Brothers Gibb Bee Gees & Andy Gibb Story

the story of the brothers Gibb is a roller coaster ride of Triumph and tragedy setbacks and comebacks and during a career that has spanned more than 40 years they've repeatedly shown a unique ability to reinvent their sound and reconnect with audiences around the world [Music] their remarkable Journey Begins in 1944 in Manchester England with a marriage of drummer and bandleader Hugh Gibb to Barbara pass the next year the Gibbs welcomed a baby girl Leslie and settled off the coast of Great Britain on the Isle of Man [Music] on September 1st 1946 Barry the first BG was born at 18 months he accidentally overturned a tea kettle on himself and was so badly scalded he nearly died he was in hospital for three months he was very very ill he never spoke till he was three years old and and I think that's when those things happen to you in life what you gain from it is incredible in a strength it did make him stronger more determined I think that's what really helped us you know to make the pattern for his life begin family welcome two more Sons on December 22nd 1949 when twins Robin and Morris were born they were neither identical in appearance nor disposition the ball I always had distinctive personalities Morris was always very friendly everybody's mate Robin's always been a little bit withdrawn and into himself but when they were together they were the same I was Mr Goody Goody I was I was so scared doing anything wrong I'm basically a very shy person I have to really know somebody before I reveal myself in literally I like being spontaneous I like being funny with people I like being relaxed but you won't get that right away with me Robin always had the twinkle in his eye and of course I think Morris did too don't forget the twins you know so there was a specific special way that they would play off each other that only twins would know Ron and I were not identical we're fraternal twins and but we have the same sense of humor we have the same love of the same kind of music being a twin uh I don't think it's so much having much to do with the Bee Gees I think we would have been the Bee Gees if it had even if we hadn't been twins I never thought of Mia Morris a separate in Barry I always saw there's three of us as three equal Brothers by 1955 Hughes band had broken up so in search of New Opportunities he moved the family back to Manchester in the Glory Days of the Empire Manchester was the world's cotton Capital One of the great industrial centers now it was a working-class city in Decline so too were the Gibb family fortunes to support Barbara and the four kids Hugh held down two jobs the house was always filled with music the brothers were influenced by The Mills Brothers and the Everly Brothers by the time Barry was nine and the twins were six they were already singing in three-part Harmony there was quite a number of times when my parents and my sister would come in the room I wonder if the radio was on when we were doing that early stuff one of the songs [Music] lollipop [Music] Robin and I seem to have evolved into two different leads and Morris is an expert harmonist is that the right word but he would always know where to put that other Melody make that to make a three-part Harmony when Barry was nine and the twins Maurice and Robin were six they formed a band called the rattlesnakes the Bee Gees musical career actually began at the movies one day before the feature a boy got up on stage and MIM to an Elvis Presley record the brothers were inspired to try it themselves so we got the guitar and the records that we intended to mine to and uh on the way to the Gorman theater we were running and Morris dropped the records in those days they broke folks we were very disappointed that we'd lost our chance and but we persuaded the manager to allow us to go on and sing anyway and we just did what we did at home and the kids loved it and I can't I remember that feeling it was great and we had our first real audience rush you know wow this is what we want to do walking down the street in Manchester I remember Barry saying that one day we're going to be really famous and we said oh yeah whatever you say he's the Big Brother you know as pint-sized rock and rollers Barry Robin and Morris performed frequently at local theaters to adults in the 1950s rock and roll was synonymous with trouble and so were the brothers gift find Roman Atwood's house I mean Nothing Stops in their way now when I think back I feel really bad for my parents because if I'd have been my parents I would have been pulling my hair out my father had little enough as it was Robin especially was very faulty I used to light fires all over the place oh yeah you mean the flame I just said hedge is on fire it like fires under the bed yeah I was a bit of fire bug when I was young Barry and Robin were constantly getting into trouble local authorities confronted Hugh and Barbara suggesting that if they didn't want to see their boys end up in reform school they might want to consider emigrating at the same time there was a new arrival in the Gibb household Andy born in March of 1958. shortly afterwards the family decided to make a fresh start I'd never heard of Australia just a strange words in Australia sort of extremely oh amazing adventure because that that was what was in our spirit that's why we were always getting into mischief the idea of what's around the corner really was inside us so the idea of going to Australia we didn't even know what that was but sounds good let's try it the Gibbs settled in Queensland a state in Northeast Australia known for its Sunshine beautiful beaches and the Great Barrier Reef Hugh took a job as a photographer he bought an eight millimeter camera and the brothers immediately began making home movies I was filming them I was always the guy behind the camera because I've always been the technical one but Byron Robin I wouldn't go as far as to say that their videotape which players are still flashing 12 but we'd film home movies of fights and things and people like hostage taking or you know people blowing up the tower you know Visa has come up with some deaf stuff in Australia the brothers continued their quest for fame to achieve that goal they would sing just about anywhere we always look for the best toilets in town we go and sing in there because of the echo and there's a great one I remember in in Pitt Street Sydney and I was in the park and it was a great Echo really long and I mean it was we sang These homies they sounded like Wreckers the brothers took their act to a local Speedway where they sang between races the crowd showed their appreciation by throwing coins Bill Gates a local disc jockey was impressed and persuaded Hugh and Barbara to let him promote the boys as the initials BG were everywhere Bill Gates Barbara Gibb Barry Gibb brothers Gibb it was suggested the trio be called The Bee Gees soon the boys were heard regularly on Gates's radio show in the summer of 1960 The Bee Gees got their next big break the Bee Gees barrier the leader of the group come here Barry Gibb and your young Brothers now come on who are you which is which are twins eh I'm Robert Robin Morris and Morris now you all team together eh that's right and your brother Barry plays now come on up come on up yeah this was the first of what would be many TV appearances over the next few years [Music] giving you come on EG's also played clubs and county fairs where they hone their craft as performers with the ACT still in its formative stages Show Business veteran Hugh became their manager my father bless him has been unbelievable in our lives he has been the main instigator of everything that we learned about stage even down to little things like when you go on smile because if you look like crap and you feel like crap so will the audience smile or smile with you he taught his professionalism [Music] and I was doing the clothes which to make all the little waistcoats and we cut an old pair of evening shoes up to make BG and gold leather on there little things you know in 1963 their dream of becoming Stars took a giant leap forward they signed a record contract what made the BG's unique at this young age was that they weren't just singers they also wrote songs and their very first release was a very good original baby oh yeah we released quite a few of our own songs and couldn't get a hit we tried singing a couple of other people's songs and we still didn't get a hit so we thought well we'll just go back to singing our own songs because you know if we have flops at least there are flops tell me that you really can't [Music] kiss me twice at this point the brothers were supporting the family as professional entertainers singing adult songs to adults but their music and their Ambitions were instantly transformed in 1964. when Australia like the rest of the world was invaded by the British when the Beatles came to Sydney the magic was unbelievable I was mesmerized by them because they were doing something that we love to do and they were successful at it I loved it because it was so these were this was a group and they were singing um three-part Harmony and they were singing it like we did [Music] no one seemed very interested in us the record company nobody [Music] is there we were doing television shows but we were just regular TV acts we weren't people having hit records you know and that was our dream and at that point in time our dream was being blocked [Music] [Laughter] [Music] I was totally convinced that the right thing we had for us to do was to leave Australia we knew if we were going to make it big International we had to leave Australia and go to London just before leaving the country the Bee Gees recorded One Last Song speaks and specs [Music] on my head the VG's made a lasting impression on their youngest brother Andy Andy would watch his brothers perform from backstage marveling at what he saw and he dreamed of being a performer too and it was his older brother Barry who encouraged Andy's Love Of Music Barry bought Andy his first guitar at age nine he used to stand in the middle of them when they were rehearsing let them real imagine us we move him but uh yeah she always liked to be where they were singing with them family very much uh emulated Barry a lot you know and he