Bee Gees documentary on HBO tonight

they're not very interesting.

Thanks, Cunt R1

You BEST be watchin, hussies.

Miss Bee Geelina on the left is gay right? I mean, gurl please.

Oh, I LOVE them! thanks, OP. DYING to see this.

better?

My husband cancelled HBO because we're cheap. Also I used to be in love with John Oliver but then got pissed at him for bullying Chris Matthews. So I can't watch this.

Barry was so fucking hot back in the day.

Andy was cute as well.

OTOH it used to upset me that they were fug as I loved their music. They had me at pre disco but SNF was a masterpiece. Oddly enough I have no idea what they did after that.

I’ll watch it since I just started paying for HBO Max

Thanks for the reminder OP. Love them! And advance reviews are quite good!

It’s crazy that 3 of them are dead. I was watching a Reelz autopsy on them all (the dead ones) over Thanksgiving.

They’ve also been in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since the 90s (like when tier one rock groups were still getting in) — which was undeserved (I agree they should be in, but maybe 10 years ago, not way back then).

Anyway this looks pretty good, thanks for the reminder. Isn’t their house on that same Miami Island as Javanka?

Barry is a Trumper!

Barry is not a Trumper r12. Where do you get that idea.

For r11: Barry still lives in the same La Gorce estate he's been in for 40 years, a large bayside mansion as well as the empty lots across the street. Javanka (and Tom Brady) just purchased land on Indian Creek, about a mile north. All of the brothers had Miami Beach mansions as their main homes, since the late 70s/early 80s.

[quote]They’ve also been in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since the 90s (like when tier one rock groups were still getting in) — which was undeserved (I agree they should be in, but maybe 10 years ago, not way back then).

Rubbish. They are the second most prolific and successful singer-songwriter acts in popular music of the last 50 years, second only to Lennon and McCartney. They had top 40 hits across five decades in the US, UK and elsewhere, which has not been equaled. Saturday Night Fever is still the 2nd highest grossing soundtrack of all time, and I believe still in the top five of overall best-selling albums ever.

The cultural impact of that album and their sound was enormous, back in the late 70s. At one point they (and their brother Andy, as well as the Grease title song written/produced by Barry) dominated the singles charts for the entire length of 1978 thru early '79.

R14 if it were just about sales Wings would have been inducted 20* years ago. Which we know it’s not all about.

I thought Barry Gibb bought Johnny Cash’s house in Nashville .

He did r16, they were preparing to re-model it but the contractors accidentally burned it down.

Barry just did a compilation of Bee Gees songs, re-done by country artists and produced by Dave Cobb to be released in 2021.

[quote]Barry is not a Trumper [R12]. Where do you get that idea.

Barry is indeed a right wing Trumper and obviously not very bright!

[italic]These days he spends most of his time at his house in Miami — he has a US passport and is a fan of Donald Trump — but his famous toothy lisp is still full of Manchester, where he lived until he was 12.[/italic]

[italic]His politics swing rightwards: “You’ve got to watch out for your family, protect your own territory. Go back to the Stone Age, you know!” He says he’ll probably vote for Trump in November. “I want to see a big character,” he says. “If it was some guy with spectacles and a side parting, that’s boring. During the war we had great characters that led us.” He met Trump at a charity event in the 90s and found him “very pleasant. Behind this big, rich guy is probably a really big heart.”[/italic]

[quote][R14] if it were just about sales Wings would have been inducted 20* years ago. Which we know it’s not all about.

Well of course not. I noted their cultural impact. They were amazingly talented songwriters, covering multiple decades, genres, and musical phases/sounds. But don't kid yourself, getting into the RnR HOF is absolutely linked to popularity and sales as well as impact (and closeness to Jann Wenner, at least back in the 80s and 90s).

If all they did was stop after putting out Odessa in 1969, they'd still be legends.

Was Andy featured ?

I love the Bee Gees, and the documentary reminded me why. Their creativity was brilliant and this production showcased their genius as songwriters, producers and musicians accordingly.

We used to all dance together, y'all, until disco got too popular and inclusive. Next thing we knew the straight White rock world set out to preserve their superiority and TPTB declared war on disco music and The Bee Gees on behalf of the people. Much like today's political/cultural unraveling.

I'd forgotten that Maurice was married to Lulu. And yes, R20, Andy was highlighted, but not a word of or from Victoria Principal. Few warts were exposed, this show focused on the music and the fraternal bond. Well done.

I don’t think Barry is a Trumper.

