The house music of Chicago, led by producers and DJs, has long had a tendency to feature the greatest vocals of any genre yet not make stars of its singers. And for most of his working life, Darryl Pandy, who died yesterday aged 48, was not the star his huge presence and elemental, gospel-schooled voice warranted – instead working the club circuit and soul revival shows, and featuring on dance tracks scattered across dozens of 12" singles on many labels worldwide.
However, Pandy did have one moment of glorious exposure to the mainstream, one which will ensure his immortality, and which also created one of the greatest musical televisual moments in history.
Other generations may talk about seeing the Sex Pistols or David Bowie for the first time, but for a particular generation, the sight of him performing the vocals for Farley “Jackmaster” Funk's “Love Can't Turn Around” on Top of the Pops in 1986 was life-changing. It was Jackmaster Funk who posted the news of Pandy's death yesterday.
For some this was the beginning of the dance music revolution that would define the years to come. Aged only 12, I wasn't quite able to grasp the musical brilliance of house music's first ever hit (although my gosh, I would appreciate it later when I discovered clubbing), but I was certainly bowled over by the performance. By this time, the sight of sexually ambiguous men had been rendered normal by Boy George and banal by Simon Le Bon – but here was something altogether wilder, stranger and more disquieting.
This man-mountain in satin shirt and bizarre hair-do prancing, leaping and rolling on the floor while delivering a vocal that veered from manly roar to little-girl squeal was like nothing that has been seen in pop before or since. It certainly opened my mind to the possibilities of pop performance, and a lot of other viewers' to boot.
Pandy continued performing until very recently, his vocal power and stage presence remaining undimmed; he is pictured here with comrades from the Chicago house scene after one of his last shows (picture courtesy of DJ Cruzz Control). Chicago's 5 Magazine's obituary has streaming audio of some of his best recordings, but it is this Top of the Pops performance that still stands as his great memorial for UK music fans.
Watch Darryl Pandy perform "Love Can't Turn Around" on Top of the Pops
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