thought a great deal of his older brother you know so it was he had a sort of a hero worship for him in January 1967 the entire Gibb family boarded a ship that would take them back home to England while at Sea they received unexpected news spicks and specs had gone to number one in Australia but there was no turning back the Bee Gees were sailing into unknown and possibly treacherous Waters [Music] in February of 1967 when the Bee Gees arrived in England the music scene was still dominated by The Beatles and whose way could come the Rolling Stones The Who and many other successful groups the Bee Gees were determined to be the next big thing but their optimism was immediately challenged by a random encounter with another group when we got off the ship there were these four guys standing on the dock it was night time and it was thick fog and the four and these four guys were dressed exactly as the Beatles were dressed in hell they said they were a group failed the group and said groups are out it's over and they said you know go back go back and we'd go back where it took us five weeks to get here you know once again it's like the resilience thing it didn't matter what came our way it was it was just another obstacle get out of the way we're going to make it we're going to be famous the Bee Gees returned to England from Australia with the dream of becoming British pop stars before leaving Australia the Bee Gees had mailed demo tapes to prospective record companies agents and managers in London nobody was interested except for Robert stigwood who at the time was partnered with the Beatles manager Brian Epstein stigwood liked what he heard and summoned them to an audition looking a bit like Oscar Wilde I've always felt this day he was a little the worst to wear when he came down but I'm being kind Robert they claim I fell asleep which is rubbish and we did our club Act from even a Peter Paul and Mary section we do we did about four or five songs and uh and he had two people next to him then he got up and he nodded to them and they all walked out and that was it and they came home and they were really heartbroken they said it was just a waste of time the Bee Gees believe that stickwood had not really heard them they were wrong that night he called to offer the brothers a five-year contract I got instinct told me that they would be Sensational because you can't deny Talent and Nutella was so obvious the link between Bob stickwood and the Bee Gees was very close and the relationship was just like that of run episode of The Beatles for Bob stigwood The Bee Gees for his boys and it was like a family almost anything is Robert loved them and he believed in them sometimes a bit of a complex relationship but it certainly worked he opened up the world to the Bee Gees very very quickly and I don't think at that particular time anyone else could have done that that job and uh what were what's happening to us today is because of what he did then within months their new manager Robert stigwood was making it happen it was all like a fantasy come true the place that we'd left earlier was suddenly the place where we wanted to be you know professionally the first thing the bgs needed to do was expand from a vocal Trio to a proper rock band They added two Australian musicians Colin Peterson on drums and Vince Millenium lead guitar Robert stigwood sat there and said you're going to do it and I'm going to make sure you do it and he never ever made a negative comment about whether it might or might not work this is where we're going and that's it in the event of something happening to me there is something I would like you all to see it's just a photographer someone that I knew have you seen my wife Mr Jones to augment their sound and make themselves into a real band The Bee Gees added two musician friends from Australia Colin Peterson on drums and Vince Maloney on lead guitar the new group recorded their first single and stigwood mounted a bold publicity campaign declaring them the most significant new musical talents of 1967. whoa talking about us oh my God that's something to live up to this is how stigwood wanted to launch the Bee Gees and he didn't want to do it half-heartedly he knew that he wanted to make an impact and the only word by doing it is actually throwing down the golden and they were compared with the Beatles right from the word Co which really was a compliment it's definitely the pressure we needed to inspire us a New York mining disaster appeared in the spring of 1967 it really cut through almost everything else on the radio like just a beacon through a fog because there was a strong narrative mood building song it made people realize that there was some really good new storytellers in popular music in less than six months the Bee Gees had gone from unknowns at the Southampton docks to having top 20 hits on both sides of the Atlantic they were instantly plunged into the hurricane of first Fame but at that point just as our heads were about to explode you know Robert sat us down and said now I want you to listen to me you haven't made it you've got to hit record don't get it all out of proportion when you've had five hit records I'll say to you you've made it a key element of their success was the emotional depth of their sound Bee Gees had always been fans of Soul music recognizing this stigwood arranged a meeting with a legendary Soul artist he introduced me to Otis Redding and we sat in the suite and we chatted for a while and Robert said I want I want you to write a song throughout his writing and well we'll certainly try you know a bit delighted because we you know we were huge fans and um to love somebody was born that night [Music] to love somebody to love somebody the way I love you Robert went out that night and he said I'm leaving you alone tonight when I come back I want to hear another shredding song oh thanks Robert you know and I was just that I was young enough and ambitious enough that of course I'll do it right away you know so I sang the body of that song Mr Robert when he came in he said thank you that's what I want and uh when I got back to England we finished the song Together reading died before he could record to love somebody so the brothers cut it themselves turning it into one of their most beloved songs foreign [Music] I think once Massachusetts became the number one record in England first number one River [Music] you can actually guess how you're going to feel when you get your personality because it's something you've always wanted to have it was kind of like a fulfillment of what we wanted to do we left Australia this is kind of a confirmation of our belief in ourselves it's kind of like yeah we did the right thing what I was so impressed with in terms of the BG's is that the harmonies were incredible very very unique very distinctive foreign [Music] was the adjective for what they were doing uh from the minute they appeared on American radio it's like it sounds like the Bee Gees I don't know anybody who can sing harmony quite so naturally as they do uh you know get them in a room here and ask them to sing immediately you're a Sail by Perfect Harmony the BG singular sound also features the presence of two distinct lead vocal styles Barry's Soulful passionate delivery and Robin's ethereal vibrato [Music] it makes it still makes me go cold when I listen to him that vibrato was killer you know and the more we could use it the better it was a vulnerable instrument in a very forceful way because he had no competition whatsoever in pop music there was no other voice like his eat all these things about the joke but on me an undeniable strength of the Bee Gees has always been their songwriting like John Lennon and Paul McCartney the brothers sometimes working separately sometimes together were quickly proving to be prolific composers [Music] I think there's an affinity between the Bee Gees and the Beatles particularly with their early material in the linking of very good hooks very good Melodies which stick in the mind and that's in itself is an extraordinary difficult thing to do you had to listen to these songs once they came on you had to listen to them because they were very very magnetic and they cast a spell in a way that was very piercing in its personal directness [Music] the BG's greatest strength had always been their unbreakable family bond while on the surface everything seemed wonderful the truth was that success love and the trappings of Fame were ripping the Bee Gees apart 16 months the BG's lives changed completely they made three albums and had nine hit singles they got famous they got money they got girls and they got crazy [Music] it was all great but it was all too much after the third BG's album was released in the summer of 1968. guitarist Vince Maloney left the band as the group entered the studio to Begin work on their fourth album tensions Rose as 1969 began the bgs were riding a two-year tidal wave of success but deep divisions were emerging between the brothers threatening everything for which they'd worked so hard it's very difficult being successful in the rock and roll business stems are more difficult to stay successful because the pressures are so great you're always on demand you're always everyone back and forth you cannot Escape Fame which is a kind of prison for young people we needed that opacity for separate lives where not everything was based on what the other did the tendency always is to say damn it I'm a BG I'd much rather be Barry or I'd much rather be Robin or much better than me Maurice same with the Beatles you know they got second part of being a veto they wanted to be their own people with their own recognition [Music] love interests were happening and jealousies were happening you know I call it um just lack of maturity to me a lot of what happened in that breakup was due to too much happening too soon what happened was drugs pilly potty and fizzy you know each one did different drugs or whatever you know Robin would take a few pills who'd probably smoke to joint or if I had a drink mine was booze all the way we stopped knowing each other we stopped feeling each other's feelings and that's another lesson you know that that's what drugs do that's what that's what drink does we lost contact with each other me Barry Morris didn't really talk as much as we used to and therefore you know there was a kind of bickering going on if Robin said something about me the same reporter would come to me and say did you know that Robin said that and vice versa you know I don't think we were mature enough to stop it I think we enjoyed publicity so the Press will thrive on it and we thrived on it there's always been two very forceful personalities uh in the Bee Gees and that's Barry Gibb and Robin poor old marriage was in the middle he didn't know what was going on yes it's the story of my life really Morris found himself on both sides of the escalating battle Torn Between the conflicting Ambitions of Barry and Robin and Robin believing stigwood was giving Barry more attention became resentful with the group about to release their fourth album the atmosphere surrounding the brothers had become charged with suspicion and distrust what really happened is first of May the record was coming out and everybody sort of went for first of May as being the a side and Barry was singing the lead on that and on the other side it was Lamplight which Robin wanted to sing in the lead and so Robert chose a first of May and thing and he was biased towards Barry Robin said Ah that's it I've had it because he thought it was done on purpose Robin quit the group and started work on a solo album he became isolated from the family disturbed by his erratic Behavior Hugh and Barbara tried to make 19 year old Robin a ward of the Court it was kind of a whole strange episode of Our Lives that particular it didn't make sense to me it doesn't make sense now but it it happened and it was kind of a weird feeling all the time was happening Robin's very first solo single Saved by the Bell Rose to number two on the British charts Barry and Morris continuing as the Bee Gees made don't forget to remember which also went to number two [Music] [Music] Barry Morris and Colin continued as the Bee Gees with sister Leslie filling in for Robin's vocal at one performance the scaled down version of the group appeared in stigwood's slapstick comedy movie cucumber Castle that was to come by early 1970 the Bee Gees had stopped working together and embarked on a series of solo projects I would never have guessed at that point however that the Bee Gees would come back together again it didn't feel like that was ever going to happen again I knew they would get back together eventually I mean Blood Thicker Than Water they were brothers the time we spent apart was basically a rough time for the three of us emotionally because although we separated as a group I don't think we really meant they wanted to we miss each other so desperately musically and as brothers you know we're brothers and it couldn't go on even if we weren't a group anymore we couldn't go on not speaking to each other all our lives after months of trying to figure out the best way to breach the gulf between them the brothers were finally ready to come together as the Bee Gees it was a little nervous working together again the first things we cut was uh How Can You Mend a Broken Heart which was written in the afternoon and lonely days that night and two number one records which we had no idea they would be [Music] lonely days was an instrumental I was playing the opening thing on the piano Barry and Robin came around and we started singing it and before we knew it the song was taking shape we were like new it was like fresh it was the energy that each one had on expressing what they'd learned by being a part it all came out in the in that week and uh it was brilliant it was a wonderful session together and brothers before and I think we came back together as three three guys where we respected each other's space and interests and opinions if anything that was the good thing that came out of it in writing about the problems they faced as brothers they had created a music that was deeply felt [Music] singing about separation and Reconciliation about love lost and found in essence telling their own story they reconnected with their audience [Music] Sun from Shining I don't think people expected them to come back either to reform or to come back with um music that was so confident [Music] the brothers Gibb had survived their breakup and made a triumphant return to the top of the charts there was every reason to expect that their second career would be even more successful than their first but the Bee Gees were in for a rude awakening [Music] 70s the Bee Gees enjoyed a short burst of success [Music] run to me was their fourth top 20 hit since they reunited down to me but by mid-1972 their comeback had stalled and record sales were slowing the beaches went through a hard stretch at a time when popular music was very transitional and people were looking for something new rather than the tried and true the Bee Gees were having a very difficult time trying to figure out where to take their uniqueness how to reinvent themselves you know and still stay distinctive during the early 70s the music world changed British pop had faded in favor of the Hard Rock of Led Zeppelin and The Who the Bee Gees popularity faded with it as children the brothers had seen their father's Fortune change when big bands went out of fashion now it was happening to them 1970-74 we couldn't we couldn't sell records to save our lives I guess what happens is at the end of every decade the whole business says well everyone from last decade stepped over to the left and everyone everyone that wants to be big in the new decade come on in so the business treated us like that the media in England sort of on the radio basically said well the Bee Gees are finished you know and like a lot of acts like us it was the end of our Pew in search of a more contemporary sound their manager Robert stigwood paired the Bee Gees with legendary r b producer Eric Martin [Music] released in 1974 the Mr Natural album did not crack the top 100. it was however an important transition as it reawakened their passion for soul music do I understand [Music] [Applause] in late 1974 the Bee Gees began performing on the British nightclub circuit the Gibb family fell the younger brother had the talents to make it big like the Bee Gees at age 15 with his family's blessing and he put everything on the line when he quit school to pursue a career in music he hoped to break into the business by joining his brother's group Barry took a special interest in Andy's group as an artist he and Andy shared a very unique and close bond to Me Andy was someone extremely close in February 1974 at age 16 Andy formed his own band called Melody Fair the name was taken from a BG song Melody pair quickly exhausted its opportunities on the Isle of Man in 1975 Barbara decided to take the band to Australia where the Bee Gees had enjoyed success in the 1960s while in Australia being the younger brother of the Bee Gees and he drew a lot of attention he was in constant demand for TV talk shows and other guest appearances despite being just 16 Andy understood early on some of the industry pitfalls and he imposed strict rules upon the band no drinking or drugs were tolerated before or after performances his career was being watched from afar by one of music's most successful Moguls Robert stigwood The Man Behind the success of the Bee Gees if anyone can do it if anyone can make Andy a star he'd drop us they would that's in fullness I suppose he was Sensational what did you learn from your brothers I don't know it's nothing you could actually say a pinpoint that I learned it's just a general experience of just handling everything just being around them you know I never really mixed with people my own age I was always around them and Television Studios you know and just concept into us so working this way and not just go on the coattails of his brothers which he didn't want either it's the best thing would be to form a band go out on the road and learn the hard way he formed a new band called zenta and signed with a record label ATA Andy wanted to prove that he was worthy of a contract with stigwood he displayed his talents by writing the song Words and Music which became a hit on the Australian charts [Music] as 1974 gave way to 1975 the Bee Gees were ready for a new beginning their old friend Eric clapped then on the verge of a comeback of his own suggested that the brothers try Miami's legendary criteria Studios with air of Martin again producing they started recording at criteria we were on our way back from the studio and every time you leave criteria there's a bridge and the bridge is rickety and it makes a noise when you go over it and every night I hear the same thing and I'd hear it every night and so one night we went over there and the car must have been traveling at a certain speed and the Rhythm felt really right and I just started singing along with it and it just became [Music] I don't know where the term talking came from I just sort of popped into my head as is what usually happens if I have an idea of a song it's not something I asked for it just comes and this was something and I thought wait I got to sing this tomorrow's not when I get home I sang the idea to them and we actually wrote the entire song that night [Music] foreign album main course was a radical departure for the Bee Gees most of the record was funky up-tempo Seoul resorting to an old trick stigwood sent the first single out to radio stations with a blank label not listing the group's Name Jive talking went to number one [Music] when I first heard Dave talking I had no idea it was a BG is everybody went who the BG's broken heart Bee Gees are you kidding and that changed our whole career with main course the bgs had scored their first number one record in four years Nights on Broadway the second hit single from the Main Course album introduced a key ingredient to the BG's new sound [Music] yes maybe just to most the vocal tracks and usually you know at the end you know you have some ad-libs or some kind of thing to take us away from the original Melody and have some fun you know so Barry said I love a go I went out there on my own and I experimented and and I started answering like blame it all you know claim it at all and yes fine this is just what we're looking for okay let's do more of that [Music] the Bee Gees hit the road with their exciting new music Mania was taking root in America no one could have predicted what would happen next [Music] [Applause] [Music] in 1975 the Bee Gees made a startling comeback with an album produced by Eric Martin but the brothers were distressed to learn that poor contractual reasons they would have to make the next album without him but Martin told the Gibbs not to worry they could do it on their own and he was right seemingly overnight the brother's songwriting had evolved from orchestral pop to a blend of white Soul r b and dance music children of the world was an enormous success and the single You Should Be Dancing rocketed to number one in the summer of 1976. [Music] [Applause] yeah I believe I owe it to my brothers who produce my records my brother Barry who helps me you know if I have trouble writing any song he'd always put me in the right direction and he's always steered my career Andy was someone I could always talk to who always talk to me and because both of us sort of had a sense of isolation in growing up so um we were extremely close and that's why we ended up making records together it just seemed like the natural way to go after grooming Andy as a performer in Australia stigwood thought it was time for him to record his first album Andy moved to Miami Florida to record the new album Barry produced Andy's recording session panning Andy's first two singles [Music] that was when it was that was when he was at his best that was when he was at his breath at that age wanting to be successful not having the success but having the hunger the music was all the music was everything the album flowing Rivers was released in 1977. [Music] in a Flash Andy achieved his dream of becoming a star flowing Rivers enjoyed great success the album's first two singles I just want to be your everything and love is thicker than water went to number one on the charts [Music] water you are but he had a Charisma on stage you know something shown out of Andy when you saw the video footage on the new TV shows um he had a stage of presence it was just a natural thing he had a charm no matter one-on-one or in front of 20 000 people at a venue when he performed he commanded that audience he had them in the palm of his hand you know oh [Music] with their younger brother's career successfully launched the Bee Gees went to work on their next album after a month of hard work the brother's creative flow was interrupted by a call from Robert stigwood he needed music for a little film he was producing but stigwood had bought the movie rights to a New York Magazine article tribal Rites of the new Saturday night Teen Idol John Travolta was cast as the lead we were getting song ready for our new studio album which would be the follow-up to Children of the world and it was imperative we got that right instead of just you know stopping now and doing a few songs for a movie unless of course we knew it was going to be a huge film which was not guarantee of course stigwood called the Gibb brothers in France and told them about the film [Music] you know he told us about this guy who works in a paint shop on the other side of the bridge in Brooklyn you know and he blows his wages every Saturday night the club and wins a dance competition I thought nice one Rob those songs are actually written before the film was even mentioned to us How Deep Is Your Love if I can't have you Night Fever Staying Alive More Than a Woman uh all written before we'd seen the film and they played me some of the songs that they've written and certainly not feeling and I couldn't believe that they'd done this I mean the stuff was so good fantastic I thought it was written by somebody else and I didn't tell him that [Music] is [Music] in December the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack How Deep Is Your Love went to number one [Music] Saturday Night Fever score was unique in taking the best of really funky black music and together with very tuneful white music and melding the two things together in a style that was irresistible when stigwood heard the Fiji song Night Fever he changed the name of the film from Saturday night to Saturday Night Fever now even old men like me would get on the floor and move because he just couldn't stop it Saturday Night Fever was released in December 1977 unexpectedly stigwood's little movie became a cultural phenomenon [Music] film grossed 350 million dollars at the box office and the fever double album sold over 30 million copies worldwide making it one of the best-selling soundtracks ever Staying Alive hit number one and remain there for the entire month of February only to be replaced by Andy Gibb's song Love is thicker than water which was then replaced by Night Fever if I can have you written by the Bee Gees and sung by Yvonne Elliman became the fourth number one of the soundtrack an unprecedented achievement at one point in 1978 five singles written by the Bee Gees were in the top ten simultaneously but with Saturday Night Fever they became one of the biggest groups on the planet but also uh people who really set a social agenda in terms of style making very Urban Music that had a broad Broad Social appeal to have that kind of sex which is very rare and uh again we knew it was something that uh probably only the Beatles had experienced [Music] we were just still Barry Morris and Robin wondering what the hell's going on Saturday Night Fever album remained at number one for 24 consecutive weeks it was the most successful soundtrack of all time [Music] the Bee Gees had become so dominant that in March of 1978 records written and produced by the brothers Gibb occupied five of the top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100. no other songwriters can make that claim in spite of the enormous success and impact of Saturday Night Fever the soundtrack did not receive an Oscar nomination this lack of acknowledgment by the film industry for their groundbreaking work was a disappointment Frankie Valli and Samantha Sang also had number one hits that year with songs written by the brothers Frankie Valli's Greece was the result of another soundtrack request from stigwood to Barry [Music] well how do you write a song called Greece you know and and he actually said well grease you know just do it you know so um he was very dominating the other day I think the worst mistake we ever made was probably Sergeant Pepper's Lonely High School band the first blow to the BG's image was when they starred with Peter Frampton and Robert stigwood's film Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for 11 years Robert stigwood's managerial advice had been nearly flawless so when he approached them with the idea of turning a classic Beatles album into a movie a movie in which they would star it was irresistible stigwood was determined to maintain the momentum of Saturday Night Fever in Greece with another pop film and double album but Sergeant Pepper's was a fiasco a critical and Commercial flop so big it threatened to wipe out the huge profits RSO had made on fever in Greece worst of all after so much success stuck the Bee Gees with a stigma they had shaken years before second-rate beetles [Music] and everything was so disjointed in the story we were we were we literally begged us at one point to to be let to be let go from the film because we just didn't feel that we had any relevance to the film whatsoever it was the worst it was the most of times we had the worst of films two weeks into the film I knew what it was Robin Morris and myself all went to Robert's house and said please take us out of this film please take us out of this film oh yes we pull it out we don't want it out of this film we said this is going to kill us there's no reason to make the movie there's no reason to involve the Bee Gees in it there's no reason for the Bee Gees to cover the Beatles music it seemed a project done for Hollywood rather than musical or artistic reasons in the wake of the sergeant pepper Fiasco the brothers had a falling out with stigwood they made an independent audit of RSO records and discovered that they were owed royalties they filed a very public 200 million dollar lawsuit against him claiming mismanagement and unfair enrichment well we've learned is that if you take issue and if you have genuine arguments with the people that represent you and the people that are responsible for getting your records to the public you're a really dangerous ground the lawsuit was later settled out of court with public apologies from both sides all the problems were settled but the momentum had been lost we'd lost our team once their work on Sergeant Pepper was completed the BG's returned to Miami to make their first album since Saturday Night Fever it's incredibly difficult to sustain success of that song because now certainly have you got one number one okay that's great everybody Lords you but the pressure to create another one is twice as hard and for them to achieve the run that they had is unique working again with producing Partners Carl Richardson and Alby gallutin and their longtime band Dennis Bryant blue Weaver and Alan Kendall the Bee Gees recorded Spirits having flown which became the most successful album of their career selling nearly 15 million copies Spirits having flown yielded another Trio of number one [Music] too much [Music] released in November of 1978 Too Much Heaven became their fourth straight number one single in an unprecedented Act of Charity the Bee Gees donated all royalties from the song to UNICEF and working with Robert stigwood encouraged other artists to do the same everything we always [Music] love it's such a beautiful baby to date the collective efforts of everyone involved have raised over 10 million dollars please welcome my younger brother [Applause] [Music] Andy's meteoric rise in popularity continued in 1978 he released shadow dancing and the album was an instant hit [Music] Andy's second album The Shadow Dancer contained the single of the same name which was his third consecutive U.S chart novel he was the first solo artist to have his first three singles good to number one in billboard I mean you can't ask a better than that Andy was just such a marketable commodity at that time he had his own fan club he had all sorts of merchandise produced I think because they can go and buy a naked bubble gum or something which had someone's left all that poster or collectors cards jigsaws he had plastic guitars he even had an Andy disco dancing doll in 1978 Andy Gibb was considered one of the hottest eligible heartthrobs in Hollywood he courted many of the most sought after celebrities of the day including Susan George and Marie Osmond [Music] [Music] after three years of hit making Andy Gibb fell victim to the same pressures and temptations of first Fame that had overwhelmed his brothers first Fame is um a very dangerous thing and you believe what you read about yourself you believe what people say about you you believe that you have something very special to say and that God's talking through you and the public need to know you know and um so this happens to you when you become famous for the first time especially at an international level so I think he was uh I think he was a little crazy for him you know for a while as quickly as he became an overnight sensation Andy's initial confidence evaporated he began to battle bouts of insecurity questioning the legitimacy of his Newfound success I think he must have had it in his mind what it was going to be like but I don't think he knew how to deal with it once it happened I think that Andy felt that he had something to prove to be a part of his family but to find your own individuality uh within it I think that was difficult for Andy I think he always wanted to be a part of them yet he didn't quite feel a part of him he wanted to be like us you wanted to perform you wanted to do all the things that we were doing and and somehow we never really became for by the time that we were having some success he was still a kid and it just seemed to go on that way I still think he thinks that he still had to prove himself to be as good as we were in many ways once again the same success you know I think they'll always be that kind of Brotherly sibling type of rivalry always wanted to prove things on his own he always wanted to prove himself without us you know helping him or him being part of DG so much of his success maybe had to do with Barry's help and his brother's help on some level internally he thought that maybe it wasn't as much about him as it was about the fact that his brothers had influenced his success while Andy was approaching Superstar status and selling millions of Records he did his best to hide his drug problems he could do anything anything at all that he could put his mind to the only thing he couldn't do was stop drinking or stop taking drugs I I talked to him outside on the balcony uh saying you know this is a really nice house Andy it's a nice car out there that Porsche really nice you're not going to keep all this you know I said what do you mean I said you do what you're doing the stuff will vanish all this stuff will go the creel go out the window everybody and he said I know I know I've got I know what I have to do what Andy couldn't be helped you know you help us you help us because that person really has to cure themselves it doesn't other people can't do it you know you have to decide that you have that you want to be clean you want to be straight it was a great artist out of control and his personality and his emotions just couldn't deal with what was going on around him and the success that he had when he was you know Under the Influence that wasn't him a child that was somebody else too cold I think the success worked against him having it so early foreign [Applause] [Music] tragedy you know right out of the shoot was just an absolute Mammoth hit around the planet and the record itself artistically it's a superb record and it's a spooky interesting record too [Music] [Laughter] [Music] tragedy went to number one as did the follow-up love you inside out [Music] top of the music business [Music] has fallen from favor they have regained their old success 10 times over [Music] the Bee Gees had now written and produced six straight number one records no other group has ever accomplished such a feat and once they've done that then I think even the dimmest rock critic realized that they actually had some ability and they were going to be around for a long time in June of 1979 the brothers embarked on their first concert tour since the outbreak of fever oh it's fantastic the whole experience of course I mean I I don't like things in a Mania stage I like consistent respectable success because it's more manageable but when things are when they get to a point like either it was kind of out of control of it so we got it got a message to you two three four to love somebody this is boring I mean it works in South Pacific oh he's back Knight Sombra boy no out come on how do you people get back here come on come on sorry I'm sorry but to go on stage and see the audience and because I love that's the only way you can say thank you really is by going on stage live the emotional highlight of the spirit's tour came when Brother Andy joined them on stage [Music] wonderful and he was he was at his height too he'd made it as well and so it was a wonderful feeling now those four brothers Andy Gibb had always wanted to be a BG but because he was so much younger than his brothers when he began his career in music it was as a solo artist and he was a chip off the old block it was a young BG and the first three songs that he he released went to number one in America which were extraordinary uh he idolized Barry particularly I was I would say that we were as much like twins as Maurice and Robin and we were very much alike we looked alive we had the same birthmarks the difference was is that I was taller than Andy but the way we felt the way we thought was almost identical in 1977 Barry had taken 19 year old Andy into the studio and produced a string of enormously popular singles be your everything [Music] Andy's success coupled with their own brought the brothers Gibb to new career Heights it was the best thing you cannot hold for to all the brothers you know enjoy themselves and being successful and working together [Applause] [Music] during the drum break he actually said to me can you believe this craziness can you believe it all and I thought no it's incredible isn't it and he said man I'll never forget this as 1979 came to a close the brothers give were ready to take a break during the next decade the Bee Gees would write some of their biggest hits ever as well as face some of their biggest individual challenges foreign by the summer of 1979 the fruits of their fever labors had brought the Bee Gees five Grammys the spirits having flown album and tour were racking up big numbers and their star was rising over Hollywood Boulevard but a resentment was simmering among Rock Fans toward the dance music that had dominated the airwaves and the culture on July 13 1979 between games of a baseball doubleheader at Comiskey Park in Chicago a local radio station staged a disco demolition promotion [Applause] that had to be a backlash and it wasn't just because it was a backlash towards us we happened to have just been the target oh there were blacklisted for American radio don't forget to tune in this weekend we're having a BG's free weekend you know now can you remember that ever being said by about any other artist no quite unique that's scary stuff where art meets Commerce sometimes Commerce doesn't know when to quit and exposure Beyond a certain point really isn't great it got to that point particularly domestically uh with the BG's because in the United States it's such a social laboratory and we will take on everything in other countries and other cultures people pick and choose we tend to sit there at the table like at the Viking wedding and stay there until everything's gone it didn't stop them from making both great records and in some cases absolutely incredible records but the United States bigger Market as it is as diverse a culture as it is it needed a restaurant veggies in 1979 Barry produced Andy's third album after Dark let's do it again you know let's go in the studio again during the recording of Andy's drug use began to catch up with him between the shadow dancing album in 78 and after dark in 1919 there seemed to be this this void which was 1979. there was obviously something going on there I think it was It was obviously some some abuse going on there he did his best to hide his drug problems he kept his habit a secret from his family and friends and he habitually missed recording sessions his voice was weakened as a result of cocaine abuse and this is where Andy's voice started to decline after during that period so consequently a lot of what you're hearing on the after dark album is Barry by now Robert stigwood realized Andy had a drug problem he desperately tried to help so you try to protect them you try to protect their finances so they can't have access to so much money they can just throw it away you're trying to help them you then become the enemy and you lose that sympathy that you shared just two years after they were the best-selling act in the world the Bee Gees decided they had to step out of the spotlight even though the musical landscape was changing the brothers Gibb refused to be silenced if radio wouldn't play their records then they would have to find a new voice the brothers Gibb wrote and produced entire albums for other artists including guilty for Barbra Streisand [Music] [Music] working with one of the greatest female vocalists of the 20th century Barry and his production team took songs written by the brothers and produced guilty which would become one of the most successful albums of Barbra Streisand's career [Music] following his grammy-winning association with Streisand Barry went on to produce a series of projects that would bring enormous success to other artists among them was Dion Warwick who had a top 10 hit with the brothers Heartbreaker [Music] [Music] in 1983 the Bee Gees wrote an r b song for Diana Ross but it was Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton who made it one of the biggest selling singles in the history of country music [Music] when Islands in the Stream hit number one it meant that along with the eight BG's chart Toppers made with his brothers Barry had now produced a total of 14 number one records more than any other British producer except for the