Village People
German promotion card by Metronome Music Gmbh, Hamburg, 1980. Photo: Can't Stop Productions.
Village People is an American disco group well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American masculine cultural stereotypes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. The line-up at the picture was Glenn Hughes (leatherman), Felipe Rose (dressed as a Native American), David Hodo (construction worker), Ray Simpson (cop) Randy Jones (cowboy) and Alex Briley (who started portraying an athlete but eventually took on the soldier persona).
Village People was originally created in New York by French musical composer Jacques Morali and his business partner Henri Belolo (together Can't Stop Productions) to target disco's gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy personae. The name Village People refers to New York City's Greenwich Village, at the time known for its large gay population. The band formed around singer Victor Willis quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream. Victor Willis took over writing duties for the group's biggest albums (Macho Man, Cruisin' and Go West), scoring their biggest hits, including Y.M.C.A., Macho Man, Go West, and In the Navy. He also wrote for other Can't Stop Productions acts, such as The Ritchie Family and Patrick Juvet.
Victor Willis left the group at the end of an international tour in 1979, and a decline in popularity followed. Ray Simpson, the brother of Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson), replaced Willis for the group's feature film Can't Stop the Music (Nancy Walker, 1980), starring Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, and Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn Jenner). By the time it was released, however, disco's popularity had waned, and at the March 1981 Golden Raspberry Awards, the movie was named Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay, and was nominated in almost all the other categories. In 1981, with new wave music becoming more popular than disco, Village People replaced its on-stage costumes with a new look inspired by the New Romantic movement, and released the album Renaissance. It only attracted minor – mostly negative – attention and produced no hits. Their last album containing new material, the 1985 dance/Hi-NRG release Sex Over the Phone, was not a huge commercial success, but it fared better in sales and club play than Renaissance. Village People has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Source: Wikipedia.
Village People
German promotion card by Metronome Music Gmbh, Hamburg, 1980. Photo: Can't Stop Productions.
Village People is an American disco group well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American masculine cultural stereotypes as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. The line-up at the picture was Glenn Hughes (leatherman), Felipe Rose (dressed as a Native American), David Hodo (construction worker), Ray Simpson (cop) Randy Jones (cowboy) and Alex Briley (who started portraying an athlete but eventually took on the soldier persona).
Village People was originally created in New York by French musical composer Jacques Morali and his business partner Henri Belolo (together Can't Stop Productions) to target disco's gay audience by featuring popular gay fantasy personae. The name Village People refers to New York City's Greenwich Village, at the time known for its large gay population. The band formed around singer Victor Willis quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream. Victor Willis took over writing duties for the group's biggest albums (Macho Man, Cruisin' and Go West), scoring their biggest hits, including Y.M.C.A., Macho Man, Go West, and In the Navy. He also wrote for other Can't Stop Productions acts, such as The Ritchie Family and Patrick Juvet.
Victor Willis left the group at the end of an international tour in 1979, and a decline in popularity followed. Ray Simpson, the brother of Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson), replaced Willis for the group's feature film Can't Stop the Music (Nancy Walker, 1980), starring Steve Guttenberg, Valerie Perrine, and Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn Jenner). By the time it was released, however, disco's popularity had waned, and at the March 1981 Golden Raspberry Awards, the movie was named Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay, and was nominated in almost all the other categories. In 1981, with new wave music becoming more popular than disco, Village People replaced its on-stage costumes with a new look inspired by the New Romantic movement, and released the album Renaissance. It only attracted minor – mostly negative – attention and produced no hits. Their last album containing new material, the 1985 dance/Hi-NRG release Sex Over the Phone, was not a huge commercial success, but it fared better in sales and club play than Renaissance. Village People has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Source: Wikipedia.