VST AND COMPANY

VST AND COMPANY

Genres: OPM, Disco, Filipino, 70s, philippines

Similar artists via Last.fm

Hotdog Rey Valera Apo Hiking Society April Boys Basil Valdez

About VST AND COMPANY

VST & Company was a Filipino disco/funk/pop band formed in Manila in 1978. Spearheaded by Tito Sotto (a Vicor Records A&R executive) as a studio project, the group’s early lineup included Tito’s brother Val Sotto on guitar and singer Spanky Rigor (with session players). Vic Sotto (Tito’s younger brother) joined soon after as the group’s frontman late that year. (In fact, the acronym “VST” came from the initials of Vic, Spanky and Tito.) From the start, VST & Co. was set up to rival the pop band Boyfriends; their debut single “Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko” (1978) became an instant disco anthem and launched a nationwide “VST Mania” craze. The group blended Western disco beats and funk grooves with catchy Tagalog lyrics, earning them the nickname “the Bee Gees of the Philippines”. Music historians credit VST & Co. (alongside bands like Hotdog and Boyfriends) with pioneering the Manila Sound movement. After releasing five studio albums and starring in three jukebox films, VST & Company quietly disbanded in the early 1980s. Their final shows were part of a nationwide tour in 1982–83. By then Tito and Vic Sotto had largely shifted to TV and comedy: they were already co-hosting variety shows and performing as the Tito-Vic-&-Joey (TVJ) trio by the late 1970s. In other words, the Sotto brothers’ focus moved to entertainment and the long-running noontime show Eat Bulaga!, effectively putting VST on hiatus.

Taken from Last.fm

63,052 listeners  ·  811,994 plays via Last.fm