Pet Shop Boys - Go West

Oops wrong thread

Do you know why I liked this documentary? (I know you don't care, but humor me)

All the acclamation and awards never came at the cost of diminishing those that came before them. There may not have been a full appreciation of prior musical styles or genius, but they never denigrated it. And I think that's quite a difference from our current "artistic" climate.

Or, maybe it's just nostalgia?

Geniuses.

They made some of the most beautiful pop songs ever recorded.

And they brought out the best in other artists: The albums they produced for Dionne and Barbra were sublime.

NOT BARBRA!!!!

There's a thread here talking about being rude to a celebrity. After reading someone's interaction with BS I'm convinced she's been nothing but a cunt for years and years and years;

[quote]I don’t think Barry is a Trumper.

I'm sure he still is, why else won't he say he isn't voting for Trump. Barry has always been an asshole. Great songwriter, shitty person.

The way they pivoted creatively to create the Saturday Night Fever songs was just remarkable. If you want more about Andy, dig up the old VH1 Behind the Music episode about him, which, yes, does feature Victoria Principal. It’s incredibly sad.

I remember watching the Behind the Music about Andy.

I remember Principal saying she gave him an option to choose her or drugs and she said he chose drugs.

Well, Vicki, after your rancid, putrid snatch, who wouldn't rather OD...???

You killed Bobby Ewing and then you killed poor Andy Gibb...

It is possible based on the article linked above that he may not approve of the job Trump has done, but I do remember a profile of him (maybe in Rolling Stone) a few years after Robin's death and it mentioned he sits in front of the tv watching Fox news all day.

Very well done, though I have to say once their mid 70s run was done, they also turned to music that was, quite frankly, more bland and inoffensive.

The Barbara and Dionne albums were great, but they did make a hard turn into adult contemporary. I can understand why (trying to write inoffensive stuff not likely to draw controversy) but I don't care for much of their later stuff. Not that it matters - their body of work up to and including the Streisand and Warwick albums is truly stunning, and worth the attention.

Diana's album with them always gets short shrift. But it produced one of the biggest hits of her career outside of the US with Chain Reaction.

They also completely glossed over Barry's reunion with Barbra "Guilty Pleasures".

I never liked their sound until Saturday Night Fever which suited them.

"We don't even write the lyrics until the day we record... we write them in the studio"

I find that jaw-dropping.

They once put out three albums in one year... can you even IMAGINE?

No!

re Barry's politics: the link is paywalled at r18, though I take their word on the quote being accurate. It was most likely back in 2016, when unfortunately many were having an early flirtation with Trump. I'd hope he learned his lesson and has since changed his tune.

He and his brothers attended fundraisers for Ted Kennedy during his 1980 Presidential run, so his politics have obvs been mixed. Robin in his final years was tight with both Tony & Cheri Blair and Gordon Brown; the Blairs used to vacation as his Miami home. And several of the Gibb kids have currently posted big support for Democrats and progressive issues on soc media, so its not like the entire family is stupid.

lol r30. So true.

Andy was such a huge tragedy, such a waste. He has so much fucking stage presence - even if he never got his pop music career fully back on track, he would have had a career in stage musicals (like Penzance, which he did on Broadway with Joseph Papp), hosting television or eventually in Vegas, a milieu perfectly suited to his style.

He was so handsome and gorgeous in his prime, even with the drugs. Check out the intro to this Solid Gold clip of his brothers. Your eyes melt. So sad.

It's striking how much the "Disco Sucks" movement was rooted in racism & anti-gay sentiment.

I remember that time. I was in High School. I never thought it sucked. I was really pissed off at the way people who loved it just the year ago were now claiming it sucked. Yes, it was over done, and people put out shit because it was so 'popular'... it was still more of a mob mentality, much like we see with Trumpism.

"It was a racist, homophobic book-burning".

Yes. Yes it was.

I remember I made a comment on the Steve Hoffman Music Board about the anti-disco movement being rooted in homophobia and racism and I got slaughtered for it. Of course, it's a very Dad-rock, straight-white-male, Beatles-album-clutching group. Yeah, I am generalizing. But I'm not far off.

That record burning display in 1979 was disgusting.

i wish they'd done [bold]RAP SUCKS[/bold] - which it actually does...whether they call it rap or fucking hip hop it should have been killed off after a few years, instead, it's gone on forever

Rap/HipHop has been stagnant for decades. Even when it hit its peak it never suffered the backlash that DIsco did.

Anyway, anyone who hasn't watched this documentary, it's very good. Highly recommended.

