The Ultimate Biography of The Bee Gees

by Hector Cook

  When asked in 1997 if any of the Gibb children showed any signs of following their famous fathers into the pop business, he replied, “They’re all musical. But it took more than being musical for us — you had to be passionate and hungry. To be honest, I don’t see that in any of our kids yet. We started this because we had to, we knew nothing else. They’ve got other choices. I just hope we’re around to stop them making the same mistakes we made.”

  As the eldest of the Gibb offspring, it naturally follows that Robin’s son Spencer (born 1972) was the first to get involved with music, as a guitarist and songwriter, when he was growing up in Surrey. “I’ve been a musician since I was about 15,” he explained. “I played in a bunch of different bands when I lived in England and was a solo artist for a long time.”

  He got his first real taste of the music business when Robin took him along for The Bee Gees’ 1989 One For All tour.

  Although it may seem strange to some, Spencer claims that it was his mother, Molly, who most influenced his musical tendencies by playing her favourite music around the house. “That’s what rubs off, totally,” he said. “My mum, even more than my dad, was such a music fan, and I was turned on to so much music that hardly anyone in my generation has heard. She is just heavily into all kinds of stuff, especially a lot of Stax and Motown stuff. There was some Beatles and some other English music, but really mostly Stax and Motown. I grew up listening to Otis Redding and all that stuff … A lot of people our age aren’t that familiar with it. I think that’s sad.”

  By 1994, Spencer had relocated to Miami where he formed a band called Spencer, which played around local clubs. That year he registered a US copyright on a tape of 10 songs, possibly a demo for an album which was never released. ‘Days Like These’, ‘Amber’, ‘Competition’, ‘Falling’, ‘Crazy Old World’, ‘Talk To My Angel’, ‘What Have You Done?’, ‘Sad And Blue’, ‘Miami Blues’ and ‘Water Into Wine’ were all written by Spencer Gibb. The following year, he would add ‘Seeing Blue’, ‘Hoping It Won’t Be Long’ and ‘Let Me Down Easy’ to the list.

  Disillusioned after a few years of the Florida club scene, he decided it was time for another move, this time to Austin, Texas. “It sounds really cheesy … but I moved to Austin because I had a dream that I moved here,” Spencer revealed. Shortly after he arrived, he met up with J.J. Johnson, one of the city’s most respected drummers, whose work as a session musician features on a host of recordings.

  “J.J. and I played together for awhile [as Jez Spencer] and decided starting a band was the only way to go,” said Spencer. After auditioning a number of musicians, the pair decided that they really wanted band members who could contribute as equals rather than backing players. Keyboard wizard Stewart Cochran was next on board, and Glenn McGregor on bass followed shortly after. Like Johnson, Cochran and McGregor were veterans of the Austin music scene. All four members write the band’s music, although Cochran added, “Spencer handles most of the lyrics ’cause he’s the only one who can spell.”

  All they needed was a name, and that came courtesy of a remark made by the band’s first manager. “He thought the hooks came too late in our songs,” Spencer explained. “ ‘In the perfect pop song, the chorus comes in at 54 seconds,’ he told us. We didn’t agree, but after we fired him, we had ourselves a name.” 54 Seconds it was.

  In 1997, 54 Seconds made their début at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference in Austin. The band became favourites of the local club scene, attracting the interest of several record labels, although at the time of writing, they remained unsigned. “I don’t want to appear bitter or cynical, but I’m definitely a realist,” Spencer declared. “It’s like, these days, you’re at someone else’s mercy. It wasn’t engineered to be that way. It wasn’t always that way.”

  In the meantime, they have independently recorded a nine-song CD entitled ep, produced by the band with Dave McNair, and a live album is in the works. The group play a weekly Monday night gig at Austin’s Speakeasy, in which Stewart Cochran jokes that clubbers can expect, “Spencer will say ‘How’re y’all doing?’ but his ‘y’all’ never sounds authentic!”

