40 Years of Disco 2

Brighton Centre, Brighton

Thursday, March 21

The Village People are one of the bands that were part of the rise of disco music. Classic songs like YMCA and Macho Man saw them rocket to fame. They come to Brighton to celebrate 40 years of disco, and Jamie Walker spoke to Victor Willis, one sixth of the group, to discuss the show.

Hi Victor, this tour is a real celebration of disco how much are you looking forward to it?

Well I’m looking forward to returning to the UK to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the disco era.

Disco is so synonymous with the Seventies, how to you think the genre has stood the test of time?

Disco has never died and it never will die.

As far as standing the test of time, it will be around forever.

What is your favourite thing about performing?

The fans, their enjoyment of the show.

If they enjoy the music that’s the best thing for me.

What are your favourite songs to play live?

We of course like to play YMCA, we like Macho Man, I Am What I Am, we like to play all of our songs.

It must be great for you on stage to see the crowds reacting so positively to your songs?

It’s a great feeling, I really enjoy having a good time with the audience.

If we are all having a good time together it’s a great feeling.

I feel right at home when I’m on stage.

And it’s great to have other huge names in disco on the bill to really make this a celebration.

I like to perform with other people who make the same genre of music I do.

Hopefully the audience will enjoy everyone as much as they enjoy us.

Is that buzz you get from going on stage as you did in 1977?

It’s more exciting at this point.

The people have more enthusiasm than they did 40 years ago because disco has been around so long.

How do you think music has changed since the Village People started performing?

Music is like everything else, everything must change.

The way music is recorded has changed, the way people listen to it has changed, record stores have changed and you can listen to music on Spotify.

It goes with the times.

Have the Village People adapted to these changes as well?

The music that we play is music that will last forever so there’s no real time limit to it.

If they liked it 40 years ago they will like it 40 years from now.

Youngsters upload Spotify and other music services and listening to us.

How much does it say about the band that you’ve remained so popular considering the changes in the music industry?

It’s because the music we created had no time limit on it.

It deals with situations that will happen in anybody’s life or time period.

People will still be dealing with these things in 100 years.

You’re coming to the Brighton Centre on this tour. Have you been to the city before?

No, I haven’t been to Brighton before.

I’m very much looking forward to it.

Brighton has a strong link with the LGBT community, as does your music, does that change the feeling in the audience?

Not at all, my music was written for everybody, including the LGBT community.

I am happy for anybody who enjoys it.

Do you have time to explore the cities you visit?

I rarely go round the cities because I’ve been to a lot of places before.

But other members of the band like to go round different places of the city.

Why is this the show to see?

Because if they miss it they will miss something that would have stayed with them for life.

It’s a show you’ll never forget and you will want to be there to experience it.

For more information visit www.brightoncentre.co.uk/events