THE Village People’s YMCA was never meant to be a gay anthem — according to the man who wrote it.

Victor Willis, the disco band’s founding member and original singer, wrote the lyrics for the 1978 hit.

He is about to reboot and rejoin the iconic band he left in 1980 at the peak of their success.

“It was not written to be a gay song because of the simple fact I’m not gay,” Willis said of YMCA, recently covered by Boy George to help raise awareness of marriage equality.

“I wrote it about hanging out in urban neighbourhoods in my youth. ‘You can hang out with all the boys’ was a term about me and my friends playing basketball at the Y. But I wanted to write a song that could fit anyone’s lifestyle. I’m happy the gay community adopted it as their anthem, I have no qualms with that.”

Willis co-wrote over 30 Village People songs, including their biggest hits YMCA, In the Navy, Macho Man, Milkshake, San Francisco and Go West.

However after leaving the band in 1980 (just before they made the movie Can’t Stop the Music) Willis has been involved in a lengthy legal battle over copyrights to the songs which has cost him millions.

In May this year he finally settled a ten year law suit with Henri Belolo, who created the band with Willis and the late Jacques Morali — a gay man who helped fashion the band’s trademark image, with Willis’ character being the cop.

Now Willis and Belolo are relaunching the band, who have continued to tour over the years with different line-ups.

“I’m returning to take over the helm of the Village People again,” Willis said. “I was never satisfied with watching someone imitate me, but at the same time there were legal things that had to be taken care of before I could go back to being the leader of my group again.

“It was hard at times. There’s only one Victor Willis. I don’t believe anyone can do or ever has done my songs as good as I do them, and I’m more powerful vocally now than when I first recorded them.

“I’m back in the Village People for life. There will never be anyone else who will be out the front imitating me again, playing the character of the cop.”

The Village People’s Australian tour in December, as part of A Day on the Green’s disco line-up with KC and the Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge and Marcia Hines, will be Willis’ first shows anywhere in the world since rejoining the band.

Willis has never toured Australia with the Village People and was last here in 1976 when he played the Tin Man in a stage production of The Wiz, where he was based in Melbourne and Sydney.

“It seemed appropriate to start these new shows in Australia,” Willis said. “Australian audiences were the first people to make me a star in The Wiz before the Village People had even started in America.”

A coy Willis will announce next week who else will join him in the rebooted Village People, although he said there will be “changes” from the line-up that toured here in May that featured a mix of long-term and newer members.

The December tour will also feature a full live band, unlike the recent more budget visit where the backing music was on tape.

“I will never perform to (a musical backing) track, I’m bringing my full live band, the way it was when I first started doing the Village People.”

Willis, 66, said the ongoing legal battles were funded by his annual royalty cheques for the hits he wrote — Go West becoming particularly lucrative after a cover by the Pet Shop Boys and use in the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert musical, which has become a global franchise.

“I’ve always made a living off my (songwriting) royalties, which is the reason I was able to stay in and fight so long with the lawsuits. The average person would not have been able to survive the amount of money it cost, it has cost me millions to fight this case. I’ve recaptured my writing credits now and I own them for life.

“Now a lot of other artists are realising they can recapture the copyrights to their songs. Other people are following in my footsteps.”

During his exit from the band Willis had a well-documented battle with drugs; after being arrested in 2006 he went into rehab and has been clean since.

He’s now in line to make back a small fortune with new ideas for the rebooted Village People.

There are plans for a Village People musical, a reality TV show, a video game, a movie and Willis’ memoirs, as well as a brand new Village People album.

“Nothing could be done until this legal stuff was settled. Now Henri and I are back working together anything is possible. The sky is the limit.”

The Village People, KC & the Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge and Marcia Hines play A Day on the Green shows at Kings Park and Botanic Garden Perth on December 7, Leconfield Wines South Australia December 9, Rochford Wines Yarra Valley on December 10, Bimbadgen Hunter Valley December 16 and Sirroment Wines Mt Cotton on December 17. The line-up (minus Marcia Hines) play indoor shows at Margaret Court Arena on December 12 and Hordern Pavilion on December 14. On sale 10am August 7 from Ticketmaster for winery shows and 2pm August 7 from Ticketek for indoor shows.