The night DJ Casper performed his Cha Cha Slide with a bride at a Fife wedding

As DJ Casper he had his 15 minutes when his record not only becoming an international hit but creating global dance sensation that still gets played at weddings, birthdays and parties for all ages.

Few records crossed over from clubs to mainstream in the post-disco era. Lambada briefly, Macarena at times and Gangnam Style certainly but none had the universal appeal of Cha Cha Slide. Devised as a fitness soundtrack for his nephew, a personal trainer in 1998 it grew in popularity and so he recorded the ‘Casper Slide Pt. 2’ in 2000 and this was picked by Chicago radio WGCI-FM, then picked up by Universal Records and a whole album was made.

The single made the Billboard chart for five weeks and in the UK Scott Mills on Radio 1 picked it up as it topped the UK chart. During his relentless touring on the back of this success he was due to play Jackie O’s in Kirkcaldy in 2004 and I guessed he would be staying at Dean Park Hotel where I was resident DJ.

On the night of his show, I was hosting a wedding in the function suite. As the guests were assembled for the festivities, I made my move and introduced myself to MC Casper who was in reception waiting for his transport. I said the bride was a big fan and would he mind performing his big hit for the first dance.

Amazingly he agreed and after sorting the best version from the many mixes I carried I then introduced the bridal waltz with Susan our bride and not her new husband but with DJ Casper live on the dance floor. Over 100 guests joined in for our surprise guest leading the line for a unique experience.

Basically, a Line Dance he told me ‘it was something everyone could do’ and it was played in sports stadiums across the world and even the Olympics. It scored 100 million YouTube views and even with the new generation a version has a billion views on TikTok. Selling ten million copies, reports say the record generated $100 million in revenue.

It all came back to me this week as his partner announced that Casper had died suddenly at the tragically young age of 56. No cause was given but it was known he had cancer for several years.