VILLAGE PEOPLE – BUDOKAN 1980 (DVD-R)

Description

Live at Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 20th & 21st May 1980 PRO-SHOT

　The legendary Village People made their first visit to Japan in 1980, amidst the Young Man craze. Now, the highest quality master of the iconic footage from that visit is available (Hideki Saijo’s “YOUNG MAN (YMCA)” was a hit in 1979, and their visit was the following year). This release is composed of two main sections. The first half is a multi-camera pro-shot of their first visit to Japan, and the second half is a collection of their past music videos. Let’s take a look at each section individually.

[Part 1: Superb professional shots documenting the legendary first visit to Japan]
　The main focus of this release is the multi-camera pro-shot footage of the “May 20/21, 1980: Nippon Budokan” concert. While this is a long-established and famous classic video, this release is the highest quality version. Officially produced in 1997, it uses the digital master that was officially (?) released on DVD only in South America over 20 years ago, and its visual beauty is undeniably “official-grade.” Not just “official-grade for its time,” but even in today’s digital age, it is beautiful, with a glossy and beautiful finish in every corner of the screen, and no signs of dubbing or age-related deterioration whatsoever. You can enjoy the sweat-soaked muscles and the way the costumes cling to your face with the naked eye.

　The film presents a super-concentrated collection of greatest hits, brought to life with stunning visuals. At 9 songs and approximately 44 minutes, it’s far from a full show, but the intensity is incredible. The mega-hit songs that shook the world come at you one after another! Moreover, the performance is intensely passionate. Their sharp, energetic actions never stop for a second, with their hips shaking non-stop, and the sweat flying off the screen seems to be drenched.

　Of course, the music is fantastic. In particular, Ray Simpson’s lead vocals are superb! Ray, the younger brother of black music legend Valerie Simpson, has the real deal vocal talent. More than half of the songs are from his predecessor Victor Willis’s repertoire, but he has brilliantly transformed them.

　And what’s truly powerful is their passion for entertainment! Famous police officers, construction workers, cowboys, leather jacket men, GIs, and Native Americans run wild across the screen, riding around in jeeps and police motorcycles. And in “In The Navy,” a gigantic backdrop that covers the entire stage instantly transforms the Budokan into a battleship at sea. Their bizarre costumes were already well-known, but their visual spirit truly explodes on stage, creating an incredible entertainment show by hand in an era without even a backdrop screen (or perhaps precisely because of that era).

　Furthermore, even the audience, witnessing the stage, is brimming with the scent of “1980.” In fact, this film has an unnaturally loud and enthusiastic overdub of cheers and screams. Of course, it doesn’t interrupt the music like an audience recording, but it’s a bit overdone and doesn’t seem like it could be officially released in the future (laughs). However, the excitement is not fake. The audience shown on screen remains seated (just like KISS’s first visit to Japan), but they are clapping wildly, and the rhythm of “In The Navy” comes at you with tremendous force. And finally, with “YMCA,” everyone stands up for the grand finale… You can enjoy a stage that is richly imprinted with the “1980” in every detail, captured in multi-camera pro-shot footage.

● Village People appear (4 songs)
– Fire Island / Village People / San Francisco (You’ve Got Me) / In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)
● Others (5 songs)
– Cruisin’: Hot Cop / YMCA
– Others: Macho Man / Can’t Stop The Music / In The Navy

[Second half: The highest quality master of all the PVs to date]
　Following that superb live pro-shot footage, a delightful collection of music videos is included as a bonus. Of course, the quality of these is also completely official-grade. Even songs uploaded to YouTube and other platforms are compiled in even more beautiful, top-notch master versions.

　The album features six tracks in chronological order, from their debut single “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)” to “Can’t Stop The Music” from the quirky film “Music Music,” which won the first Golden Raspberry Award. It also includes “In The Navy,” which is treated as a dark chapter in their history even on their official YouTube channel.

　And the final video is “Hit Medley.” This is a medley video that connects five songs (YMCA/In The Navy/San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)/Macho Man/Can’t Stop The Music), but it’s not just a re-edit of existing PVs. The songs have been rearranged and re-recorded from scratch, and the video is a new PV with the original members performing the entire song. It’s a super-concentrated suite that compresses the essence of their golden age into 3 minutes and 52 seconds.

　Village People’s first visit to Japan, where they stunned Western music fans with their outrageous worldview and incredibly passionate performances, is a legendary moment in the history of Western music in Japan. This video masterpiece allows you to experience that scene with official-quality visuals. Furthermore, it’s a definitive edition that recaps their golden age with the best masters of their music videos to date. Please enjoy this ultimate video work that will leave you breathless with sweat, muscles, and hit songs.

★The performance and staging were fantastic, but the camera work and switching were also quite impressive. It felt like they were specifically targeting the cute girls in the arena seats, which was quite heart-fluttering!

★A multi-camera pro-shot recording of their legendary first visit to Japan, “May 20/21, 1980: Nippon Budokan,” plus a collection of their past music videos. The visual beauty, reproduced on DVD from the highest quality digital master, is completely official-grade. This approximately 70-minute intense video production also includes a rare “Hit Medley” featuring their biggest hits as a bonus.

1. Fire Island
2. Hot Cop
3. Village People
4. San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)
5. In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star)
6. Macho Man
7. Can’t Stop The Music
8. In The Navy
9. Y.M.C.A.

BONUS FOOTAGE (Music Video)
10. Hit Medley★必見
11. San Francisco (You’ve Got Me)
12. Macho Man
13. Y.M.C.A.
14. In The Navy
15. Go West
16. Can’t Stop The Music

PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.70min.