The Bee Gees
Australia's Jive Talkin' Brothers

Australia's Bee Gees arrived on the pop music scene in 1965 with their first record 'Wine and Women', which although just a minor hit gave them the chance to showcase their talent and won them appearances on radio and TV programmes.

Barry Gibb and his younger twin brothers Robin and Maurice were born in England but got their start in music in Australia.

They were very close as children and spent most of their time together having moved to Australia with their parents in 1958.

Legend has it that when they were just boys they had the chance to lip sync to a record at their local theatre but the record broke and the boys realised they had to save the day by singing live. They received such a positive response that they decided then and there to pursue a music career.

They gave themselves the name 'The Bee Gees', thought to have been made up from the initials of Barry Gibb, friend and TV presenter Bill Goode and Brisbane radio announcer Bill Gates.

Recognition was slow in coming though and after some minor successes on the Australian charts the Bee Gees decided to move to England to try their luck there.

Fellow Australian promoter Robert Stigwood became their manager and they had their first international hit in 1967 with 'New York Mining Disaster'.

They decided to take on two new band members in Colin Peterson (drums) and Vince Melouney (guitar), and shortly thereafter their first album 'Bee Gees 1st' became a huge success.

Within just over a year, they had clocked up 24 number 1 hits in 15 different countries and never really looked back.

Their fourth album 'Horizontal' was released in 1968 and also became a huge hit spawning the international hit singles 'Massachusetts' and 'World'. This was followed by 'Idea' later the same year, which included the single 'I've Gotta Get a Message to You'.

By 1969 though success began to take its toll and cracks were beginning to show as the group became racked with arguments and tension. Colin Peterson left the band and brought a lawsuit to prevent the name Bee Gees being used in his absence.

For a brief period the Gibb brothers split up and went their separate ways, but reunited in 1971 to record 'Two Years On'. Although the album was well received and got some airplay they had a series of flops between 1972 and 1975. However, they had decided to stay together as a band and did not split again.

By 1975 the Bee Gees had reached a low point in their history but with the help of producer Arif Mardin, they moved from a ballad band to an R&B influenced style group and released 'Main Course', which immediately re-launched them.

They then released 'Jive Talkin' and the rest (as they say) is history. The song immediately took off and became a great success and reached number one on the popular music charts.

Their album 'Children of the World' went platinum, with three hit singles and, when touring with this album the brothers decided to donate all proceeds to children's charities.

The Bee Gees' next project, recording the soundtrack to the John Travolta smash hit film 'Saturday Night Fever' in 1977 was another huge success and resulted in some of their best known songs, including 'Stayin' Alive', 'How Deep Is Your Love' and 'Night Fever'. The album was unsurprisingly No.1, but it set a record of being so for 24 consecutive weeks.

By the end of the decade, the Bee Gees had five albums which had all gone platinum in sales and they had achieved monumental success.

Then in 1988, tragedy struck the family as Andy Gibb, their youngest brother, who had performed as a solo artist died, closely followed by their father.

They continued to release well received singles and albums and, in 1997, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Music Awards, a Legend Award at the World Music Awards and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2003 tragedy struck again when Maurice Gibb died suddenly at the age of 53, following complications during an operation.

Initially, his surviving brothers announced that they intended to carry on the name "Bee Gees" in his memory. But as time passed they decided to retire the group name, leaving it to represent the three brothers together.

The same week Maurice died, Robin's solo album 'Magnet' was released.

Although there was talk of a memorial concert featuring both surviving brothers and invited guests, nothing ever materialised and the two remaining brothers continued to work independently. Both released recordings with other artists.

Then in November 2011, it was revealed that Robin Gibb had been battling liver and colon cancer for some months and had undergone surgery to combat the disease.

There was real hope that he would beat the deadly disease but in April 2012 he contracted pneumonia and fell into a coma. Robin woke up and appeared to be recovering but he passed away on 20th May 2012 leaving Barry as the last surviving Bee Gee.

Barry has announced plans for a solo memorial concert tour to Australia's eastern states in remembrance of his brothers and to thank Australia for launching the group.

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