
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