Not enough on the train wreck that was Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

R41 same, and same.

I heard You Win Again during my first post-lockdown trip to buy coffee and a juice. It fucking slaps and put me in a fabulous mood. Thank you, Bee Gees!

I've never liked them, or the falsetto screeching & wailing they confused for singing.

Robin and Barry were estranged and hardly saw each other in the last years of Robin's life, who lived in England.

They were all ridiculously cute when they were young.

[quote]Robin and Barry were estranged and hardly saw each other in the last years of Robin's life, who lived in England.

Robin and Barry were at loggerheads for nearly most of their adult lives, over the direction of the group and other things. This is usually glossed over in most of the interviews and documentaries done on the brothers. They always mention the '69 breakup and subsequent reunion, but otherwise its treated like a temporary blip - it really wasn't. There was always a lot of tension there.

I assume this documentary (haven't seen it yet) does the same.

Robin definitely seems like he was the underappreciated one, but Barry, as the oldest, overshadowed him in every way (including height).

Sometimes, we all walk away from family for our own sanity.

Barry got a lot of the attention over the twins due to his height, looks, and more leaderly, slightly-more-forceful personality. He was nearly always the main spokesperson.

He was three years older, which isn't much but when you remember the twins were only 17 when they first hit in the UK (Barry was 20) the three years were a big deal.

Barry was, for better or worse, much more stable than Robin. Robin had a bitter addiction to drugs (mostly pills) throughout most of the 70s - it wasn't just an early years thing they publicly said he kicked. Nope; he was pretty ravaged by it off and on up through the early 80s. It was the major reason his 1st wife fled and the courts kept his kids from him for several years.

Barry has been quoted as saying that he was "on the outs" with each of his brothers when they died. Says it's something he has to live with.

If you're a fan of the GUILTY album and know how to find things on the internet, Barry's demos for the album are a lot of fun to listen to. Plus there's a song "Secrets We Share" that didn't make the album which is gorgeous.

People rarely talk about their work with Kenny Rogers on the Eyes that See in The Dark album (the one with Islands in the Stream). It's a terrific mainstream country album , with the typically catchy Gibb melodies

The Barry & Robin wrote "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," performed by Al Green. They have musical chops, yes, chops. I like this interview of Barry, posted below.

I love the Bee Gees and for all their fame, still think they're underappreciated.

John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) is a huge fan. I saw a documentary where Lydon summed it up: the earnestness is what is impressive and touching. BGs were not trying to be cool, it was all heartfelt, and they put it out there.

It is a total hagography.

I love the old Bee Gee (sixties harmonies). The disco stuff was ok but after awhile, Barry's high voice got on my nerves.

I liked the documentary for the most part but I didn't like the ending and the way they practically ignored Robin and Maurice's deaths (just a blurb for viewers to read). They spent more time on Andy's death than the twins.

Barry was good looking in his day - the hair, the big, white toothy smile. It's a shame he's a shadow of himself - fat, gray, balding. I think he may have removed the caps on his teeth. He had trouble speaking.

I always thought Barry looked absurd with his big teeth. He was quite domineering too. I think it was Maurice who in an interview once said that Barry thinks he's always right.

[quote]It is a total hagography.

Oh dear.

Barry said that Robin was driven (too much so) towards success and couldn't relax and appreciate what success he already had.

Maurice did seem like the more relaxed brother.

I have mixed feelings about watching this documentary. There's already been a few docs about them and I feel like this will just tread the same ground. As someone said above, it's not a warts-and-all documentary, and in many ways, that's the kind of documentary I want to watch. This band went through a lot and there's a lot to cover. There has been much focus on Andy but I would like to see more about the relationship between the three brothers and the post-70s recordings with other artists. What was it really like to work with Babs? Dionne? Miss Ross? But I know Barry won't allow it. It's also disappointing that the Bee Gees' reissue project has come to a halt. They were reissuing their '60s albums in beautiful deluxe reissues but that was well over ten years ago.

I agree with r55 - Eyes That See in the Dark is a great album. It was a hit album at the time because of Islands in the Stream but the rest of the album seems to get less respect. It's a very strong album, and Kenny does some of his best singing on it.

[quote]It is a total hagography.

That would be "The Grace Adler Story."

Barry described Barbra as "scary." He was laughing, but I think that's his way of dishing dirt.

Maurice said in the doc that he was the peacemaker between Robin and Barry.

They should have done a longer two part thing like the Eagles had the honesty to do, where they could get further into the brothers’ faults and rivalries. Though I guess the problem there is that the other brothers aren’t around to give their sides. But it ended up being feel good but unrevealing.

[quote] Maurice said in the doc that he was the peacemaker between Robin and Barry.

He was the lukewarm water.

[quote]I liked the documentary for the most part but I didn't like the ending and the way they practically ignored Robin and Maurice's deaths (just a blurb for viewers to read). They spent more time on Andy's death than the twins.

Barry and producers needed permission of Robin and Maurice's widows to make the film and they may have set conditions, such as not delving into a lot of negativity. Andy's death profoundly affected them all while still a group. Plus I believe Barry has some control over Andy's estate (music rights and likeness) so its easier to include him.

The Bee Gees were sublime romantic singer-songwriters, excellent musicians and superb producers. Living Eyes, their 1st post-disco album from 1981, is an underrated gem and a personal fave. It sold poorly and got little radio play, which is unbelievable to me as there were probably two or three hits on it. RSO however was facing dissolution and had no promotional staff to push it, which is strange as they had just had the biggest selling record of all time a scant few years prior, and Spirits Having Flown was a huge seller two yrs earlier. Makes you wonder what the hell Stigwood was doing with all the millions he made. Poor business decisions and bad leadership cut their career down in the 80s as much as the disco backlash.

How Deep is Your Love!!!! Kitschpop classic!!!

(47) I totally agree, to me they sounded like a bunch of squirrels fighting over food.

Was it Barry that always made sure his costume showed off his bulge. With all their money, surely they could have had their teeth fixed.

That was their fixed teeth R71.

R47 has no taste, and didn't watch the documentary.

Barry and family.

[quote]What was it really like to work with Babs? Dionne? Miss Ross? But I know Barry won't allow it

There's been things said about them over the years.

Barry was initially reluctant to work with Barbra, due to her reputation preceding her. But his wife threatened to divorce him if he didn't, so he didn't, and he thought she was wonderful.

Dionne hated the Heartbreaker song and had to be strong armed by Clive Davis into recording it. I don't think they've ever said what it was like working with her.

One of the other brothers spilled that it was rough working with Diana because she had concert engagements and other things like presenting at the oscars taking up her time during the sessions. So she wasn't fully committed to the material as they would have liked. Chain Reaction and Eaten Alive were written during the sessions which is why they're not on the Eaten Alive demo album.

I loved this movie. I was a kid when disco happened, and I remember the disco sucks reaction only vaguely. That scene of mobs smashing the Al Green, Marvin Gaye records etc was ugly. I haven’t seen anything that disturbing in any movie for a long time. It gave me the same fear and revulsion that old pictures of burning crosses do.

It was all over the news when the disco sucks event happened. Deplorables are the spawn of those people.

R64 She wanted his cock.

R77 And many are deplorables themselves.

Barry and his family look like deplorables.

This was a good documentary. I've loved the Bee Gees since before the disco years. I went to see them in concert during that Spirits Having Flown tour, and it was the most fun I've ever had at a concert.

I remember well the Disco Demolition Night because they were playing the Tigers (my team) and they ended up winning the second game because Chicago had to forfeit because the field was trashed. I liked the disco sound, but agree with whoever said that disco went from being good music to being a joke. It's a shame that the Bee Gees got swept up in it because they were still putting out good music.

If you haven't seen it, watch One Night Only. It's a 1997 concert video. PBS stations have been showing it lately. It's great and probably where a lot of the film clips in this special came from.

The Disco demolition rally was very anti black. It was all the white trash south side Chicago rednecks, who all hated blacks on sight.

As the guy in the film said last night, it wasn't just disco records they were burning, but Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, etc.

I always loved the song "Love Me" - I don't know what period it's from. It's sometimes included on Greatest Hits albums, sometimes not. I really enjoyed the Barry and Babs Guilty album. The SNF stuff is fine, but there's MUCH better disco out there.

I like a couple of song but I’m not interested in the breeders themselves.

The Bee Gees were before my time, but they're one of my favorites. Insanely catchy songs.

r83 Love Me is from Children of the World, released in 1976. A big record for them, being the one that came just before SNF. You Should be Dancing is also from that album.

An excellent bluesy ballad and one of my favorites as well.

[quote]Barry was good looking in his day - the hair, the big, white toothy smile. It's a shame he's a shadow of himself - fat, gray, balding.

He's almost 75 years old, he's an elderly man now and that's what elderly men look like.

Barry has also been ravaged by serious rheumatoid arthritis for many years, which has affected his movement and ability to play guitar and perform. All of the brothers suffered serious health problems.

