Our prayers have been answered.
After years of hoping and wishing, we finally have a musical act performing as a headliner for this year’s Philly Pride. Nothing against the comedians and TV personalities who have headlined Pride the last half-dozen or more years, but nothing ends the festivities in grand show-stopping fashion like having everybody within earshot up on their feet dancing and celebrating.
And what better group to close the Philly Pride festivities than one of the original groups to bring a gay sensibility to the mainstream: The Village People?
When the group burst onto the scene during the height of disco in the late 1970s, they used their dance moves, colorful characters (the cop, the Indian, the sailor, the construction worker, the cowboy and the biker) and pop hits to take gay references, iconography and imagery to the top of the charts — surprisingly enough, right under the noses of the mainstream.
After having a string of hits, and even starring in a movie (“Can’t Stop the Music”) that became something of a cult classic, the group’s fortune faded when disco fell out of favor in the early to mid 1980s and they disbanded.
The hiatus was brief and the group reformed in the late ’80s. Ever since, they have been touring internationally, performing their own concerts, appearing on festivals with other disco icons and headlining LGBT events.
The group has had a number of different members as different characters over the course of its long tenure, but Felipe Rose has been there since the beginning. The Native-American dancer, who portrays the Indian in the group, is a founding member who went from go-go dancing in gay New York clubs to performing in venues all over the world for adoring fans.
After returning from a string of performances in the Philippines with The Village People, Rose valiantly fought through his jetlag to answer some questions about the history of the legendary group and its members’ legacies as both gay and musical icons.
PGN: Does performing in Philadelphia, one of the birthplaces of the style of music The Village People is famous for making, hold any special meaning for the group? FR: Yes, it does because that is where the sound of The Village People came from … the sound of Philly (Richie Rome), who was involved in Sigma Sound. It is where Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo worked with the infamous Gypsy Lane Band, which was an offshoot of Mother Father Sister Brother. Our sound came from Philadelphia: funk/R&B sound-turned-disco.
PGN: How did you end up working with Harry W. Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band on a new song, and what was that experience like? FR: We’ve worked together on tour many times and the way it happened was very organic. Basically, we were all together and KC was humming this tune so we asked what it was. KC said, “If I write it will you sing it?” and I said, “Of course.” A few weeks later, he presented us with the song and the rest, as they now say, is history.
PGN: Are there any plans to record and release any new music? FR: Yes, the possibility of recording in the future is now real.
PGN: How much of your performance schedule is comprised of Pride festival appearances? FR: This year it seems to be more prevalent. We have appearances scheduled at Pride festivals in the United States and Canada. With the new LGBTQ awareness, it is something that is finding us back in “theme” again and we are delighted.
PGN: What’s the largest event you’ve ever been a part of? FR: We have been fortunate to have participated in so many large events. We’ve performed live for European telecasts that have reached hundreds of thousands of viewers. We performed to a crowd of 110,000 at Canada Jam. We are in the Guinness Book of World Records when 44,000-plus people danced to “Y.M.C.A.” at the 2008 Sun Bowl game. We performed at the World Cup Soccer.
PGN: Ten or 20 years ago, Pride festivals were, more often than not, featuring performers from very specific genres of music, and The Village People were one of the go-to performers for those events. How does the group feel about having a more diverse range of acts from a wider range of genres jockeying to perform at the festivals these days? FR: The more, the merrier. We are proud that we were among the first, and others are now eager to jump on the bandwagon.
PGN: The group is coming off an international tour. Do you perform in countries where LGBT expression and rights are not as celebrated as at home? And if so, do you ever run into conflicts with any group that might not agree with the views and philosophies of the group? FR: No, we don’t. The Village People have global appeal and we are accepted and loved around the world with each performance.
PGN: Are there still people out there who would consider your music “subversive” or does everyone see it as classic fun pop music? FR: The Village People are disco icons. We are loved by multi-cultural and multi-generational audiences. For a group celebrating decades of disco, we are still sought after for our music and performances. We are “the kings of disco.”
PGN: Do younger generations of music fans and performers appreciate the social walls The Village People helped to climb during the course of the group’s career? FR: Yes, it is helpful to them in the sense of the lyrics of the songs in general; like to say, “be who you are.” If there was ever a university course on Gay Culture 101, then The Village People music would be a good course to take.
PGN: Why do you think your music continues to be referenced in some way, shape or form in the pop cultures of every new generation that comes along, whether it be cartoons, movies or sitcoms? FR: The fact that our songs continue to be used by the media sends a message that our music is legendary and timeless. Our music was fun to make and remains fun to listen to.
The Village People headline Philly Pride June 8 at The Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing. For more information, visit www.phillypride.org or www.officialvillagepeople.com.