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Tag: Bee Gees

  • Barry Gibb Remembers ‘Dear Friend’ and Manager Robert Stigwood

    Longtime Bee Gees manager and producer Robert Stigwood died on January 4th at the age of 81, and Bee Gees member Barry Gibb has paid tribute to his “dear friend”.

    “Robert Stigwood was an enigma. A victorian figure cast into the sixties to work with Brian Epstein and The Beatles. He hitch hiked from Adelaide to London with a powerful vision to rule the entertainment world. He was almost aristocratic in nature, the mixture of talent and insight from the moment you met him was omnipresent,” Gibb said in a statement.

    “He signed us as his group at a moment in time when groups were no longer being signed. The odds against us having success was very high but Robert took an act of faith and against the advice of others, became our manager. He also became a member of our family and all the success we had was because of Robert Stigwood. On behalf of Linda and our family we wish you god speed. Every time the first of May comes around I will think of you and I will miss your phone call. We shared so many wonderful moments. I will never forget you my dear friend.”

    Stigwood also produced the classic film Saturday Night Fever and served as a manager for many other legendary acts, including Eric Clapton and The Who.

    Robin Gibb’s son announced Stigwood’s death on Monday.

    “I would like to share the sad news with you all, that my godfather, and the longtime manager of my family, Robert Stigwood, has passed away. A creative genius with a very quick and dry wit, Robert was the driving force behind The Bee Gees career, as well as having discovered Cream, and subsequently managing Eric Clapton. He was also of course, the creator of the movies Saturday Night Fever and Grease, and many Broadway musicals with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. RSO Records pretty much defined the late 70’s. Of course, his biography is very extensive and can easily be found online…..I would like to thank Robert for his kindness to me over the years as well as his mentorship to my family. “Stiggy”, you will be missed,” Spencer Gibb wrote on his Facebook page.

    I would like to share the sad news with you all, that my godfather, and the longtime manager of my family, Robert…

    Posted by Spencer Gibb (Official Artist Page) on Monday, January 4, 2016

  • Bee Gees Manager Robert Stigwood, Who Produced ‘Grease’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ Dies at 81

    Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood has died at the age of 81. , who also produced the 1970s blockbusters Grease and “Saturday Night Fever,” has died. He was 81.

    Stigwood’s office said the producer of the 1970s Grease and Saturday Night Fever died Monday, as reported by the BBC. The cause of death was not disclosed.

    The Bee Gees manager was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1934, and moved to Britain in the 1950s, where he quickly became an important figure in the growing rock music industry.

    He managed Cream and its guitarist Eric Clapton in the 1960s before becoming the manager of brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb, collectively known as the Bee Gees.

    Later, Stigwood moved from music into theater and ultimately film. He is known for bringing the Broadway hit, Hair, to the London stage. He brought to film other classic theater productions including Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Jesus Christ Superstar and The Who’s rock opera Tommy.

    He went on to produce Saturday Night Fever. The soundtrack, which featured the Bee Gees, made superstars out of the brothers Gibb. That was followed by the 1979 release of Grease, released in 1978, which, combined with Saturday Night Fever, made John Travolta into one of the decade’s biggest stars.

    Stigwood also produced Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a 1978 Beatles-based movie musical which did not fare as well as his other musical endeavors.

    While sequels to Saturday Night Fever and Grease were flops, Stigwood’s movie musical Evita starring Madonna as Argentine first lady Eva Peron was a hit.

    Travolta paid tribute to Stigwood, saying he “changed the world and only for the better and he was certainly important to my career. His legacy lives on and he will forever be remembered.”

    Spencer Gibb, who is the son of the late Robin Gibb and Stigwood’s godson, described him as “a creative genius with a very quick and dry wit.”

    “I would like to thank Robert for his kindness to me over the years as well as his mentorship to my family,” Gibb wrote on Facebook. “‘Stiggy,’ you will be missed.”

    Lloyd Webber also remembered Stigwood on Twitter, calling him a “great showman who taught me so much.”

  • Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees Remembers His Late Brothers Ahead of Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

    Barry Gibb received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Saturday on behalf of the Bee Gees, which will air on the Grammy ceremony Sunday, but said it would be a bittersweet moment without his late brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb there to share in the award.

    “Of course there will [be a void],” Barry Gibb told Entertainment Tonight. “But I always believe they’re close.”

    Robin Gibb died in May 2012 after battling colon and liver cancer, and Robin’s twin Maurice died to complications following a twisted bowel in 2003. Another brother who had a successful singing career in his own right and was not part of the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, died of the heart condition myocarditis in 1988.

    When thinking about the disco era of the 1970s, the Bee Gees absolutely come to mind along with 1977’s Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta, who sent a special message for Barry prior to Sunday’s award ceremony.

