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Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 9:52 am
by TallThinMan
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddlnqy8zmqo
I guess this is the end of the lawsuit over 'Go West'?
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 10:30 am
by MikeyC
I think his wife was primarily behind the lawsuit.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 10:41 am
by leesmapman
No, 70 years after the death of an author.
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Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 1:30 pm
by DopeFiend
Oh god, that's really sad. Rest in peace. I'm glad he got to take the public stage and perform YMCA as part of the Trump presidential celebrations.
https://youtu.be/ptTc17stBkw
The music will live on.
Hopefully PSB can make a statement and sort of make amends with the disagreements.
I've never massively been into the Village People, but I did go out of my way to listen to the original Go West the other day while driving and really enjoyed it.
I've never been a massive fan, but Victor Willis as part of Village People have been a massive iconic pop act in one of our favourite eras of music. I mainly know the music from Trump rallies (they play the songs before and after the speech, not just 1 or 2 but a handful of different Village People songs) as well as The Simpsons which had In The Navy in one scene. Also the videogame Grand Theft Auto 3 the pedestrians say the lyrics of YMCA and In The Navy, and in Grand Theft Auto Vice City there's a recreation of the group in the Malibu Club, in the themed outfits.
Anyway, sad for any recognisable music figure to pass away.
He was obviously a bit cumbersome with the Go West lawsuit, but in a way so was Neil.
I want to point out, it's an interesting coincidence of timing that he's passed away literally the day after Pride Month.
Obviously with Village People and YMCA being one of the biggest publically associated gay anthems.
Pet Shop Boys have a concert soon, where they'll presumably be performing GW. Perhaps they'll dedicate it to Victor.
Rest in Peace.
By the way, I love the acoustic intro for Go West PSB did for the Live 8. It's quite the obscure release.
https://open.spotify.com/track/2lCnjCnm8j3zV342OCBqOI
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 1:57 pm
by Future Lover
DopeFiend wrote: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 1:30 pm
I'm glad he got to take the public stage and perform YMCA as part of the Trump presidential celebrations.
Disgusting.
DopeFiend wrote: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 1:30 pm
Perhaps they'll dedicate it to Victor.
Hope not!
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 2:28 pm
by TallThinMan
leesmapman wrote: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 10:41 am
No, 70 years after the death of an author.
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I think you're thinking of copyright. The lawsuit wasn't about copyright per se, it was about specific licensing clauses around the circumstances of when the boys could perform the song and release their version of it.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 2:30 pm
by NotInvisible
DopeFiend wrote: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 1:30 pmI'm glad he got to take the public stage and perform YMCA as part of the Trump presidential celebrations.
Gross.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Wed 01 Jul 2026, 4:08 pm
by babi7808
So far, they've played "Go West" three times on the summer tour (today will be the fourth), and they haven't recommended the song to anyone.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Thu 02 Jul 2026, 2:32 am
by Sandy Shaw
VW''s passing mentioned 26 minutes into the Radio 4 midnight news including a very brief mention of PSB.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Thu 02 Jul 2026, 9:47 am
by telys
From what I could deduce from Willis' wiki-page, the support for Trump came after he understood the money he would make from the song being played.
Willis' had a long period in life where he was a drug addict. Poor man.
There is no doubt that he was instrumental to the success of Village People.
But as Elton John said about the PSB Go West: "a much better version" than VP's.
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Thu 02 Jul 2026, 10:50 am
by Vintage Youth
He has indeed, Gone West **nods solemnly**
Re: Village People frontman Victor Willis dies aged 74
Posted: Thu 02 Jul 2026, 4:30 pm
by Sandy Shaw
Vintage Youth wrote: Thu 02 Jul 2026, 10:50 am
He has indeed, Gone West **nods solemnly**
Someone had to go there...