Victor Willia, former Village People frontman, quit the cult disco group because his bandmates were too gay. The In The Navy singer, who was the group's sailor, is revealing all about his time with the Village People in a new book, and insists he never intended the band to become gay icons. In fact his publicist reveals the group's dancefloor superhit, Y.M.C.A. was never written as a gay anthem - and Willis fears their gay image ruined what could have been a "great opportunity". Publicist Alice Wolf tells website Canoe.ca, "Y.M.C.A. was never meant to refer to gay cruising. Victor never intended the homosexual innuendo that many fans read into the song. "Victor Willis wrote about the Y.M.C.A. and having fun there, but the type of fun he was talking about was straight fun.Wolf insists her client has nothing against homosexuals but still regrets that his band became known as a quirky gay outfit.Willis is hoping his new tell-all will boost his solo career after a string of legal woes and drug-related arrests.
Wolf claims the 56-year-old, who has refused all interviews since 1979, has been sober for 18 months and completed a drug treatment program in April (07). She reveals he still earns $1 million (£500,000)-a-year in royalties from the disco anthems he co-wrote.