Thanks, R86

did they mention Maurice was married to Lulu? his problem with booze ended that marriage.

Actually, Barry looks like he's dropped some of the weight.

Yes, Lulu was part of the program.

R36 That seems lazy

I had no idea Lulu was married to Maurice Gibb.

You’re full of shit R28. Barry gibb is one of the most well liked people in the business and is extremely generous.

Andy’s daughter controls his estate. The brothers signed over all of their songwriting rights to her shortly after he died. She’s close to the family now but Andy only saw her once when she was 2 years old though he spoke to her periodically but she never saw him as her dad when she was a little girl. Barry has said he was a boy in a mans body.

Barry and robin mostly worked on the guilty album as Maurice was battling alcoholism at the time. The living eyes album wasn’t promoted much at the time because they were suing Robert stigwood and stigwood was getting out of the music industry.

Arif Mardin was the one who got them to do the falsetto with the main course album in 1975.

R94 = Barry's PR person

Listen mate, it's not my fault Barry is a stupid Trumper. You got to be off your damn rocker if you think Trump is a big hearted person.

I don't think being anti-disco was rooted in "racism and homophobia." I think it was just that a lot of people hated disco. And for good reason. A lot of it was utter crap. Anybody could have a hit disco song. There was a hit disco song called "More, More, More" by some porn star called Andrea True, who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Disco was, by and large, truly awful.

More More More is a fucking pop classic.

Funky Town pushed it over the edge.

There's no way it was purely just about disco sucking.

[quote]I don't think being anti-disco was rooted in "racism and homophobia."

Of course it was!

Blacks were dominating the charts. Everybody, all races, all genders had fun on the dance floor, having a good time. Disco was inclusive. TPTB didn't like that.

"More More More is a fucking pop classic."

You've got to be fucking kidding. It was disposable disco junk. And "Andrea True" couldn't sing worth shit.

I liked a few disco songs, but as a music genre I thought it was mostly trash. And it had nothing to do with race or homophobia. I just thought that disco songs were generally pretty crummy excuses for music.

R95=RACI$T LE$BIAN TROLL ALERT.

If you’re only example of him being an asshole was him saying he might vote for Trump 4 years ago I would again say you don’t know what you’re talking about.

From a professional standpoint he was known to be very generous with giving songwriting credits to people he worked with that didn’t write the song with him but helped him out in some way.

I think the rift with Maurice and Robin had to do with them wanting to get back to work and possibly start touring again and Barry not wanting to. Andy started drinking again and was dodging record executives who wanted to meet with him after Barry helped him get his new record deal. At the time he was living in a cottage on robins property in England and their last conversation was an argument.

Robin was a notorious pussy hound and knocked up his maid in 2008. They did a Howard stern interview in the mid 90s in which he talked about having threesomes with his wife and she was furious.

Andy’s mother said he never grew up and I remember a record executive said he froze in time maturity wise at around 16. He had a very different childhood then his brothers and older sister did.

More More More is a great, infectious song. The melody is wonderful. It's very fun.

We had a lengthy Andrea True thread here awhile ago. She was universally loved, a rarity for DL.

Yes some disco was crap, but there was a lot of good stuff too. Donna Summer and Chic for starters. There were a lot of "underground" disco songs that were great but never got mainstream attention, like the stuff that was played at the Paradise Garage. It was a world away from the awful Disco Duck and Village People shit.

I think people finally had enough when Rod Stewart did "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," which was a total turd of a song.

It was a fun novelty song R101. They showed the clips of Disco Duck as being an indicator that disco was on its way out but the song was a hit in 1976 right when disco was hitting at the national level.

Chart wise disco really it’s peak in late 78 through summer of 79, almost every number one/top 5 song from was a disco song.

Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" album pretty much set the template for female pop stars in the following decade.

Oh dearing myself on the last paragraph.

I used to have a book that had every billboard hot 100 chart from 1970-79 and there was an incredible amount of diversity on the charts that I don’t think I have seen since.

I take pretty much any disco song over what's called popular music today.

Idiot @ R103, how am I a racist if I'm not particularly fond of Barry Gibb, who's a white guy making tons of money imitating Black music???

And what does this have to do with being a lesbian, which I'm not!

You sound unhinged ... and Barry is still a Trump loving idiot.

But what about ME?

I couldn't give a fuck what Barry Gibb's politics are. You have to separate the art from the artist. It's the adult, educated thing to do.

Oh Samantha you were one of the best one hit wonders of the Seventies with "Emotion."