    “Barry, you know I love you,” John Travolta said. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me and everything I’ve done for you.”

    The four brothers had a slew of number one hits in the 1970s and early 80s, but Barry Gibb told ET he prefers How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and Lonely Days over perhaps their most famous hit, Stayin’ Alive, because of the high notes in the disco anthem.

    Barry Gibb acknowledged the impact the movie and the soundtrack, which featured several Bee Gees tracks, had on the culture of the world in the disco era.

    “Saturday Night Fever is something now that everybody knows about all over the world,” Gibb said.

    Barry Gibb continues to record and perform and has plans for a new album and tour with his 37-year-old son Ashley.

  • Popular Songs The CIA Used To Torture Detainees

    One of the most potent ways of torture is without touch: first, confine the detainee in a windowless 6 x 9 ft. solitary cell, shackle them to the wall, leave a bucket for defecating and urination, and blast the Sesame Street theme song on repeat for a full 24 hours.

    The Senate Intelligence Committee’s CIA torture report  revealed the agencies’ assortment of “enhanced interrogation techniques” used in detention facilities on detainees after the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

    In 2008, Mother Jones reported a “torture playlist”, based on a leaked interrogation log, chosen by guards and interrogators at Guantanamo Bay.

    The songs include:

    • Christina Aguilera: “Dirrty”
    • Drowning Pool: “Bodies”
    • Janeane Garofalo/Ben Stiller: chapter from the Feel This Audiobook
    • Matchbox Twenty: “Cold”
    • Rage Against the Machine: unspecified songs

    According to the CIA torture report, song repetition was an effective touch-less torture technique used to disorient detainees, induce sleep deprivation, signal the start of interrogations, create a “sense of hopelessness”, and drown out screams. White noise was also administered to manifest sensory deprivation and hallucinations.

    Although the recent CIA torture report itself never mentions specific songs, Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files, details some of the most popular songs used against detainees. “Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears was one of them.

    “You lose the plot and it’s very scary to think that you might go crazy because of all the music, because of the loud noise, and because after a while you don’t hear the lyrics at all, all you hear is heavy banging,” Ruhal Ahmed, a released Guantanamo prisoner, explained to Worthington.

    Songs by Metallica, Eminem’s “Slim Shady” album, Nine Inch Nails, and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” were also mentioned in Worthington’s book.

    Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails wrote in a blog post condemning the use of his songs as a form of torture:

    “It’s difficult for me to imagine anything more profoundly insulting, demeaning and enraging than discovering music you’ve put your heart and soul into creating has been used for purposes of torture.”

    For more information on torture techniques, check out this ABC style comic featured on VICE, with text by Oscar Rickett, and illustrations by Krent Able.

  • Robin Gibb’s Final, Posthumous Album a Testament to Life With His Bee Gees Siblings

    Robin Gibb’s Final, Posthumous Album a Testament to Life With His Bee Gees Siblings

    Robin Gibb’s final, posthumous album, 50 St. Catherine’s Drive, is a testament to the love he shared with his brothers, Barry and Maurice, and the music the famous British trio made during a long, illustrious career as the Bee Gees.

    Robin’s 17-track album features songs he either wrote or co-wrote and is named after the Gibb family house in which the singer was born in 1949 on Isle of Man.

    The very personal and sentimental album was written between 2006 and 2008, and includes songs that were written following the death of Robin’s twin, Maurice, who died in 2003 from complications resulting from a twisted intestine. The material reflects the writer’s conviction that there is loyalty and love that can never diminish.

    The track Sydney is a nostalgic song about Gibb and his famous siblings that was the only song written outside the 2006-2008 timeframe and was written as he battled cancer. He had hoped to finish the song with his brother, Barry, but died nine months later from colorectal cancer before they were able to complete the song.

    With the loss of his brother and with his own death looming, Robin seems to have captured the sentiment that life here on earth is fleeting. On the song, Days of Wine & Roses, the bittersweet lyrics begin, “Time and tide will wait for no one. Now you’re gone.”

    In April 2013, almost a year following the death of Robin, the Isle of Man’s Douglas Council commemorated 50 Catherine Drive with a blue plaque on the door as the original home of the Gibb brothers.

  • Barry Gibb, Only Living Bee Gees Member, Embarks on Solo Tour

    Barry Gibb is the only remaining member of the Bee Gees and he is now embarking on his first ever solo tour. He kicked off his tour this week in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center to an impressive crowd. His second stop on the tour was Boston.

