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June 4, 2025 59 mins

You can't stop the music, although a lot of people wanted to when The Village People's 1980 movie musical came out. Released in the wake of the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" in which rock fans burned disco albums, its appeal to its natural constituency was blunted by its strange tone. A film that is extremely squeamish around sexuality yet far freer with the drugs and nudity than a PG-certificate film ought to be, it's as mismatched as the band's famously eclectic stage outfits, though much less successful.


Join Graham and Film Stories's Mark Harrison as they explore Can't Stop the Music's part in the creation of the Golden Raspberry awards, the surprisingly heavily contested origin of the 'YMCA' dance, Caitlyn Jenner's acting abilities and the Village People's post-fame afterlife from bar mitzvahs to - oh yes - Presidential Inaugurations. Plus, find out which controversial film was shooting at the same time as this, and why Mark's tangents need to have a Burial soundtrack.


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