Gloria the survivor

Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive started life as a B-side

Over two decades have passed since Gloria Gaynor secured a place in pop history with I Will Survive, yet her enthusiasm for the song remains undiminished.

"It's still a great one to perform," she says, "and I've become a 125% Grade A ham when doing it."

Since making her name as one of the archetypal disco divas of the 1970s, there have been ups and downs for the New Jersey born singer - who battled drink and drug problems at the height of her success, eventually finding God.

Disco was common ground for the world

Gloria Gaynor

True to the spirit of her most famous song she has continued to perform and record down the years.

She now returns with a new single - Just Keep Thinking About You - and an album to follow.

It marks the latest chapter in a singing career which began in the 60s, before taking off a decade later.

"I was working in nightclubs doing cabaret and I saw this metamorphosis take place - they were changing into these dance places," she reflects.

"So my manager and I made a conscious decision to supply those places with the music."

We were so busy partying and having fun that we got into excesses

Gloria Gaynor

Never Can Say Goodbye provided her with a breakthrough dancefloor hit, followed by Reach Out (I'll Be There).

Yet despite enjoying considerable success at the time, she has mixed feelings about the classic disco era.

"We were so busy partying and having fun that we got into excesses," she says. We didn't seem to realise there were going to be consequences.

"On the other hand we got away from the "me" generation, people became interested in one another and started dancing together. Disco was common ground for the world."

Unlike other musical forms, 70s disco has never really waned in popularity, and Gloria thinks the basis of its appeal is straightforward.

"People are looking for an inexpensive way to relieve themselves of the frustrations of the day," she says. "Discos are it. You know - dance your blues away.

Lauryn Hill: One of Gloria's favourite performers

"It's evolved over the years, but people are still dancing. Essentially that's what disco music always was - dance music."

I Will Survive climbed to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in 1979.

Yet things could have been very different if Gaynor and husband/manager Linwood Simon had not kept faith in the song - which started life as a B-side.

"Nobody at the record company would listen to it, I guess because the A -side - a song called Substitute - was a favourite of the company president," she says.

Determined to keep I Will Survive in the public eye, it was featured as the finale of her concerts.

Meanwhile, Simon took the song to an influential DJ at New York's famous Studio 54 club.

"He loved it - it became very popular in the clubs and was pushed onto the radio," she says.

Lately I've been inspired by a lot that I've heard in church, but they're not typical gospel songs - they're quite contemporary

Gloria Gaynor

Gloria feels that the song has grown in significance for her over the years.

"It really means more today because of the testimonies I've had from people as to what it's done to impact on their lives - to bring them hope, encouragement and build up their self esteem."

And of the many cover versions, she cites a performance by Gladys Knight on a US TV show among her favourites.

"I'm not sure if she ever recorded it - she did a verse with a different melody at the beginning before going into the song. She did it like a ballad."

Gloria doesn't like rock band Cake's version - "they're not really singing it" - but was interested to hear Robbie Williams' latest single Supreme, which borrows heavily from the song.

"I'm sure he got permission!" she says.

At home, she rarely listens to disco music - preferring "gospel, R&B, pop and some rap music".

Inspiration

Current singers she admires include Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Ricky Martin and Britney Spears.

"Someone was recently describing Britney as the new Madonna - but I don't know why they try to create this rivalry," she says. "Why can't you have both?

"They tried to do that with me and Donna Summer, but we were friends so it wasn't going to happen."

Primarily known for interpreting other people's songs, she has also written many of her own over the years.

"I don't write all the time but I write from inspiration - something somebody tells me, something that happens to me.

"Lately I've been inspired by a lot that I've heard in church, but they're not typical gospel songs - they're quite contemporary."

"I hate it when you get albums with only two or three good songs," she says. "I'm looking to build up a strong collection."