MANILA, Philippines - In 1979, a costumed vocal group representing six American male stereotypes sat on the top of the English music charts for three weeks with the “ultimate tongue-in-cheek” disco hit YMCA and at the single’s peak, sold 150,000 records in a day in the UK.
Today, the Village People are still burning with disco fever, touring the world to bring their unique stage act to fans of all ages, colors, beliefs and sexual persuasions. Now on their 35th anniversary, the Villagers count on three originals Alex Briley as the G. I. soldier, Felipe Rose as the Native American and David Hodo as the construction worker. Ray Simpson joined the band as the policeman to replace Victor Willis in 1979 and continues to perform with the Villagers. Jeff Olson was recruited in 1980 as the cowboy and Eric Anzalone took over from an ailing Glenn Hughes as the biker in 1995. Hughes died of lung cancer in 2001 and was buried in the leather costume he proudly wore as a Villager.
The Village People will invade Manila on Nov. 17 at the SMX Convention Center in front of the SM Mall of Asia. Redstone’s Rajan Gidwani and Steve O’Neal are once again teaming up for the project, their second after the successful Zombies tour last month.
It was in 1977 when French-born New York producer Jacques Morali conceived the idea of organizing a costumed vocal group, inspired by theme-dressing young men in New York gay discos. The concept was hatched in Greenwich Village, New York, and Morali appropriately called his creation the Village People. Rose was the first draftee then Willis who was in Broadway’s The Wiz at the time.
Auditions were held to fill in the spots until finally, Morali had his cast of a cowboy, Native American, policeman, biker, G. I. soldier and construction worker.
Editor David Heslam, in the book New Musical Express: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Years, described the Village People as a “cottage industry” and said they delivered “a visual onslaught that cannot fail to leave you uncommitted one way or the other.”
He added, “The boys in Village People may complain that people are only interested in whether or not they’re gay, but they should have thought about that before they started putting on such butch costumes and started singing songs like YMCA, Macho Man and I Am What I Am with lyrics that are so camp they have to be held down with tent pegs.”
While Heslam’s commentary touched on a delicate sexual issue, there was absolutely no controversy in hailing the Village People as a group that mesmerizes the audience with a high-energy stage act and bouncy tunes.
No matter how they were perceived, the Village People racked up huge record sales in their heyday. Macho Man went gold and the album of the same title stayed on the US charts for 69 weeks. YMCA sold over two million copies and is one of UK’s top 25 best-selling singles of all time. In The Navy was another million seller, zooming to No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US. Other Village People hits like Go West, San Francisco (You’ve Got Me) and Can’t Stop the Music are lively foot-stompers that remain favorites in dance bars.
A huge crowd attraction, the Village People performed before 80,000 fans at the first Canada Jam in Ontario in 1978, sharing the bill with The Commodores, Kansas, Earth Wind and Fire, Dave Mason and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. In 2008 — 30 years after the Ontario show — the Guinness World Records book certified that the Village People’s performance at the Sun Bowl was highlighted by the largest YMCA dance ever with 40,000 participants. It’s no wonder that the Village People have sold more than 28 million albums and earned platinum discs in 35 countries, noted Andy Pringle in Where Are They Now: Pop and Rock.
The Villagers’ founder Morali died of AIDS in 1991 at the age of 41. But his concept lives on. On the way to Manila for a one-night-only concert, the Village People will have performed in Nassau the previous week. From Manila, they embark on an eight-city tour of Australia and New Zealand from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2. Then, the Villagers wind up the year with shows in West Virginia and New Jersey.
What makes the Village People an enduring and highly in-demand act is that they’re fun to watch and sing along with. They’re known as the Kings of Disco with all-time record sales of over 100 million. Now in their fourth decade of existence, the Village People are still on the throne. They deliver enjoyable dance music, combining “energetic choreography with outrageous fun and lots of bumping and grinding.” Their website said, “The Village People show no signs of slowing down for a long time, their songs endure and their performing talents delight audiences all over the world … in concert, the Village People can make anyone smile, dance and sing along.”
There’s no dull moment in a Village People show. They’ll make the audience stand up, dance and sing in a night of fun. Reviews on their recent performances attest to their drawing power. The London Evening Standard described the Villagers as “exuberant (in) a wildly entertaining performance.” The New Daily News said, “The Village People have mainstream acceptance, the crowd lapped it up, singing along.” The News of Australia raved, “The best concert we’ve had in years” and the Orlando Sentinel remarked that they are “still as sexy as ever … audiences warmed to their enthusiasm, strong versatile vocals and choreography.”
You just can’t miss the Village People on Nov. 17 at the SMX Convention Center.