As reported via Facebook at the end of last week, House diva Darryl Pandy has passed away. Pandy was the vocalist on Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk’s “Love Can’t Turn Around” from 1986, which signalled a turning point for House music, particularly in the UK.

Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk and Pandy (in a bright blue glittery top) performed the track on Top Of The Pops in the same year, with Pandy ending the flamboyant performance by kicking his shoes off and lying on the stage. Pandy, in the words of The Wire’s reviews editor Derek Walmsley, was at that time “the gayest man ever to appear on Top Of The Pops - and I mean that as a compliment”.

Pandy had a vocal range of six and a half octaves, and was a former gospel singer at the Church of Universal Awareness in Chicago. In a 1986 article in Spin magazine, Barry Walters said: “Pandy’s histrionics are emblematic of the House scene in general. House is about the loss of decorum and control. From sexual extravagance to dance-floor excess, everything about House is geared towards losing it” Read a longer obit of Pandy here. Watch Pandy’s performance of “Love Can’t Turn Around” on Top Of The Pops below: