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Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)
8 April, 2001
(Page 113)
Express/Feature
STAYIN' ALIVE AND ON TOP OF THE MUSIC BIZ
"The Bee Gees are still going strong, as Helen McCabe reports from London"
To some, the bee Gees were the original boy band, with their harmonies, long locks, chest hair and ballads such as How Deep Is Your Love.
But Robin Gibb is incensed at the idea.
"There is no truth in that," he snaps. "Boy bands have dancers and choreographers -- we can't be compared to them. We're closer to The Beatles. We are a real band who came together naturally, not
mechanically."
In an era when many bands are conceived by the record companies (the Spice Girls) or television producers (Bardot
and the hugely successful British Popstars, HearSay), music fans long for the talent and authenticity of groups like the Bee Gees.
That's Robin's grouch.
"I'm for music and songwriting. I can't really relate to it," he says of manufactured groups.
"These bands leave a nasty taste in my mouth. They are not real, they are manufactured, and I don't think they quiet understand what music is about."
Robin, 51, and his brother Bee Gees are about to launch another CD -- This Is Where I Came In -- and the music world is already clamouring for it. This is not surprising, given the group's impressive track record.
The Gibb Brothers were the genius behind the inspired '70s soundtrack to the movie Saturday Night Fever.
It was Barry Gibb's falsetto which created the magic behind the scene featuring John Travolta in a black shirt and white
waste coat with one finger pointed towards a mirror ball.
"Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a women's man, no time to talk."
That was the Bee Gees at their coolest.
Apart from The Beatles, no other group has come close to producing the same consistent
quality of music.
The Bee Gees are the only artists to have written number one hits in four decades
and are the only group to have five hits in the US charts at the same time.
Among the artists who have used their songs are Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Boyzone,
Take That and Nina Simone.
The Bee Gees have sold an astonishing 110 million albums worldwide.
Robin, who is Maurice's twin and is considered to be intense and sensitive, acknowledges
it's been a pretty great life.
Today, he divides his time between his United States home in Miami and a 12th Century mansion at Oxfordshire, an hour north of London, which he shares with his second wife, Dwina Murphy.
They caused a scandal some years ago when Robin revealed artist Dwina also had a female lover who shared their lives.
The Bee Gees' new single is the title track of the CD This Is Where I Came In and is their first all-new recording
since the release of their platinum Still Waters album in May 1997.
Robin explains that the stylish green and black CD cover pays homage to their past while looking to the future.
"It incorporates a picture of us when we were younger, meaning that it's a kinda throwback to where we began.
"It's more real -- there is less production, particularly on the title track. I actually
love it because there is a more human feel to it."
A black and white picture on the cover of the CD shows the three boys in front of a van that they had in the '60s. The van also appears in their new video clip, which was shot on Miami Beach last December.
"You go inside the van and it's like a living room," Robin says.
"It's kind of surreal but everything is taking place inside the van and you're looking through the window."
The clip achieves their goal of not taking themselves to seriously and not ignoring
their past.
The boys were raised on the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea by a musical family -- their father, Hugh, was a band leader, and their mother Barbara, a singer.
In Manchester, the youngsters made their professional debut by miming to songs at Saturday morning shows in the local cinemas.
Their world was turned upside down in 1967when the family migrated to Jackson Estate in Brisbane's Cribb Island.
In Australia, they were billed as The Rattlesnakes and performed at racetrack gigs in Brisbane.
Their first number one hit was Spicks & Specks in 1966, and it was after this
success that the trio now known as the Bee Gees decided it was time to leave.
"Australians were very down on their own talent at the time," Robin explains.
"They had a complex in that they saw themselves as second class citizens of the world. It's not so much the case now.
"But we had to leave to be seen as equal in the eyes of our own... and I think we just wanted to be where it was happening."
In '67, the only music manager that mattered was Brian Epstein of The Beatles, and it was only a matter of weeks before his partner, Robert Stigwood, had signed the Bee Gees.
They took England and the '60s by storm with classics such as 1941 New York Mining Disaster,
Massachusetts, Holiday and Words.
Jive Talkin' was a taste of what was to come. Saturday Night Fever was the most popular album of the decade and went on to sell 40 million copies.
In 1978, the youngest Gibb brother burst onto the scene -- 19-year-old Andy, who triumphed with three number one singles, I Just Want o Be Your Everything, (Love Is) Thicker Than Water and Shadow Dancing.
But behind the scenes, the boys were experiencing a world of sex and drugs that destroyed their marriages and set them on a path of self-destruction that would destroy Andy.
After a number of stints in rehabilitation clinics to overcome his cocaine addiction, Andy collapsed and died in 1988 at the age of 30.
The brothers were all experiencing personal problems, coupled with the fact that the band had become
unfashionable.
They took a break and went their separate ways.
Barry, the band leader, cemented his reputation as a great songwriter through his work with Streisand and others.
These days, Robin spends his spare tie listening to classical music or to Destiny's Child, who are releasing a cover of Emotion in August, and 'N Sync.
On This Is Where I Came In, he wrote and produced Deja Vu and Embrace. But it is the title track that the record company believes
will be huge.
This Is Where I Came In will be released in stores this week.
Photo Caption 1: "THE BEE'S KNEES: The brothers Gibb during a performance in
Germany last month"
Photo Caption 2: "FRESH-FACED LADS: Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in the '50's"
CD REVIEW
(Page 123)
This Is Where I Came In, Bee Gees (Polydor)
More guitar rock than disco, the Gibb Brothers step right into the heartland with their new single. Stripped back to showcase their distinctive voices, this Beatle-esque pop ballad could just score that new generation of fans they need to remain relevant
* 3 stars *
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