23/08/2026
40 years of Farley Jackmaster’ Funk ft. Darryl Pandy - Love Can’t Turn Around 🔥
Released in 1986, ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ represents a true breakout point in vocal-led house music. Built in Chicago at the height of the city’s house revolution, it paired Farley’s tough, stripped-back production with one of the most unmistakable vocal performances in dance music.
The story behind Darryl Pandy’s vocal is almost as remarkable as the record itself. Pandy and Farley had never met before working on the track. Pandy, a classically trained singer with a background in gospel, theatre and opera, arrived with a voice that was anything but conventional for a house record. His extraordinary range and sheer force transformed the track.
Farley’s record was itself inspired by Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley’s house interpretation of Isaac Hayes’ ‘I Can’t Turn Around’, with new lyrics by Vince Lawrence. What emerged was something distinctly Chicago: soulful, raw and unapologetically dramatic.
It also became a landmark moment for house music in the UK, reaching No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986 and helping carry the sound of Chicago’s underground clubs into the mainstream.
Four decades later, this legendary track still continues to be spun by DJs across the house music spectrum.
