Village People are an American disco band, founded in
1977 by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and singer Victor Willis.
Jacques Morali and his business partner Henri Belolo, after achieving a series
of successes in Europe as producers, moved to New York to try to enter the
American record market. They hired singer Victor Willis and, collaborating with
songwriters Phil Hurtt and Peter Whitehead to write the lyrics, debuted their
first album in 1977. The name "Village People" refers to Manhattan's
Greenwich Village, a place known for be frequented by the homosexual community.
The album became an international success and there was soon a huge demand for
live appearances. Morali hastily created a group of dancers around Willis to
perform in clubs and in videos. The first line-up of the Village People
presented themselves with clothes that represented archetypes of gay imagery:
Victor Edward Willis as "policeman or naval officer", Mark Mussler as
"construction worker", Felipe Rose as "Native American",
Lee Mouton as "biker", Alex Briley as "soldier" and Dave
Forrest as "cowboy". Record sales soared, and Morali and Willis
decided to change the training for shows. Glenn Hughes (leather worker), David
Hodo (construction worker) and Randy Jones (cowboy) took over. With this
"official" lineup, the group released the album "Macho
Man", and the title track achieved great success. Subsequently, their
single "YMCA", from the group's third album "Cruisin'",
became one of the most popular hits of the 1970s. Victor Willis left the group
in August 1979 and was replaced by Ray Simpson. In 1981, Morali and Belolo gave
the band a new look and released the album "Renaissance". The single
extracted, "5 O'Clock In The Morning", achieved resounding success in
Europe and was the first Village People single to achieve success in Italy. In
1985, the band released the album "Sex Over The Phone" and the title
track was banned by the BBC due to its lyrics. Founder Jacques Morali died of
AIDS-related complications in Paris on November 15, 1991. Glenn Hughes died of
lung cancer in New York on March 4, 2001. On August 3, 2019, Village People
co-creator Henri Belolo died at age 82.
Album
1977 - Village People
1978 - Macho Man
1978 - Cruisin'
1979 - Live And Sleazy
1979 - Go West
1980 - Can't Stop The Music (Original Soundtrack)
1981 - Renaissance
1982 - Fox On The Box
1985 - Sex Over The Phone
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