'Y.M.C.A.' journeys from gay anthem to Trump theme tune / Photo: Jim WATSON - AFP
'Y.M.C.A.' journeys from gay anthem to Trump theme tune
After performing at Donald Trump's pre-inauguration rally, the Village People underscored their journey from disco-era gay icons to MAGA favourites having seen their "Y.M.C.A" anthem co-opted by the US hard-right.
Trump used "Y.M.C.A" as a song to close out his rallies during campaigning last year, with the billionaire real estate mogul developing his own trademark dance -- a stiff shuffle of the hips and fist bumps at waist-high level.
Initially uneasy about being so closely associated with the Republican's anti-immigrant agenda -- many other musicians pulled their music from his rallies -- the Village People have ended up embracing the attention.
Sunday night's pre-inauguration event saw them don their high-camp construction worker, police officer, native American, GI, and biker outfits to perform at the Capital One Arena in Washington alongside the president-elect.
"First of all, our performances are not an indorsement (sic) of the President Elect's policies no matter what you say to the contrary," Victor Willis, who wrote the lyrics to "Y.M.C.A", said in a Facebook post on January 16.
"Let's give President Trump a chance, regardless of what you may have thought about him in the past," he added. "Let's see what he's going to do moving forward and if he does things to restrict LGBTQ rights, Village People will be the first to speak out."
- Not gay? -
Relatives of the founders of the group -- late French disco producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo -- had initially not wanted Trump using the song and were considering legal action.
Descendants of the pair told the Nouvel Obs magazine in France last week that their requests had been ignored by Trump's campaign but they had been advised by lawyers not to sue.
"Why did he choose a gay anthem with an Indian and an African-American police officer instead of a song like 'Born In the USA' (by Bruce Springsteen) for example?" Morali's niece Jessica Morali told the magazine.
"It's not even an American song. It's a French song."
Willis claims that he succeeded in convincing the French rights holders to "stay out of the Trump campaign’s use of Y.M.C.A. because it is a U.S. matter."
The police character in the group also flummoxed fans last month by saying that the song was never intended as a gay anthem –- adding that anyone suggesting it needed to "get their minds out of the gutter".
The song was a smash hit internationally when it was released in 1978 and has since become a mainstream pop staple of school events, wedding ceremonies and sports events.
- 'All the boys' -
The Village People name was long assumed to be a reference to Greenwich Village in New York which was the centre of the city's gay scene in the 1970s.
Most of the group were recruited there by Morali, who died of AIDS in 1991, and Belolo.
The song's lyrics, written by Willis, advised "young men" to head to the Young Men's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.) in New York.
The hostel had "everything for you men to enjoy. You can hang out with all the boys".
Trump's attention has helped bring in further revenues for a perennial hit.
"Y.M.C.A." had grossed "several million dollars since the President elect's continued use of the song", Willis wrote on Facebook.
"Therefore, I’m glad I allowed the President elect's continued use of Y.M.C.A. And I thank him for choosing to use my song."
D.Sabatelli--LDdC