"More More More is a great, infectious song. The melody is wonderful. It's very fun."

She COULDN'T SING. That's the thing about disco songs; they required little talent.

Oh God R109 you’re one of those cultural appropriation idiots. They didn’t “imitate” black music. They were influenced by the R&B Miami sound during that time as well as arif Mardin who produced their main course album. The jive talkin riff/beat was based on of all things a sound they heard crossing the causeway everyday in Miami.

People talk about airbrushing and photoshopping now check out the album cover of samantha sang at r112 and the linked video of what she actually looked like.

Sang was an old family friend who got incredibly lucky with emotion. A lot of people thought it was a bee gees song.

r113 Andrea True wasn't a great singer but she wasn't terrible. Her wispy voice was a good fit for the lyrics and the arrangement is what drove the song. It's widely regarded as a pop classic.

A great song doesn't have to mean a great singer does it.

I thought the doc was a pretty standard, by-the-numbers affair. It was OK, but I get the feeling there was a lot more to the story. You don't really get to know them much as people.

I've always thought "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" was one of the greatest things ever recorded by anybody. To my ears, it's as close to perfect as pop music gets.

I always liked them, but I got kind of sick of them around the height of "Saturday Night Fever". They were so incredibly dominant, releasing hit after hit after hit, plus writing and producing so many hits for other artists, it got to be a bit much.

Releasing the TERRIBLE song "He's a Liar" as their first post-disco single was a career killer. I have no idea what they were thinking when they put that out. It was a key, make-or-break moment for them, and they needed to come up with something excellent. Instead, they gave us this tuneless, dissonant, wholly unappealing mess. The follow-up, "Living Eyes", was pleasant enough, but the damage was already done.

I feel bad for Barry Gibb, as the only one left of the 4 brothers. I remember one interview where he said that he was on the outs with each one of his brothers when they died, and he couldn't understand why he'd repeated the same mistake each time.

I could've done without that no talent Jonas Brother giving his commentary.

They're all constantly smoking in the archive footage. Different world back then!

I thought the doc was okay. It was a cleaned up doc, not really getting into their problems. I teared up when Barry said he’d give up all his hit records to have his brothers back.

I’d eat Barry’s ass as my way of saying thanks for the music.

No dolt @R111, an adult thing to do is voting for a presidential candidate who isn't an obvious moron. Something you clearly can't comprehend.

Separate art from the artist you obsessed freak r122.

[quote]That's the thing about disco songs; they required little talent.

Excuse me?

Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Cheryl Lynn, Patti LaBelle

[quote]Separate art from the artist you obsessed freak [R122].

I did, see R28!

"Great songwriter, shitty person."

[quote]That's the thing about disco songs; they required little talent.

Are you fucking for real? A lot of disco songs were brilliantly produced and sung.

Disco produced great singers or brought great singers to the forefront during the disco era - Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester. Norma Jean Wright, Roberta Kelly, Thelma Houston, etc.

I think Diana Ross' best albums are from 1979 and 1980 - The Boss and diana.

Barry desperately needs a haircut., He is silly looking.

I do think that disco's backlash was partly homophobia and racism at play, and I hate that fat piece of shit Steve Dahl.

But it WAS also overplayed and overexposed. And like any fresh trend, it eventually became so commercialized it lost its flavor. It just came ON so intensely and then the backlash was SO intense as well.

The Prince/Minneapolis sound and grunge both had times where they dominated airwaves, and then something else came along to replace them.

Is that really Barry and family at r74?!?! 😲 They look like the just got pulled out of the trailer park and gussied up. Oh, god, the tits on the woman in the blue dress. How horrifying to have that much money and look like that!

So young.

Dance music was around long before disco, it survived disco and continues to this day.

I like to think of disco as being the phase where straight people and mainstream media discovered dance music and tried to make it their own. I remember well when SNF and the disco craze made the cover of Time Magazine.

I'm positive if you would be able to trace all the people who attended that "event" in Comiskey Park, you'd find a whole lot of Trumpsters and Deplorables, still pissed 40 years later that they aren't the center of the universe.

The Bee Gees may have tapped into disco and the Miami sound, but the NYC roots of disco are much earlier.

And it's really the US that had this reaction - the UK appreciated it more, had less of a backlash to it, and used many strands of disco DNA to create new music - including the new wave of the 80s and the whole dance/rock of the early 2000s (think Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out).

[quote] I'm positive if you would be able to trace all the people who attended that "event" in Comiskey Park, you'd find a whole lot of Trumpsters and Deplorables, still pissed 40 years later that they aren't the center of the universe.