Beatles Mentor Sir George Martin the distinctive sound of the Bee Gees obviously is the quality of their song um but also that I mean Barry's high voice has something to do with it too melding in with whatever singer he's working with Streisand or whoever it is um that gives a unique sound and uh there's no one else that does it simple as that it was a bizarre situation people didn't want to admit they liked the Bee Gees yet records written by the Bee Gees produced by the Bee Gees and sounding like the Bee Gees kept becoming best sellers living eyes [Music] the brothers were busily creating hits for other artists but their own recordings were not as successful in 1981 the Bee Gees put out their last album for RSL records living eyes an attempt to move away from their disco falsetto style in the midst of the backlash in lawsuits the album went unnoticed neither 1981's living eyes album nor Staying Alive the sequel to Saturday Night Fever produced a top 10 single and they were very turbulent times meanwhile younger brother Andy's career was in desperate times father don't throw it all away after his initial success in the late 70s Andy had developed a terrible drug problem sales for Andy's after dark didn't fare as well as the previous two with disco waning his record sales dropping and his brother's too busy producing other acts when and his recording career went into decline he was obviously looking for working in other in other areas and he started getting jobs on stage Andy focused on creating a television identity for himself he was hired to co-host the weekly TV series solid gold the show featured the top Billboard hits of the week and was an ideal vehicle for Andy's talents Mr Andy Gibb to you baby [Music] Andy Gibb was making appearance from the John Davidson show on 6th of January 1981 and there are searches on that show had come across an interview that we've done with the magazine in the past where Andy mentioned his two Dream Girls one of them was the Victoria Principal who was in the incredibly successful TV series Dallas at the time Victoria was booked into Studio opposite doing The Tonight Show so the topic of Andy's favorite ladies was brought up and Victoria sneaked into the studio to Andy's utter amazement and just watching the clip you can just see it I went through here just totally gobsmacked and it has pretty much love at first sight when did you first realize that this was the reason why you watched Dallas from the very beginning the first time you saw it from the very first time I saw it yes yeah thank you no I didn't understand yes I don't really care who shot they are okay I have said some very nice things about me and I have jotted off the note to him saying that I really appreciated the nice things he had said and in my usual fashion had not nailed it and it remained in my purse with a stamp on it so I thought I'd just bring it over because I had mailed it was going to sound rather dramatic but Andy was simply the nicest person I've ever known [Music] I think his uh his relationship with the Victoria principle was absolutely beautiful it was everything he dreamed of and that's the only important thing here it's not what I think or anybody else thinks and he thought the world of her Andy and Victoria quickly became the it couple of Hollywood and the relationship received a lot of publicity and he was not only starting a new romance but also a new career path outside the world of pop music my next guest is not only a beautiful and talented actress but she's a very special friend [Music] to do history to capitalize on their popularity they teamed up and released a single all I have to do in August of 1981. his third album was barely in the top 25 and only on the American cart for uh 15 weeks he was just such a good guess always on the face of it the Kid Next Door is it well it's a good looking guy he was the first solo artist to take his first three singles to the top of the American charts nobody else can say that Andy was the one who did that Andy's future and show business brightened further when he drew interest from theater producers mounting an LA production of the hit Broadway musical Pirates of Penzance co-starring Pam dauber and it was truly one of the sweetest souls he was so unassuming as Andy juggled the pressures of starring on stage being in a hit TV show and maintaining a high-profile romance he continued to abuse drugs he wanted to quit and he would say he would quit but he couldn't seem to quit he was in pain over his drug problem people are always patent you on the butt you know in those times you know handing you a joint putting a spoon under your nose hey I did coke with Andy Gibb you know what I mean there's always somebody that wants to be there just because you're famous not because you're you not because you earned it he had a a very weak um personality and say no to these things and didn't really say any harm you felt good doing it so he didn't think he was doing him any harm when he was you know Under the Influence that wasn't him at all that was somebody else took over but the next day he'd be back apologizing to everybody even though if you'd done what you would be sorry then you had done something wrong and he'd be sorry Andy faced personal issues as well Victoria Principal finally gave Andy an ultimatum I asked him either to choose me or to choose drugs and he may have wanted to be with Victoria but eventually the drugs won out and though I know with all his heart he wanted to choose me he chose drugs the couple broke up in March 1982. Living Without You living alone this empty house seems so cold and what hurt me was that she didn't seem to go to any pain at all and I felt a bit strange being the man feeling the pain and the weakness and it really was hell for me it really was I had a nervous breakdown it put me in an incredible position of a terrible dilemma because to speak out on my own behalf and to reveal the fact that the problem had been ongoing and that was the reason for the breakup would have been to add to the already tremendous burden that Andy was carrying and so I chose to remain silent the breakup of Andy and Victoria became fodder for the tabloids and talk shows that their relationship was so public and so scrutinized and so talked about and when they were dating it was fine but when the split happened it was really painful for him to have to go through that in the media Andy continued to diversify his career by making guest appearances on TV shows Andy went on The Tonight Show with Joan Rivers hoping to talk about his career but was forced to discuss Victoria instead how did you know when you were breaking up well we just started to argue an awful lot at the end I don't want to talk about all this come on but then you went to her and I don't discuss it anymore either I was pretty bad for quite a while I was very very depressed and I I missed her for quite a while of course yeah because you're in love that's right and uh obviously at the end it was Mutual things were spiraling downhill for Andy in March 1982 his contract with RSO was not renewed based on poor record sales I tried and tried and uh absolutely pregnant he was also let go from Pirates of Penzance and solid gold because of his recurring absences that's what he would threaten them he wasn't going to go on stage if they didn't getting someone across everybody running around flustered trying to find some I don't know where they got it from but somebody always managed to get it home Andy's career and personal life hit rock bottom and he spoke publicly about his setbacks with the hopes of Reviving his career and reputation I have been to Helen Back I suppose literally you you did in fact have a nervous breakdown is that correct I had a very very bad nervous breakdown actually I want to tell the story now I turned to drugs for a month I did quite an awful lot of cocaine which I no longer do I gave up everything I I started missing tapings of solid gold I would not sign up for tapings very bad boy I didn't care I didn't care about people I didn't care about life they thought so much of the girl and I still do it just I just fell apart totally off the drugs totally off drugs and I think it's very important for my fans who have been with me since I started in the business at 18 to know exactly what has happened to me to know that they can certainly should not do this to themselves I think it's very vital still Andy's solid gold appearances caught the eye of agent Jeff widges who felt Andy still had star appeal I got to know Andy very well he was very charismatic very talented Andy and his team wanted to utilize his singing talents and his ability to charm live audiences so what we did is we developed a solo act of his and had him tour Andy found new life performing on stage again this is a new audience for you a much older audience now how does that affect what you do out there on stage well unlike concerts you have to be a little bit more intimate audiences love Dandy but that didn't keep his insecurities at Bay so it's not true that there is still a drug problem and there is no drug problem today I only had one drug problem in my life and I'm never gonna go through that again in 1986 following a series of solo projects the brothers came to the realization that the industry was more interested in them as the Bee Gees than as individuals [Applause] after a five-year break they decided to come back together as a group [Music] you win again [Music] you win again [Music] the Bee Gees third career had begun you win again was an enormous International hit reaching number one in England yet neither the single nor the ESP album made the top 40 in the United States [Music] [Applause] this disappointment would soon be overshadowed by an unspeakable tragedy that would make chart positions meaningless in 1987 the Bee Gees were in the midst of their third major comeback you win again had gone to number one in England making them the first group ever to top the British charts in three straight decades but this achievement was not one they could cherish by April 1985 with his career opportunities dwindling and his finances taking a plunge Andy decided to get help by checking himself into the Betty Ford Center for treatment of his drug addiction I think I finally did have a conversation