Bee Gees

The celebrated Bee Gees were formed by Barry Gibb and his twin brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb in the late fifties. These three gave their first performances in Manchester as a band under various titles. In 1958, their family moved to Australia, where they continued their music activities. By that time, Barry had already mastered song writing skills, while the band had finally taken up the Bee Gees name. Their first public fame came to them after a performance at one of the local TV shows. In four years, big stars in Australia, the brothers released their debut single The Battle of Blue and Green. They produced their first Australian LP The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs in 1965. Bee Gees were considered one of the leading artists in Australia, yet almost absolutely unknown abroad. In 1967, the brothers came back to England and added instrumentalists Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen to the lineup. Their first English single, New York Mining Disaster 1941 (1967), reached Top 20 in the UK and the USA. The song was prominent for its perfect melodiousness and hard-to-get lyrics, both creating a very specific mood. The following singles, Holiday, and To Love Somebody, were written in the same vein. All of them were featured on the long player Bee Gees' 1st (1967), one of the ten best albums in the UK and the USA. It was followed by another successful release, Horizontal, containing the single Massachusetts running first in the British charts.

Later, Bee Gees decided to record a live album called Masterpeace, but worked hard enough to produce the magnificent double CD Odessa, considered the best rock album in their entire discography. However, the process of its creation ended with a conflict between the members of the group as they had failed to agree which song to release as a single. Robin concluded that Maurice and Barry had made a plot against him, and quit the band in 1969. He did not participate in recording the following Cucumber Castle, featuring the smash Don’t Forget To Remember. In 1970, the brothers left all hard feelings behind and reunited, which resulted in the LP 2 Years On with the super hit Lonely Days. The next albums, Trafalgar, and To Whom It May Concern, left much to be desired. Obviously, Bee Gees needed something to change. Therefore, they went to another studio to make a different sort of music. The outcome was the rhythm-and-blues album Mr. Natural, welcomed warmly by both audience and critics. Shortly after, they recorded Main Course, their first album to feature elements of dance music.

In the late seventies, Bee Gees recorded the soundtrack to the Saturday Night Fever movie, symbolizing their complete and utter shift to disco. This release met numerous enthusiastic reviews, and so did the following Spirits Have Flown. Soon, however, this music faded away, which affected the Bee Gees popularity. For a long period, their main occupation was writing for other artists, until they came back with the E.S.P album, released in 1987, to favor of the audience. The band’s last good seller was the 1989 album, One. Later, Bee Gees produced unremarkable works, which forced them to take a break. In 1997, they released Still Waters and were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the same day. In 2003, Maurice Gibb suddenly died. Afterwards, his brothers, Barry and Robin, carried on music activities on a separate basis and gave joint performances only at rare events.