For sure. All bitter ass bitches, every last one of them.

Puritanical Americans don’t like anyone to have fun. Stop dancing and start glumly and earnestly nodding along to howling straight men making faces while they noodle away on the guitar. My FB friend suggestions are filled with pictures of old men still posing with their guitars looking like they’re constipated with rock artistry. They were all probably at Comiskey Park that day.

Speaking of R134's comment -

I loved the vibe of music in the late 70s/early 80s. Not just disco but I loved the R&B stations and groups like Earth Wind and Fire. There was a sense of joy to many of the pop, R&B, and disco songs from that time that has been sadly missing from so much popular music made since then.

I mean, I also loved the melancholy and emotional drama of new wave and British pop, as well. But having that joyful, it's a Saturday night let's get down kind of vibe was so much fun to hear.

Lindsey Buckingham's "Second Hand News" was influenced by "Jive Talkin'."

"Straight On" (Heart) sounded disco. "Some Girls" (Rolling Stone) sounded disco.

Everybody was trying to inject disco into their sound.

[quote] Eyes That See in the Dark is a great album. It was a hit album at the time because of Islands in the Stream but the rest of the album seems to get less respect. It's a very strong album, and Kenny does some of his best singing on it.

"Evening Star" and "Buried Treasure" were big hits on country radio.

there's a point in the documentary when they REALLY HIT THE BIG TIME and there's this explosion of images...film footage of them getting out of 70s limos, magazine covers, fans everywhere...but it was sort of funny because it was all late 70s Bee Gees with their horrible hair and horrible clothes and that awful shrieking sound of their big hits. I was a teenager then and anyone even slightly cool thought they were shit and kitsch almost as bad as ABBA, even.

& Saturday Night Fever was a crappy movie, Travolta was weird looking and the lead girls were like shadows. No one knows or knew their names or what became of them.

The Bee Gees remind me of what was most ugly and naff about the 70s...along with people like Rod Stewart.

[quote] Saturday Night Fever was a crappy movie,

Saturday Night Fever was a brilliant movie. Dark and cynical. It really got the hopelessness and stagnation of the American working classes down in a way that few other films have.

"How Deep Is Your Love" is no "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp," that's for sure.

Yes to r136. Miss You is the Rolling Stones' funkiest song. They were jumping onto the disco sound.

I hate music snobs. Homophobia and racism is right. Let's not forget that disco is Rhythm and Blues with strings and a 4 On The Floor beat.

And the Bee Gees were solid blues musicians.

To illustrate just how outlandish the backlash got, I was in high school when it hit, in the midwest...

From that point on, nobody danced at high school dances unless it was a "slow dance". It was people standing around until the band or the dj played a ballad, and then everyone rushed to the dance floor to slow-dance, and scattered the moment anything up-tempo came on. It was pathetic and ridiculous. The very act of "dancing" was deemed "too gay".

But it didn't stop there. I had older friends who were in college during the backlash, and even at the gay bars (in the midwest where it was really white) ended up taking out dance floors because nobody danced a the "clubs" anymore. It only lasted a year or two, but still... EVEN THE GAYS IN BUMFUK STOPPED DANCING SO MUCH.

I never lost my love for (good) disco, and loved when dance music really roared back around 1986 or so.

[quote]"How Deep Is Your Love" is no "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp," that's for sure.

Oh man, you reminded of that era of "3-6 Mafia 1, Martin Scorsese nil". It was such bullshit to castigate winners in other categories (black rappers being the easy target, of course) because "Poor Marty!" was awardless. I was glad they finally shut him up by awarding the mediocre The Departed.

In any case, It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp fit the bill perfectly for Best Song. It was very catchy and was the perfectly integrated as the climax of Hustle & Flow, which the Dolly Parton song for Transamerica and the anonymous dirge for Crash failed to do.

True. Andrea True could not sing so her music was crap.

Thank God for her blazing the trail!

That fat obnoxious DJ was repulsive. And in a military uniform, no less! In today's world he would be dismissed as a loser incel and the mainstream media wouldn't give him the time of day.

Different times back then.

Shannon's "Let the Music Play" and Madonna's "Holiday" are credited with reviving dance music in the early 80s.

(139) Revolata was absolutely hilarious in that movie, all those rumors about him being a "ladies man" at that time.

I agree Saturday Night Fever is an excellent film. It was not what I expected when I saw it. It was quite dark and grim, actually. Tony attempts to rape the woman he cares for, and his pals rape Annette in the backseat while Tony sits in the front seat, and then the fate of his other friend. It's a downer.