with his mom where she said that he was in the hospital and that he had made a decision that he was going to check himself into Betty Ford the doctor felt it was very important for him to be around people who he cared about and that he felt really safe with Andy's days at Betty Ford were promising to his family and friends he began playing his guitar again he was writing songs and he was hoping to recapture his recording career he said you know what Marie said um I I'm a member of AAA and I love it I know I'm an alcoholic and I and I know it's a problem and I know I can beat it he says I can do it because I'm off drugs I'm clean he says it feels so great I'm so happy you've had a long-standing battle with drugs you're doing okay now but tell us a little bit about that you know it was a few people in the business knew about it for quite a few years and I tried to keep it secret it was with cocaine and it got to the point where my family of course for many years have been very very concerned very concerned because it got to the point of danger Andy left Betty Ford intending to stay drug free his family and friends decided to give him space and time to adjust to a life without drugs his family even went so far as to move him from the old house that he was in into a new place so that he wouldn't walk back into an environment that had old memories unfortunately you know he got out and everybody was like let's give him a little time to get settled go to his meetings and within a couple of days he was already out again you know he lost his sobriety as Andy's life continued to spiral downward the Gibb family would again try to rescue their Wayward Son by the late 1980s Andy Gibbs world was in complete turmoil in 1985 he earned just over twenty four thousand dollars and in 1986 his income dropped all the way down to just under 8 000. I think that was a dashing blow to Andy I think it was a a crippling blow to him I I don't think he survived that I think he was there was a he was embarrassed by it in 1987 the Gibb family united to help Andy resuscitate his ailing career during this time he renewed his close relationship with his brother Barry playing tennis with him on a regular basis while the family was pleased to see Andy getting back on track Barry sensed that something was still amiss we will play tennis and we play five or six sets and he'd get very sort of flushed and red and I didn't know why you know and and what he wasn't telling me was that he really shouldn't be doing this Andy was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pains health issues aside Andy decided to give writing music another try he recorded four original songs with his brothers at their studios in Miami Florida the fact that we've done it together in the first place was um what brought him back is that you know let's do it again you know let's go in the studio again and this time you know I'll I'll you know I'll keep my grip and I'll be and I'll I'll hold on I won't slip again you know during those sessions Andy began to recapture the spark of his earlier hit albums it seemed that he was finally rounding back into form we used the BG Studio middle ear in Miami to record the demos for four songs [Music] bring me to my knees again I'm Too Young To Die I'm Too Young To Die on the strength of these Island Records signed him and he came over to Britain in January of 1988. he stayed in the little Chancery next to Robin's main residence in Oxfordshire Andy decided to give writing music another try something went wrong and he just suddenly became extremely reclusive um it couldn't write it got a block and he couldn't write and that upset him set him very very much I had to keep reassuring him that you know of his talent and you know and build up his confidence it actually affected his mind that he had to really start again I don't think he could feel like in what it started and he wouldn't come out of his college for days leave Miss appointments um but you've missed you wouldn't take phone calls there was something going on and I couldn't figure out what was going on today and I got on to Robin and Robin said don't come on your baby in him too much he's fine but I was on that plane the next day because I knew something was wrong okay walking in and out and saying I might as well be dead there's nothing going on this was because there's nobody there you see you didn't really need to be awake Miss family and we didn't really want him away from us and I think he went into a decline because of that he seemed to be drinking wanted from evidence that we've heard he was drinking again he was drinking definitely he was getting those little tiny bottles he was ringing the little liquor store in tame at two o'clock in the morning for a bottle of vodka these people lived dead and we thought this was caramel I called him up but Robin said he was drunk and I said I was sodium then and I put the phone there and I never spoke to him so I never forgave myself for that for a long time I thought I should have spoken to him you know the last thing that happened between me and Andy was an argument which is devastating for me because I had to live with that all my life and there was a phone call between him and me and I was sort of saying you know you've really got to get your act together and this is no good and instead of being a gentle about it I was angry and because someone had said to me at some point you know tough love is the answer you know so for me it wasn't you know because that was the last conversation we had so um so that that's my regret that's what I live with it was the point where he couldn't even stand up he couldn't be kept falling down and he was he smashed his face against the wall lost all his teeth oh it was just a mess I mean I could go on and on and my mother had to be there to say she was a nightmare for her he didn't even he wasn't even aware of his existence anymore Robin took care of him but um he was clean he hadn't been doing drugs for quite a while but unfortunately he hadn't been able to kick the booths and uh that had weakened his heart on March 7th just two days after his 30th birthday he checked into the John Radcliffe Hospital in England with brutal chest pains I said I'll stay with him you know I thought it was bringing the paper I'll stay here all night but she wouldn't let me she said well you know you better go because you'll sleep home right now we've given him not something to sleep and he was he was fast asleep so I had to go and I said I'll be back in the morning the next morning the doctor went in and said do you mind if we take some more blood MD and he said no another time the doctor turned around and went he gave one big sign it was gone singer Andy Gibb along with his three older brothers became a prominent part of the music world in the 1970s died today in a hospital in England on March 10 1988 only days after his 30th birthday Andy Gibb the BG's little brother died maybe I don't wanna know the reason why politely you don't talk to me and all and I can't see me in your eyes I had a dream once that he would die and it scared the hell out of me and I remember the morning when I got the news um that will always burn in my brain and in my heart he was a great kid I think it was hard on all of them and their wives they all took it very hard every one of us all of us we all took away her to me it was just shocking that a a guy so young had to leave so early yeah once you lose someone of your own blood I think it changes you radically I think I think the spiritual lesson and the Soul growth I think is the term whatever they say whatever whatever the term is I think I think you you grow deeply inside and you never really forget the loneliest feeling I felt was we were driving away and I looked at the wall and I just saw it there was no one else there just as coffee mine there against the wall and I felt like he'd been abandoned and we all wanted to go back and just stay with him well we should treasure everybody more it's um it's a kind of reminder of your mortality isn't it when he died it was something to do with drugs at all but the damage had been done through the drugs you say in the first place the media began to broadcast false reports that Andy had died from a drug overdose in fact he actually died from myocarditis an inflammation of the heart I think a lot of the family were angry that Andy's death was being betrayed as drug abuse and it wasn't Andy was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills California it was just all these people that just loved him so much I just remember like the look on Olivia Newton-John's face who just adored him it's just one of those moments where you think this isn't right this is not the way it's supposed to be because he had so much more Life to Live what must I think he was just something to let himself go on drugs uh so many artists have been through that drug scene and I know that so well it was his weak heart was the key that he couldn't afford the stress of the lifestyle that he'd adopted the sad thing is is that he died from a heart ailment because Andy really had the biggest heart even though it's been quite a while since Andy has passed away he's still in many many people's hearts as you can see if you do searches on the internet and things like that he touched so many people when he was here his sensitivity came across and his passion came across when he was performing and I think that's what was part of his trauma and part of his special talent that He had why did you have to leave so soon so if there's anything to be learned is that nothing lasts at all the week out we thought maybe if we go back to work [Music] and you know get re-centered or something and I had to play the strings and it was just very beautiful Byron Robert just started crying like just like crimes and about a month later we came back in and don't be dead I wish you were here Randy and that was difficult to think very difficult but we wanted to sing it we wanted to do it [Music] [Music] I don't think he liked the world that was going on out there so he kind of constructed his own which in the end when he did have to deal with the real world it was kind of hard for him I said it'll get easier but he does I regret that we didn't spend more time we were always too