Glenn Michael Hughes (July 18, 1950 – March 4, 2001) was an American singer who was the original "Leatherman" character in the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pi ...

group

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the rele ...

from 1977 to 1996.

Biography

He graduated in 1968 from

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. Athletics ...

, and then attended

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic, Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Institute of the Brothers of ...

, where he was initiated as a member of

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

music fraternity in 1969. He was interested in motorcycles, and was working as a toll collector at the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel when he responded to an advertisement by composer

Jacques Morali Jacques Morali (4 July 1947 – 15 November 1991) was a French disco and dance music record producer and songwriter, known for creating acts like The Ritchie Family and Village People. Early life Morali was born in Casablanca, Morocc ...

seeking "

macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

" singers and dancers. Hughes and other members of the band were given a crash course in the synchronized dance choreography that later typified the group's live performances. Hughes sported an extravagant horseshoe moustache and wore his trademark leather outfit on and off stage and became one of the iconic figures of the disco era. According to

Jack Fritscher John Joseph "Jack" Fritscher (born June 20, 1939) is an American author, university professor, historian, and social activist known internationally for his fiction, erotica and non-fiction analyses of popular culture and gay male culture. A pre-S ...

drew his inspiration for the character from the gay

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs ...

bar and sex club the Mineshaft's dress code. Hughes frequented the club. He was a bike fanatic in real life and kept his motorcycle parked inside his house. In 1996, Hughes retired from the group and launched a successful New York

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...

act until he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had been a heavy smoker since he was a teenager. He was replaced by

Eric Anzalone James Eric Anzalone (born October 6, 1965) is an American singer who was the Leatherman/Biker of the disco supergroup Village People from 1995 to 2017, replacing original member Glenn Hughes. Early life and education Anzalone was born in Da ...

; however, Hughes continued with management of the band. Hughes was named on People Magazine's 1979 list of 'Most Beautiful People' and appeared in the television special ''The

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner who lived there from 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hil ...

'' with

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

. Hughes died on March 4, 2001 at his Manhattan apartment from lung cancer, aged 50. He was subsequently interred wearing his leatherman outfit at

Saint Charles Cemetery St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries is a Roman Catholic cemetery of the Diocese of Brooklyn in East Farmingdale, New York. History It was formed from two separate but adjoining cemeteries: Resurrection Cemetery was originally created and ope ...

Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The population was 8,189 as of the 2010 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State Park and the rest of t ...

References

External links

* *
Official Village People site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Glenn 1950 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American singers American male pop singers Burials at Saint Charles Cemetery Chaminade High School alumni Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Manhattan College alumni Singers from New York (state) Village People members 20th-century American male singers