Village People 'cop' faces arrest

Victor Willis was lead vocalist on hit songs like YMCA

The singer who dressed as a policeman in The Village People faces arrest for failing to attend court for sentencing in a drug case.

Original group member Victor Willis was due to appear before a judge in California after police found a gun and crack cocaine in his car.

Outside the court, his lawyer said the singer had not attended because he had been "scheduled for surgery".

Mr Willis, whose hits included Macho Man, left the band in the late 70s.

During the hearing on Thursday, the judge at San Mateo County Superior Court issued arrest warrants for a probation violation and for the drug case.

Chart success

Mr Willis was arrested in July after police found a gun and what was believed to be crack cocaine in his car during a routine stop.

Police said the performer also had a separate outstanding warrant for possession of narcotics.

His attorney, Kenneth Quigley, later said Willis left a message with him on Wednesday saying he could not attend the hearing.

"He is scheduled for surgery. That's really as much as I know," he said.

Mr Willis, who also co-wrote In the Navy, was performing in a Broadway musical when he was approached to join a group being formed by producer-composer Jacques Morali in the mid-1970s.

The group's worldwide disco hits include YMCA and Go West, which was covered by The Pet Shop Boys in 1993.