    The Bee Gees consisted of Barry Gibb along with brothers Maurice and Robin. Maurice died back in 2003 and Robin passed away in 2012. Younger brother, solo artist Andy Gibb, died in 1988 at age 30. Barry Gibb is no stranger to the music world, but in a career that spanned several decades he never did much on his own. He released only one solo album–Now Voyager–and he wrote two albums for Barbra Streisand–Guilty and Guilty Pleasures.

    “It was time,” Gibb said from his home in Miami about finally going out on a solo tour.

    When asked about his apparent avoidance of much solo work throughout his career, he gave a very simple answer.

    “My heart wasn’t in making solo records with all that,” he said. “We were brothers, but if you stepped too far out, somebody would pull you back in. You couldn’t go too far on your own. There was always that conflict.”

    “Why do you think I titled that Streisand album after something guilty? Having success on my own meant having to not really talk about it. It’s not as if my brothers ever mentioned me winning a Grammy for that record with Barbra, let alone congratulate me,” he added. “There it is.”

    Gibb’s reasons for not doing solo work are sadly gone.

    “I don’t have anyone to look out for except myself,” he acknowledged.

    He did, however, express his feelings about Justin Bieber and his recent issues that have prominently graced the media in recent months, as seen in the video clip above.

    Barry Gibb was close to his brothers, both personally and professionally. Whether he was writing Bee Gees hits alone or as a group, from 1967’s New York Mining Disaster 1941, 1977’s watershed Saturday Night Fever, or 1977’s I’ve Gotta Get A Message to You, they were, as he says, a band of brothers.

    “I know I make it sound as if I wanted to get away from them, but I didn’t,” he shared. “We inspired each other in many ways.”

    As the eldest he was always looking out for his younger brothers. Barry Gibb says he is a religious man, and he also believes his brothers will square their problems in heaven.

    “Too many coincidences to think otherwise,” he said.

    He even dreams about his brothers who have passed on before him.

    “In so many of my dreams now, I see my brothers. I see Robin a lot, presently. I see his expressions. Maurice and Andy, too, but less than Robin. He and I, we were as close as we could be within those circumstances. Maybe we were worried that we would become so close, it would have to come apart,” he said.

    Barry Gibb isn’t only a compassionate man when talking about his late brothers, but is compassionate in his writing and performing of music as well. One need only listen to an old Bee Gees song like How Can You Mend A Broken Heart that dates all the way back to 1971 to see and hear this quite clearly. His audiences will no doubt hear it, too, along with a taste of whatever else the iconic singer puts out there for them during his first ever solo tour.

    Image via Twitter

  • Barry Gibb Offers Advice to Troubled Justin Bieber

    Believe it or not, Barry Gibb and Justin Bieber have quite a lot in common.

    No, it’s not the cool hair or the high-pitched voice – although they do both share those features – but the whole stardom thing. And the former Bee Gees front man has a few words of wisdom for the young Bieber.

    As you may know, Mr. Bieber has had a few run-ins with the law recently, which include alleged vandalism, urinating in buckets, egging houses and participating in drag races while under the influence. Some concerned citizens have even launched campaigns to get the crooner deported.

    But on this morning’s Today show, a concerned Gibb talked about Bieber’s issues to anchorman Matt Lauer.

    “Things don’t really change much, do they?” he asked, referring to Bieber’s troubles. “If you’re a teenage idol and all the young girls love you, you can lose that pretty quick.”

    Hear about some of Bieber’s recent issues, here:

    Gibb has certainly has his fair share of followers, as he was once considered the cat’s meow back in the days of disco. He and his brothers, Maurice and Robin, had modest singing careers in the 1950s, but rose to the top once they recorded the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever in 1977. Once they were stars, they experienced some of the same issues that Bieber is now, which is why Gibb feels he can give the young star some advice.

    “You can lose perspective, but you can also lose them in the long run if you’re not a role model,” Gibb stated. “Hopefully what he does on stage and the way he dances and the way he sings, he will apply that to his real life. There’s a discipline in what he’s doing. Apply that discipline to how you want to behave.”

    Watch the interview:

    Image via YouTube

  • Robin Gibb Pulls Out Of Coma, Doctor Praises Him On Facebook

    Robin Gibb Pulls Out Of Coma, Doctor Praises Him On Facebook

    Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who has been in a coma in recent weeks after battling cancer and pneumonia, is now awake and able to speak.

    The 62-year old has been fighting advanced colorectal and liver cancer for the past several months and saw his health go into rapid decline after rounds of chemotherapy affected his immune system. The coma had doctors and family preparing for the worst, but despite being extremely weak and malnourished, Gibb is showing signs of improvement–something his doctors consider to be a wonder.

