12 Music Week 28.06.13 THE BIG INTERVIEW BARRY GIBB ‘WE LOVED EACH OTHER DEARLY’
As he prepares to collect his lifetime achievement award at this week’s Silver Clef Awards, Music Week talks to bona fide pop music and songwriting royalty, Barry Gibb
TALENT BY PAUL WILLIAMS
T
he Bee Gees never had it easy. Every glorious triumph was almost inevitably followed by some kind of career setback, not least at the
end of the Seventies when the Saturday Night Fever heroes were hit by an anti-disco campaign sweeping across the States. Yet each time they bounced back, stronger
than ever. This past year it is on a more personal level
where Barry Gibb has faced his demons. His younger brother Robin was taken from him early last year, just five years after the death of Maurice, leaving him as the only surviving Bee Gee. And once again he is bouncing back. Solo concerts in Australia, which the young
Gibb brothers made home, will be followed by live dates this autumn at Birmingham LG Arena (September 21), Dublin’s The O2 (September 25), Manchester Arena (September 29) and The O2 in London (October 3) with Kilimanjaro’s Stuart Galbraith the promoter. Ahead of that, he is being honoured this Friday
( June 28) with a lifetime achievement award at the Silver Clefs in London held in aid of Nordoff- Robbins Music Therapy. In an exclusive interview with Music Week Barry Gibb talks about his solo concerts, life as a Bee Gee, an unreleased song he penned with Michael Jackson and his future recording hopes, including a desire to work with Chris Martin.
Given the kind of year you’ve had losing Robin just what does getting this award mean to you? It’s pretty incredible and coincidental because the whole basis of that award is helping children through music and that’s been therapy for me. The last year, the last 10 years, music has become all important not having my brothers around. It’s something where I’ve started listening to all kinds of music and not just one kind of music. I fell in love with bluegrass music and opera. I just started to digest different kinds of music which for me became absolute therapy so it’s a wonderful award and I don’t think I’ve had an individual award in England, so that’s a great thing, too. Usually, it’s a group thing and that’s how it’s always been.
And we’re looking forward to you playing over here as well in a few months. I can’t wait. It’s a great band and my eldest son plays with me and Sammy, Maurice’s daughter, is a great singer. This is how it’s all panned out. It’s a happy time of life now. It’s not such huge pressure. I feel at this point life shouldn’t be stressful. I try to seize it now and I didn’t before, different things. Seize life, but stay in bed. I think it works.
What prompted you to go and play life again? It’s just that hunger. I actually get to see audiences
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