busy and of course you always have that after somebody's gone you always feel remorse because you could have given them more time and you could have there were things you could have said you didn't say vice versa well I hope people remember how he remember particularly his kindness because he helped a lot of people you just couldn't help himself I had to live for many years with the awareness it wasn't if Andy would die it would be when Andy would die I felt like he died from a broken heart which is so sad but I felt like he he just checked out he couldn't do it anymore Andy had everything he had Fame and popularity and the money and anything you could want but he was still empty the angry could have been a mega star you know I just it was just there it's just terribly hard to cope with he got to that because he was the current celebrity several years after Andy died I had a dream and in that dream Andy came to me knowing that I was haunted by this and we sat down and we had the talk that that I certainly wanted to have then that we probably needed to have and I thought it was so like Andy even after his death to find a way to bring these songs [Music] this was not an angry Troublesome person this was someone that was very well centered loved his family and I think it's that side that we don't remember of artists usually he was a very very beautiful person and I think that's what we should remember the brothers poured their broken hearts into a new album one the title song was a worldwide success [Music] the Bee Gees embarked on their first U.S tour in a decade followed by the album High civilization then a European tour what the public didn't know is that Barry The Rock Solid older brother was battling a serious back problem it was literally Agony during Europe and after that I couldn't I couldn't walk and when you sing falsetto it's a hell of a high range to go to you need your back and it's Agony when you do it because you oh you know you feel it before you've even taken half a breath so Barry was going through all that stuff I don't know how he did it but he didn't want to do a bad show if you reach the point where you ask for back surgery um you're in trouble and there was no recourse because you know I was basically a at that point if I didn't have back surgery are you ready you guys ready in the early 90s Barry wasn't the only brother living in constant pain Morris was dealing with his own addiction to alcohol it affected families mum dad everybody as Andy's did you know it was the same kind of thing but my drug of choice was alcohol and up to the age of 25 I was fine after 25 something happened I was getting sicker and sicker it really it really hit me in the 80s Randy's death hit me very hard um as all of us and I relapsed shortly after it but for a couple of days and then I got back in the program again Morris's social drinking had turned into full-blown alcoholism he was finding it more and more difficult to fulfill his responsibilities as a brother a father and husband for me it's it's an ongoing battle it's not you don't really win it's something if I'm an alcoholic I'm an alcoholic for the rest of my life since I've been in my recovery program it's changed my life my health my wife my kids my career [Music] [Applause] in 1993 the Bee Gees made their 20-second studio album size isn't everything even though they had racked up every imaginable sales and chart achievement and produced a remarkable body of work the respect of the music industry particularly in America had eluded them that was about to change [Music] in 1993 the Bee Gees released one of their strongest post fever albums size isn't everything featuring UK Top 40 Hits paying the price of love and the Epic ballot For Whom the Bell Tolls [Music] surprise [Music] in 1994 the Bee Gees were inducted into the songwriters Hall of Fame two years later as they prepared to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their first International hit the unexpected happened the music industry and the media began to reevaluate the BG's place in rock history it's a colossal honor for me to present this award to a group who've been going for 30 years to put that in perspective our newcomers here tonight we'll have to keep going to the year 2027 to equal the achievements of the brothers give foreign having the word British stamped on it is uh we always wanted to be recognized by our by the country we were born in and to have that it's wonderful the attention that the BG has got in the late 90s was a really really long overdue Robert stigwood as the greatest showman in the world if you don't accept this award alongside us tonight then we will not accept it either are so proud of my latch which I thought it was a overdue recognition for them they've come back so often they haven't been away but if if it could be said that they had a critical comeback it was that night I think that that kicked it into motion and the industry had finally realized that they were World beaters thought they were the best please stand and welcome Barry Robin Morris kid the Bee Gees [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] I don't think I've ever seen the Bee Gees as emotional or as proud as when they heard that they were being elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but not only getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but being inducted by Brian Wilson to me was a knockout that blew my night we'd be we should be speechless but we're not with all the Grammys and all the American Music Awards and all the Brit Awards the idea of being in a small group of great artists was overwhelming to them tonight I think we've come home and we thank you very much for this honor almost without their knowing these characters become Legends icons and this is absolutely fitting the Bee Gees are in that state now and if they're not careful they go on being even more famous than they are really the Bee Gees were grateful for the recognition but they weren't looking back the brothers were determined to create new music that would prove they were still a vital force the trees [Music] and I don't wanna be alone was a hit but Barry's physical problems made it impossible for the Bee Gees to mount a major tour so they invented a new way of bringing their music to millions of fans around the world the idea was to try to create a event that allowed the Bee Gees to perform in a way that everyone who wanted to see them could and we came up with a concept called one night only and for one night anyone in the country could come see the Bee Gees or see it on television [Music] about us [Music] right now we feel more comfortable doing just special event shows almost like The Three Tenors do you know but there's three of us anyway and we can sing pretty hard [Music] over the next two years the BG's took one night only around the world performing one concert on each continent to standing room only crowds [Music] talking [Music] my eyes it became a Pay-Per-View event a television special and a CD that sold over 5 million copies [Music] as the 20th century came to a close it seemed the Bee Gees had once again conquered the world but there was still one unique challenge ahead [Music] in the year 2000 the Bee Gees went to work on a new album determined to once again reinvent their sound they gave a contemporary twist to their musical Roots I've seen the story I read it otherwise [Music] this is where I came in is I guess it's it's our way of saying that things nothing ever really changes it's very honest and it reflects our feelings about everything that's happened to us in the past 30 years we wanted that life field particularly in the opening track and and we just wanted to rock a bit more but this is where I came in is the harmony thing we just wanted as the three of us around One mic thing in the Harmony on this song this is kind of a lot of elements what we're doing on the new album that we used to do a long time ago there's an old kind of ingredients to it that we used to do and it's kind of come full circle it's real instruments real voices real musicians and it's great lyrics and melodies that I think is going to catch people emotionally in a way that music used to [Music] but I'll go anywhere cause I'll go anywhere with you [Music] this is the [Music] success of the Bee Gees is unparalleled a five decade-long career will over 100 million records sold worldwide and with nearly 1 000 compositions to their credit the brothers give are one of the most successful songwriting teams ever hundreds of artists have recorded their songs and everybody has a favorite my all-time favorite BG songs oh my God I mean which do you pick out of all that luck you know absolutely impossible question [Music] and that the vgs will be looked back upon as being very important part of the 20th century [Applause] unique in respect of their musical contribution in writing performing and producing they were and still are an incredible group [Music] s are deserve to be out there as songwriters with Dylan Leonard McCartney Pete Townsend Ray Davies Sultan BG's as good as that lot [Applause] [Music] to me we're the still three kiss from Manchester wanted to be famous and just wanted to make music I think the secret of what we feel is that we've never lost the enthusiasm before we do when we were little kids it's still there it's a sense of wonder and sometimes you get a little bit phased and a little bit tired but then you know you wake up one morning and so let's go back in the studio we may never see a Bee Gees again we never see a band Prevail in every uh popular sense across five decades I hope and pray that the music lash you know because to me that's immortality that's immortality [Music] the Bee Gees truly are the first family of pop music

Channel: More Music Shows

Views: 1,484,020

Keywords: Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, The Brothers Gibb, Saturday Night Fever, The Bee Gees, Bee Gees Story, Bee Gees History, Any Gibb Story, Andy Gibb History, Bee Gees Behind the Music, Andy Gibb Behind The Music, Bee Gees Documentary, Andy Gibb Documentary, Bee Gees Biography, Andy Gibb Biogarphy, Brother Gibb Behind the Music, Brothers Gibb History

Id: MKtAsW0P0iY

Length: 109min 46sec (6586 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 28 2022