drnrg wrote:UFOPOLI
I second that theory. When you look at the lyrics of this category of songs, they typically have also other characteristics that suggest the lyricist had a different gender vocalist in mind. I guess they just didn't care enough to rewrite the lyrics, thinking that the Japanese won't care, or maybe thinking it was funny.
Songs were just given to the artist that sounded best singing them. The transgender lyric thingwasn't even taken into concideration. Some producers ;like, Gino Caria ,actually got a kick from writing very suggestive lyrics. Weather they be about male or female.
but in all honesty. Look at the history of Italo disco/Hi-NRG. Divine, Sylvester,Fancy,Bronski Beat, Dead Or Alive ect. The transgender thing has always been a big part of it.
I agree with drnrg. Even if some songs might have been a last minute change of singers, I think that some circumstances it was just left intentionally.
Also, look at some of the lyrics with male singers talking about their junk. I could go on and on about which songs I mean. And I don't think they were meant to be listened to by women in the clubs, by the innuendos in the lyrics towards other males.
Just as drnrg said, look at Divine and Dead Or Alive acts? Come on, they were all drag queens, and/or gay cross dressers.
Also the god fathers of hi-nrg, such as the early Hi-NRG albums of San Francisco producer Patrick Cowley with such singers such as Sylvester and Paul Parker were all homosexuals.
The origin of Italo was always played first in underground gay clubs before it became more popular. This is how it was first discovered by the ever so popular producers, Stock Aiken Waterman. Very popular in gay night clubs during the 80's in Greece such as in Mykonos, known as the gay party island.
"the Stock Aitken Waterman-produced hits by Dead or Alive, Bananarama, Jason Donovan, Sonia, and Kylie Minogue which were heavily based on the British experience with Italo disco during holidays in Greece and elsewhere."
-wikipedia, eurobeat
There was a huge outbreak in the late 70's, and early 80's in America to stop the disco sound, because it was deemed to be too "gay" in nature.
Many turned to rock instead, or new wave, but little did they know that disco never died but was retransformed and remarketed as 80's pop synth music, with slightly less intense pulsing Italo sounds. Italo, along with new wave, and 70's acts like Sylvester, Patrick Coweley, Giorgio Moroder, are really the basis of 80's synth pop music, as well the gay community have always been the first to experience this music before it ever came out in any way or form into the mainstream light.
You might want to also look at a few of the covers of the vinyls over the years by Eurobeat and Italo artists. Many have very sexual covers, and nudity. Even the men are sexualizied. Saifam records has even released some gay friendly albums with covers of almost nude men, or in their underwear.
So in the end, I strongly believe without a doubt that these "same sex" themes are there for a reason in the songs. A sort of "tribute" to the history of Eurobeat, Italo, and HI-NRG, in the same way as some of the titles of the songs are exact song titles of famous 80's songs, again a "tribute" to the 80's.
I am not saying that Italo and Eurobeat are exclusive to gays, but rather, it is inclusive towards them, as well as to anybody who is open to it and enjoy it for what it is: something for everyone. There are tons of songs about heterosexual love in Eurobeat and Italo, so everybody is included.