  Bee Gees’ fans expecting a carbon copy of Robin Gibb may be surprised. Despite Spencer’s strong physical resemblance to his father and the vibrato in his vocals, his style is very much his own. 54 Seconds’ music has been described as “psychedelic yet melancholic, ambient, enigmatic, lyrical, moody ethereal, pneumatic pop with elements of trance, funk and world music”.

  Spencer tries to downplay the importance of having such a celebrated father. “If my father were a famous welder, nobody would care,” he said.

  Robin’s daughter, Melissa (born 1974), has remained in England, and perhaps because they don’t see each other on a daily basis, Robin said, “We’ve had friendship rather than father/child conflict … We have little rows, not huge arguments. It’s usually about what Melissa’s going to do with her life.”

  Robin admitted that when she was a teenager, he worried because she wanted “to leave home without a proper job” or that she might become involved with drugs. “I do have rules,” he said. “I don’t allow Melissa to drink or smoke in my presence. I say that if I don’t need to, she doesn’t.”

  Melissa is quick to allay her father’s fears. “I don’t smoke or take drugs,” she said. “I like to be healthy and clean, the way I was brought up. I respect both my parents very much. I think there is a mutual trust.”

  She admitted that she went through a rebellious stage in her early teens, when she hated the girls’ public school she attended. She left that school and began college at 16.

  Although Melissa has shown no interest in a musical career,* she is creative in other ways, concentrating on her artwork and writing. She enjoys foreign travel, as well as languages — she speaks Arabic, French and Italian. She has also helped her stepmother, Dwina, with research for one of her books.

  Until recently, Robin and Dwina’s son, Robin John (born 1983), seemed to be more interested in sport than music, even though he began violin, trumpet and piano lessons at a very early age, winning an award from the National Guild of Piano Playing. As goalie for his ice hockey team, he played at the President’s Day Hockey Tournament at a junior rematch of the Stanley Cup Playoff. Lately, he has hung up his ice skates — at least part time — to consider a career as a rapper with the group Hi Rollaz. RJ writes the group’s songs, which they have been recording at Middle Ear, and one of his rap lyrics, ‘Golden Age’, shows remarkable promise.

  * * *

  In 1997, Maurice commented, “My daughter loves singing, she loves writing. She’s phenomenal. And my son, he’s got the same interests, he just wants to play. She’s got a great voice, they both write well together, and I am doing some demos with them right now actually. So they’re coming along real good.”

  Samantha (born 1980) had begun to show an interest in music early on, as a talented pianist and singer. In June, 1994, she and her actress friend Majandra Delfino began performing as The China Dolls. On January 20, 1995, the duo performed at the Love & Hope Ball benefit for the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami.

  The following December, Maurice and John Merchant produced demos for the two girls at Middle Ear Studio. Samantha and Majandra recorded a Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb composition, ‘Angel Of Mercy’, and the Lennon and McCartney classic, ‘Here, There And Everywhere’. Samantha also sang lead on ‘Without You’, a song written and recorded by her brother Adam (born 1976) and his college friend Fred. Majandra has since gone on to earn a starring role in the hit US TV show Roswell.

  Adam studied the business side of the music industry at the University of Miami, but in early 1998, he opted for the performing side.

  “My son loves publishing,” Maurice explained, “and he loves the management, the industry side … and yet he can programme, he can work board and produce and stufflike that if he wants to. If he puts his mind to it, he probably could, ’cause he’s got a great ear. But whatever he wan
ts to do, I’ll help him … I’m not going to push him into something he doesn’t want to do, or my daughter, because [I want them to] have a happy and healthy life doing what they love to do.

  Adam and Samantha, along with her boyfriend Lazaro Rodriguez, formed Luna Park. The trio composed ‘Until You’ and ‘How Was I To Know’, and Adam and Samantha also wrote ‘Hummingbird Love’ with Sarah Henderson. With Samantha on lead vocals, Adam handling keyboards and backing vocals, and Laz on guitar, Luna Park recorded a demo album produced by Maurice and John Merchant, and are looking for a record label as of writing.*

  * * *

  Barry’s eldest son, Stephen (born 1973), also turned to music at around age 15. His first instrument had been piano, but he changed when he decided that playing guitar “looked cooler”. In 1989, Stephen and some school friends formed a band which they called NNY — for No Name Yet — and in February, they appeared at Woody’s, a Miami club owned by Rolling Stone Ron Wood. The band would later change their name to ZEX. Later that year, Stephen picked up extra pocket money when he worked as a guitar technician on The Bee Gees’ One For All tour.

