Following the announcement that the Village People would be performing at several upcoming inauguration events, what is it about their songs that appeals to the President-elect?

Village People's YMCA is a high-energy disco hit that encourages young working-class men to meet like-minded individuals at Young Men's Christian Association hostels. It's been interpreted as an ode to the delights of picking up sexual partners at them – it appears on an album entitled Cruisin' – and it was first performed by a group of chiselled dancers sporting moustaches and figure-hugging fancy dress costumes. It's hardly surprising, then, that the song has been so closely associated with gay culture ever since its release in 1978. What is perhaps surprising is that it is now so closely associated with US President-elect Donald Trump.

YMCA is heard again and again at Make America Great Again rallies and Mar-a-Lago fundraisers, and Trump often dances while his supporters sing along. And now the association is to become even closer. This week, it was announced that the Village People themselves would be performing at several inauguration events: he's also a fan of another of their hits, Macho Man. In a political career that isn't short of ironies and contradictions, this one must be near the top of the list.

YMCA was co-written by its French producer, Jacques Morali, and its singer, Victor Willis. A flawless fusion of punchy brass fanfares, spiralling violins, and insistently funky rhythms, the song is so exuberant and catchy that it practically forces you to join in. The accompanying, semaphore-like arm movements, which were added for a performance on the TV show American Bandstand in 1979, make it even harder to resist – although Trump never attempts them. YMCA is the wedding reception song that everyone can sing, the aerobics work-out routine that everyone can try.

But how did it make the jump from parties to politics? In March 2020, the single was certified as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the National Recording Registry of the US Library of Congress – a sure sign that it was no longer seen as subversive or risqué, but as an all-purpose celebration of enjoying yourself with other people. A month later, it was blasted out at anti-lockdown rallies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the protesters switched the letters YMCA to MAGA, and the song became a Trump staple soon afterwards. Whereas some political meetings can seem earnest and dour, Trump takes pride in the perception that his rallies have the populist........

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