SCOTLAND’S first soul singer has passed away. But the impact Chris McClure made on the music scene simply can’t be denied.

McClure, who later changed his name to Christian, was a slight, mixed-raced boy who grew up in the south side of Glasgow and struggled to find his identity. “There weren’t any other boys who looked like me,” said the singer. “But I was always upbeat. I always had my music.”

Indeed. It was in his DNA. His mum, Leanorra, was a dancer, one of the Morganettes, at the Pavilion and she taught her son to dance when he was a tiny boy. Chris McClure never knew his father, an American singer called Chris Gill, who would appear in UK and in stage shows such as Bye Bye Birdy. (His Uncle was Bruce McClure, a celebrated choreographer, who was part of Stanley Baxter’s close circle of friends.

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But although young Chris McClure felt different growing up in the south side of Glasgow, he was able to turn his racial distinction profoundly to his advantage.

When he was 19, it was evident the teenager was never going to continue in his school-leaving work as a booking clerk. He knew instinctively he would go on to become a singer and so joined local group The Fireflies, after seeing an ad in the Evening Times for a band looking for a vocalist. "I had sung since my days in the Boys' Brigade, and I loved music. So, I gave it a go," he said. “The band did chart songs of the time, Beatles and Stones, but then we switched to the Drifters, Temptations and Sam Cooke music and the reaction was fantastic.”

Chris McClure knew this was the music he was to sell to the masses. This was the music he would become evangelical about performing over the years, songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvyn Gaye and Otis Redding. And so, a 60-year career began with McClure touring the country in rickety vans, on tours produced by the late Frank Lynch, who also managed Billy Connolly at the time. “We were promoting soul music,” explained Chris McClure. “We were taking music by the likes of Otis into the nightclubs of Aberdeen or Dundee. And thankfully, I came to be appreciated because I looked the real deal.”

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The Herald: And he sounded entirely authentic. Over the years, the Chris McClure Section revealed a voice that could hit the heights of booming gospel, yet in the next song swoop down to the curvy edges of Smokey Robinson. And he and his band worked immensely hard to build a mass following. “We played six-nights a week at the likes of the Picasso Club in Buchanan Street," he recalled of the Glasgow gig. "It was four flights up a close, no lift, and we had to humph all the gear.”

He offered a wry smile. “And if it had ever gone on fire, the 200-odd people in it would have been burnt to death. We'd play there from 12.30am until 2am, and it was crazy. But

it was also wonderful. The girls would be queued ten-deep at the foot of the stage. They couldn’t get enough of this Scottish soul music.”

Thankfully, the world of showbiz was often a little more glamourous. Christian, as he was by then, sang on the 1982 Scotland World Cup song We Have a Dream, written by B.A. Robertson. And he also appeared on the same bill as The Jacksons and Dolly Parton at the Queen 's Jubilee show at Glasgow’s King's Theatre in 1978.

The decades followed with Chris McClure proving to be one of the most committed live acts around. He continued to tour and was an almost ever-present at the Pavilion Theatre, appearing in a range of soul shows and juke box musicals. He also became a panto favourite.

Former manager Iain Gordon worked with McClure from the mid-Seventies. “His work ethic was simply incredible. I remember once when I was touring with the band all over Scotland, and we’d had enough of going up and down the country, so we phoned Frank Lynch and lied, saying the van had broken down, and we all went home for a wee rest.

“But not Chris. Unknown to us, he went on to do this golf club gig in Dundee or wherever, but without the band. He smiles; “I can only imagine what Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay sounded like when backed by a solo accordion and a snare drum player.”

Chris McClure continued to work until this weekend, appearing at Fauldhouse Miners Club. But he would also appear in care home across the West of Scotland. “He cared about people,” said Iain Gordon. “And there was no ego with Chris. It didn’t matter to him if the audience were paying to see him or not. It didn’t matter if he were a backing singer in a show. He such a great team player, and he simply loved performing. He simply loved being able to use music to make people happy.”