  By 1991, he was a student at a Miami music school, where he studied for about a year. He had also begun writing. ‘Whiskey Jam’ was the name of his first solo effort, and he soon added ‘Shadows Of Your Dreams’ with Emerson Forth and Deniz Kose, and ‘Hole In My Soul’, written with Deniz, to his list. The following year, he collaborated with Middle Ear engineer Scott Glasel and Scott’s girlfriend Amanda Green on ‘Ren And Stevie’, a title that refers to the Gibb family’s dog, Ren, and to the Ren & Stimpy cartoon series.

  In 1992, a long-haired and heavily tattooed Stephen Gibb had joined a heavy metal band called Skillet Head, which performed on the Miami club circuit. He continued to play gigs in the Miami area and made occasional appearances as a guitarist backing The Bee Gees.

  In February, 1997, he joined The Underbellys, a five man hard rock band based in Miami, and recorded demos with them for Columbia Records. After his appearance with The Bee Gees at their One Night Only concert in Las Vegas, he reportedly toured with The Smithereens in early 1998, before drug problems intervened.

  Stephen had originally been scheduled to tour with Stevie Nicks, but the proposed tour was cancelled. Instead, towards the end of 1999, he joined Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx’s side project 58, along with David Darling of Boxing Ghandis and drummer Bucket Baker, who previously toured with Boz Scaggs and Kenny Loggins. Sixx teamed up with Beyond Music CEO Allen Kovac to create what he described as a “pro-artist” label, Americoma Records. 58’s début album, Diet For A New America, has been described as “rock oriented, but with a twist … a sort of cross between David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs era and a little bit of Nine Inch Nails vibe.”

  At the time of writing, Stephen was set to tour Japan with Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne’s former guitarist. Wylde’s band (including Stephen) were also the scheduled support for Motley Crüe’s American tour on their return.

  Barry’s second son, Ashley (born 1977), proposed to his girlfriend, Therese, just before midnight at The Bee Gees’ Millennium New Year’s Eve concert, and the couple plan to be married in England on July 21, 2001.

  Ashley showed great promise as a tennis player and considered making it his career, when a problem with his ankle convinced him to give it up, although he still does the odd bit of coaching. After a brief stint in California with hopes of going into acting, Ashley returned to Miami and entered the family business behind the scenes, as an intern engineer at Middle Ear Studios. One of his first projects was as assistant engineer for Ronan Keating’s 1999 collaboration with The Bee Gees’, ‘Lovers And Friends’.

  Although he seems to be blossoming a little later than other Gibb offspring in music, Ashley recently had a taste of the spotlight when he went on stage in Miami to sing with the resident band, performing ‘How Deep Is Your Love’. Those who heard him were favourably impressed by the effort.

  Barry’s third son, Travis (born 1981) is an avid reader and sports enthusiast who graduated from high school in June, 1999. He plays keyboards, but at the moment, music is more a pastime than a career choice. A student at the Johnson and Wales University in Miami, Travis is studying catering and hotel management.

  Michael (born 1984) is also keen on sports and, along with Ashley, attended the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida, the tennis camp run by famed tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, who counts Andre Aggassi among his successful students. Michael attends high school in Miami.

  The baby of the family, little Alexandra (born 1991), has already appeared in several school plays. She seems to have inherited the musical genes as well. Ali plays piano and loves to sing, and her doting family say she has a very good voice, so she may also be destined for the family business.

  Although many of The Bee Gees’ offspring are now involved in the music business, the brothers reiterate that none of them need to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. “They all have great ambitions,” Maurice concluded proudly, “and if we can be there to support them, and always be there for them if anything happens, that’s all that we can give them. I know that whatever they do, they’ll be good at it.”