    Dr. Thillainayagam, who has been overseeing Gibb’s treatment and progress, released a statement regarding his almost miraculous recovery, saying:

    “Robin is fully conscious, lucid and able to speak to his loved ones. He is breathing on his own, with an oxygen mask. He is on intravenous feeding and antibiotics. He is of course, exhausted, extremely weak and malnourished. Our immediate goals are to ensure that Robin’s swallowing mechanism is safe enough to allow him to eat and drink, and that he recovers enough strength to breathe effectively, without needing high levels of oxygen by mask. When this happens, we will be able to begin the process of nutritional and physical rehabilitation and may be able to move him from the intensive care unit to the ward.
    The road ahead for Robin remains uncertain but it is a privilege to look after such an extraordinary human being”.

    While the trip back to strength will be a long and arduous one, the outlook for Gibb isn’t quite so bleak, and for that, his friends and family are thankful.

  • Robin Gibb Coma: Bee Gees Singer May Not Have Long To Live

    Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who has battled colon and liver cancer over the past several months, is now in a coma, and his serious condition has doctors preparing his friends and family for the worst.

    The 62-year old contracted pneumonia recently and is being cared for in a private hospital in Chelsea, where friends and family are at his side. The illness has generated a lung infection, which has those closest to him worried. His son, R.J. Gibb, issued a statement about his condition.

    “As a lot of people who’ve had family members or friends who have been through a cancer bout know, there are a lot of periphery problems afterwards that you have to deal with. He will have to keep scrutiny on this for his entire life and, God willing and we’re all praying for him, he comes through and makes a speedy recovery.”

    Gibb announced in February that his health was on the rise and was hopeful that the cancer had gone into remission; he’s been working with his son R.J. for months on a new symphonic piece for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster entitled The Titanic Requiem and had planned to see it’s premiere recently, but illness forced him to miss it.

    “The one place he really wanted to be in two and a half years he couldn’t be and it was heartbreaking,” R.J. said.

    Actor and friend Leslie Phillips said, “It saddens me deeply — poor Robin has taken a serious turn for the worse. I feel very sad if it is true that he has only days to live,”

    The Bee Gees were hugely popular in the ’70s with disco hits like “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive”. Those in the younger generation might know of Robin Gibb through Saturday Night Live, where former cast member Jimmy Fallon and guest Justin Timberlake did several sketches based on Gibb and his brother Barry called “The Barry Gibb Talk Show”. Barry reportedly loved the skits and has expressed a desire to be included in future episodes.

  • Robin Gibb Endures Another Surgery

    Robin Gibb Endures Another Surgery

    Bee Gees Singer, Robin Gibb, suffers from a congenital defect that causes his intestines to twist. This same condition killed his twin brother Maurice at the age of 53.

    Despite announcing that his health had improved since he got a mass surgically removed from his colon, his publicist has recently reported that he had to cancel a number of appearances after receiving another surgery on Sunday.

    His emergency procedure has been noted on Twitter:

    (image)@WSJY
    Lite 107.3 WSJY    Bee Gees star Robin Gibb had to have more surgery for what his reps called a “sustained illness”. Gibb is… http://t.co/20hXOmfs(image) 2 hours ago via Facebook ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@KarenOctober
    Karen     Robin Gibb undergoes surgery again just weeks after declaring he was in remission from cancer http://t.co/DhNsYT3D via @MailOnline(image) 16 minutes ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@MunirahLiyana
    Liyana Mazlan ?    One of the Bee Gees, a pop legend, @izzatiamer RT @NMEmagazine: The Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb undergoes surgery http://t.co/rfeWkSjN(image) 1 hour ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@OverdriveMG
    Overdrive MG    Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees hospitalized for intestinal surgery: Robin Gibb’s “spectacular” recovery has taken a turn… http://t.co/S4FkGTuc(image) 3 hours ago via dlvr.it ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@gear_4_music
    Gear4music.com    Bee Gee ‘deserves medal’ for Titanic task: Bee Gee Robin Gibb – who recently had cancer – “deserves a medal” aft… http://t.co/42OwflL6(image) 3 days ago via twitterfeed ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Gibb was not expecting another operation. Last month he told BBC Radio 2 that his health was the best it had been in over a decade:

    “The prognosis is that it’s almost gone and I feel fantastic and really from now on it’s just what they could describe as a ‘mopping-up’ operation.”

    The health stricken artist has been busy working on his new album titled “The Titanic Requiem.: Requiem is a symphonic concept-album and marks his first collaboration with his son Robin-John Gibb. On 19 March 2012 Rhino UK will release the first ever classical work by Robin Gibb.

    The Titanic Requiem is performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and features the RSVP Voices Choir, lead vocals from such opera notables as tenor Mario Frangoulis and British choirgirl, Isabel Suckling. Robin also provides lead vocals on the track ‘Don’t Cry Alone’.