Village People star Victor Willis' YMCA fight

A legal battle has broken out over who owns the rights to the disco classic "YMCA" and who is due the money the Village People anthem still generates more than 35 years after it conquered the charts.

Victor Willis, a founding member of the group who performed as a policeman and a sailor, has filed a claim to regain the rights to several songs under a law allowing artists to reclaim the rights to their songs 35 years after their release. The same law has been used by other artists including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Kenny Rogers.

But the two companies that control the group's hits, Can't Stop Productions and Scorpio Music, say Village People was a concept group that they created, and Mr Willis worked for them as a writer for hire.