Cowboy Up

Friday, April 13, 2001 | 3:33 a.m.

The Village People burst onto the disco scene in 1977, when French music-producer Jacques Morali thought it would be interesting to hire six performers to portray stereotypical American males who sang songs with homosexual undertones.

Morali's formula worked so well that the group has worked steadily for almost 25 years, singing hits such as "Y.M.C.A." and "Macho Man." The Village People appear Friday and Saturday at the Riviera's Royale Pavilion.

Jeff Olson, 48, portrays the group's Cowboy. He joined the Village People in 1980. Recently Olson took a break from gardening to speak with the Las Vegas Sun about the group's past, present and future:

Jeff Olson: Every time I'm home, I'm in my garden. I have a nice spread up here in Connecticut. I've got like eight acres. It's all got to be tended to, and I'm in heaven.

Las Vegas Sun: How much time does the group spend on the road?

JO: We do between 50 and 75 shows a year. We don't tour like we used to. We're slowing down, let's face it.

Sun: I thought disco died 20 years ago.

JO: It's kind of changed, drastically, but the dance is still happening. Disco is dead, but the dance is very much alive. But disco was more than simply a style of music. It was a label that was put on an era. A whole lot more than disco was going on in the '70s.

Sun: How have you stayed busy for the past 20 years?

JO: This is the music business. If you're around after three or four years you're doing well. When this group hit in the late '70s, it hit in a very powerful and international way. We established, immediately, an international following as well as a domestic fan base. When I joined it was waning, but it was still a common household name everywhere in the world.

When things slowed down domestically, we'd go abroad. We found lots of work in Europe and other parts of the world. We've been to Australia 16 or 17 times. The group is very fortunate that it had other places to go. When certain markets were down, other markets helped support us.

Sun: You sound like a corporate executive.

JO: Actually, the Village People became a corporation in 1987. Prior to that we were managed and controlled completely by our producer and executive producer. They closed up shop in the mid-'80s and we were on hiatus for a couple of years, pursuing other projects. The members of the group got back together and, with the OK from producers, we incorporated. We have been managing ourselves since then. We're all members of the board of directors of Sixuvus Ltd.

Sun: Why have you been such an international success?

JO: The United States led the disco era. When the Village People became the kings of disco, the whole world caught onto us.

A lot of it has to do with the gimmick -- a sextet of American male stereotypes. It was a gimmick and it worked.

Sun: Wasn't the group's creation somewhat like that of the Monkees in the '60s, a concept of hiring someone to play a role in a group?

JO: That's exactly what we did. We all auditioned for the parts.

Sun: What were your former producers, Henri Belolo and Jacques Morali, trying to accomplish when they created the Village People? Where they trying to make a social statement about homosexuality or just put on a good show?

JO: God only knows, but at least it did work.

Sun: How did the group become an icon for the gay-and-proud movement?

JO: The (stereotypes Morali chose) have always been appealing to alternative lifestyles.

Sun: It was assumed every member of the group was, or is, gay. Is that true?

JO: It was just that, an assumption. It's not true. We generally don't even like to talk about that, for obvious reasons. We are in it for the music.

Sun: Was being associated with the gay community a blessing or a curse to your careers?

JO: It was not a curse, not at all. As a musical group, we have probably the largest spectrum of demographics. We are so grateful for this. We appeal to just about everybody. It doesn't matter what your race, religion, sexual preference or nationality is. That is why we will be looking at our 25th anniversary soon. (The diversity of our fans) has helped preserve us. Obviously we haven't charted a record in a while, so we've been survivng on our show. Our show wouldn't be marketable if we didn't have appeal across the board.

Sun: What is the legacy of the Village People?

JO: We are the ideal party band, doing nothing more than just having a good time.

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