  *In March, 2001, Robin told deejay Johnnie Walker that Melissa was now involved in musical production in London.

  *In December, 2000, Adam decided to concentrate on writing and producing for the group, which was re-christened Skylla. Left Bank Management, who also manage The Bee Gees, have shown interest in the group, which now features Samantha on vocals, Laz Rodriguez on guitar, Nick Sallons on bass and Chris Marro on drums.

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  TURN OF THE CENTURY

  AT THE DAWN OF the new Millennium, The Bee Gees endured. “I think the most amazing thing, what still overwhelms us,” Barry marvelled, “is that our music still gets played today. I mean, when you go back that far, and you realise that these songs are still being played, that’s a stunning factor to us, you know.”

  The long process leading up to their first studio album since 1997’s Still Waters had begun early in 1998. Although the brothers wrote and recorded some song demos during the next few months, the only recording from that period to be released was the new version of ‘Ellan Vannin’. Bette Midler (‘The End Of Time’), Deana Carter (‘Love Is Blind’), Lara Fabian (‘Born Again’) and The Backstreet Boys (‘Sacred Trust’) did not use the songs written for them, and only The Bee Gees’ own version of the latter has been released to date. In April, Barry was quoted as saying that the next Bee Gees album would have more of Robin’s lead vocals and that they had already finished one “Robin song”.

  The latter half of 1998 was taken up largely with the series of One Night Only shows, so work on the album did not resume until March, 1999, by which time new digital recording equipment had been installed at Middle Ear. Maurice explained, “We decided we should go in and start writing, because we already had ideas on the road…We would just come in and have writing days. The three of us would sit down just with John [Merchant], our engineer, and close the doors and write. It’s like becoming one person and that always sticks with us when we write. The songs just kept coming.”

  By June they revealed they had virtually completed 18 songs they liked, along with plans to name the album after one of them, ‘Technicolor Dreams’; plans later dismissed due to copyright complications regarding Technicolor’s registered trademark status. At this promising point in the proceedings, recording wise at any rate, they then took a break from each other and went off to work on songs separately. It was a productive exercise: the album ended up with three songs from Barry and two each from Robin and Maurice. No comment was made about their separation at the time, but in 2001 they joked that it was so each could have his own way for a while. In a more serious explanation, Barry told Billboard editor Timothy White, “We just thought, ‘How many different kinds of songs can we do?’ And then we gave each other the space to go away individually and come up with things ourselves — which we used to do with
out any feelings of malice. So we did four songs together and three or four each, and chose from them. It’s our definitive album of our collaborations and their diversity.”

  The three regrouped in the latter half of 1999 and wrote and recorded the rest of the album together, ending in May 2000. The album went off to be mastered at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine during July, and things seemed to be on track for an October release. After it was rescheduled to the first quarter of 2001, the three actually tinkered with it some more, and a new master was made around November.

  Recording apart, there were other activities to keep the brothers busy. The American A&E network commissioned David Leaf, their 1978 biographer, together with his associate John Scheinfield to produce a Bee Gees documentary for its Biography series, for which the Gibb family provided interviews, private film footage and music. After much anticipation, the programme eventually premiered in the US on December 10.

  In September, Barbra Streisand performed retirement concerts in Los Angeles and New York and, like the two Australian shows in March of that year, these featured video duets with Barry, in recognition of her most successful album.

  The following month, BMI honoured The Bee Gees for 4,000,000 airplays of their timeless classic, ‘To Love Somebody’. Robin represented the group at the annual awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

  While many songwriters — most notably Lennon and McCartney — have seen their publishing rights sold to the highest bidder, The Bee Gees are fortunately not in that position. “We’ve been able to renegotiate everything,” Barry explained. “We now own all of our own work, we own all our publishing, we own all of our record masters. Today, times are extremely good and we’re in control of ourselves.” It was against that background of contentment that, on November 30, their music publishing company, Gibb Brothers Music, renewed its contract with BMG Music Publishing International.