Bee Gees

See also Hee Bee Gee Bees, a parody act played by Peel

The Bee Gees were a pop music group formed in 1958. Their lineup consisted of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists.

Born on the Isle of Man to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England, until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe, in Queensland, Australia, and then to Cribb Island. After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with "Spicks and Specks" (their 12th single), they returned to the UK in January 1967, when producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to a worldwide audience.

The Bee Gees have sold more than 220 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; the presenter of the award to "Britain's first family of harmony" was Brian Wilson, historical leader of The Beach Boys, another "family act" featuring three harmonising brothers. The Bee Gees' Hall of Fame citation says, "Only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees."

Following Maurice's death in January 2003, at the age of 53, Barry and Robin retired the group's name after 45 years of activity. In 2009, Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed the Bee Gees would re-form and perform again. Robin died in May 2012, aged 62, after a prolonged struggle with cancer and other health problems, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group's final line-up.... (Read more)

Links to Peel
The band were never Peel favourites, although he played tracks from their first LP on the Perfumed Garden, and in a 1968 Melody Maker it was reported that the band 'dug' him. The brothers' two Peel sessions at first glance seem an anomaly to the canon, yet at the time many acts featured on Top Gear were chart regulars keen to promote their material. The first session contains both their big early hit New York Mining Disaster 1941 and To Love Somebody, later covered by Lulu in her only session. (Her connection with the band did not end there: she later married and divorced Maurice.)

In the late 70s, while Peel was playing punk and reggae, disco experienced a surge in popularity, aided by the film Saturday Night Fever which featured the Bee Gees' material heavily (including Jive Talkin, which had been around for two years before that). Since John virtually ignored the genre, their songs did not feature (aside from one brief, jokey outing), but he found time to play a record by Fut, which was a 1970 parody of John Lennon and featured Maurice's talents.

On 16 July 1979, he played a snatch of a Bee Gees song in response to a request (presumably made tongue-in-cheek) from pupils at Oundle School in Northamptonshire.

In later years, Peel retained a wry attitude toward the Bee Gees' work, viz. his comment on 13 July 1989: "At 9 o'clock, the Bee Gees at the Wembley Arena. Another one not to miss, I think." Nevertheless, he revealed on 01 January 1994 that he and Andy Kershaw receive six wine goblets from the band every year.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * NoneBee Gees - To Love Somebody (1967) HD 0815007

Sessions

 * Two sessions. No known official releases.

1. Recorded: 1967-10-09. First broadcast: 15 October 1967. Repeated: 12 November 1967. 2. Recorded: 1968-02-13. First broadcast: 18 February 1968. Repeated: 17 March 1968
 * In My Own Time / I Close My Eyes / New York Mining Disaster 1941 / Massachusetts / Mrs. Gillespie's Refrigerator / To Love Somebody / Cucumber Castle (& World, TX 12 November 1967).
 * Birdie Told Me / With The Sun In My Eyes / The Earnest Of Being George / And The Sun Will Shine

Other Shows Played

 * 17 July 1967: 'To Love Somebody (7")' (Polydor)
 * 01 October 1967: 'Massachusetts (7")' (Polydor)
 * 21 January 1968: 'Words (7")' (Polydor)
 * 04 February 1968: 'Birdie Told Me (LP-Horizontal)' (Polydor)
 * 16 July 1979: 'Stayin' Alive' (2x Soundtrack LP-Saturday Night Fever)' (RSO) (abruptly cuts off after 35 seconds. JP: "Well, you asked for it...")
 * 05 May 1983 (TOTP): 'Massachusetts' (clip from 26 December 1967)

Fut
 * 27 March 1979: 'Have You Heard The Word (7")' (Beacon)