Exhaustive bio on the famous pop band, written by Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes, with Joseph Brennan and Mark Crohan. Covers the early years in England and the Isle of Man, the move to Australia, working in Brisbane and Sydney (where they became professional performers, though never really had a hit record until "Spicks and Specks" just before they left to go to England), moving to England and signing with Robert Stigwood and earning almost instant fame (pay off for all the hard work), the band breaks up they get back together, then a major slump, then disco and Saturday Night Fever and being a mega band, then a backlash in the early 80s but at the same time mass success writing songs for others (eg "Heartbreaker", "Guilty", "Islands in the Stream") then a revival in the late 80s, and then establishment band. A full on journey and this book tries to pack it all in - too much so, at times - it feels as though it would have been better as a reference book than a bio, with all the chatting about what songs have been released where and special German editions of albums. Engrossing.
The boys themselves seem quite normal - well, Maurice was an alcho for 25 years (the book I read only goes up to 2001 so doesn't cover his death), and Robin's wife seems to be bisexual, but no major eccentricities, just a lot of hard work: presumably because they put in such major hard yards in Australia. Compare with their poor brother Andy, better looking than any of them and just as talented, who became famous really quickly and got hooked on everything, rooting up his heart so he went to an early death.
The Bee Gees are sometimes claimed as Australian but really are more English, though the Australian experience seems to have really made them - indeed, Barry suggested Andy go to Australia to start his career as it would be a great place to learn, and Andy did just that (he even got married to an Aussie girl, who he later dumped). But there were many Aussie connections for the group: in the late 60s the Bee Gees were actually a five piece, with the brothers plus a drummer Colin Petersen (who was in the film Smiley) and a guitarist, both Aussies; Stigwood was of course an Aussie and they were involved in promoting Aussie acts like Ronnie Burns.
A very interesting read - but should have been an encyclopedia.
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