SNF and Looking for Mr. Goodbar have the best disco soundtracks, but the uplifting music is in contrast to the downbeat, grim films they're featured in.

[quote]Releasing the TERRIBLE song "He's a Liar" as their first post-disco single was a career killer. I have no idea what they were thinking when they put that out. It was a key, make-or-break moment for them, and they needed to come up with something excellent. Instead, they gave us this tuneless, dissonant, wholly unappealing mess. The follow-up, "Living Eyes", was pleasant enough, but the damage was already done.

It definitely wasn’t the strongest cut and an odd choice. “Living Eyes” should have been the first single, it was the title and lead track and far more radio-friendly. The gorgeous “Paradise” was hauntingly beautiful and would have been a strong follow-up; even the falsetto-heavy “Soldiers” was a better track. “Nothing Could Be Good” also a standout imo.

The “He’s a Liar” video was fun and gave them all a chance to goof off on camera, esp Maurice who had decent comedic ability. Maybe they thought that song lent better for filming and MTV, so they led with it.

[quote] feel bad for Barry Gibb, as the only one left of the 4 brothers. I remember one interview where he said that he was on the outs with each one of his brothers when they died, and he couldn't understand why he'd repeated the same mistake each time.

It was understandable he was upset with Andy, who had blown his last-chance deal with Island Records that Barry painstakingly set up for him. Andy’s troubles wore them all down for some time, that was a really difficult situation. They had no idea he was going to pass so suddenly.

In Robin’s case they were “on the outs” when he found out he as ill, but in full contact by his death. He and Linda, Dick Ashby and their older kids made a couple of trips to see him, both at home and then later in hospital. Barry eulogized him beautifully at the funeral.

"Are you fucking for real? A lot of disco songs were brilliantly produced and sung."

Oh for fuck's sake, you didn't have to have any great talent to have a disco hit. Andrea True is one example. The execrable "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees was a #1 hit. And just what disco songs were "brilliantly produced and sung?" That's really laying it on thick.

^^ it should be added the brothers jettisoned their longtime backing band of Alan Kendall, Dennis Byron and Blue Weaver after Spirits and that tour. Barry had produced Streisand using studio musicians, and felt he could do more doing the same for the Bee Gees on Living Eyes. I'm not sure that was wise; the others gave the group a real punchy sound and groove the brothers were never really able to re-create on their own. Kendall eventually returned later, but it wasn't the same.

Kudos to whoever said Eyes That See In The Dark is great album. It certainly is. Buried Treasure is a favorite.

[quote]there's a point in the documentary when they REALLY HIT THE BIG TIME and there's this explosion of images...film footage of them getting out of 70s limos, magazine covers, fans everywhere...but it was sort of funny because it was all late 70s Bee Gees with their horrible hair and horrible clothes and that awful shrieking sound of their big hits. I was a teenager then and anyone even slightly cool thought they were shit and kitsch almost as bad as ABBA, even.

I’ve been a fan for years and think this fair criticism. The flashy, shiny-satin, mega-medallioned matchy-matchy stage costuming was highly strange and way out-of-date by 1979. This was the end of decade when minimalist post-punk and cleaner lines of New Wave were ruling supreme, yet the group seemed more akin to Vegas Lounge than a young rock-pop act (the twins weren’t even 30!). Their backing band even wore coordinated costumes.

You wonder who was giving the awful styling advice (Stigwood?) The kitschy image greatly contributed to a specific backlash against them.

They had done a large tour only a couple of years earlier and looked perfectly fine on stage, in 70s hipster street clothes and minimal jewelry. You focused on their great music, not on image.

Robin was the one who was interesting to look at on this. Sometimes he looked almost normal, others totally bizarre with his weird hairstyles.

I hate Bee Gees. Death to disco

i hate when on these things they feel the need to interview various more current singers to offer their opinions and validations, that fucking cunt from Oasis appeared about 17 times. He wasn't even around for most of their years of big fame.

& who was the black guy who also kept appearing, he must be all of 25?

But what's striking is what throughly decent unspoiled individuals they all were. They were really down to earth, however big they got.

Barry has endured a lot of grief.

r150 you haven't been paying attention to the thread. Disco Duck and other disco novelty acts have been called out for the shit they were. There was a lot of good disco music, examples of you can find.

I agree r156. I hate that trend in documentaries. And Justin Timberlake came across as a hillbilly idiot in this.

[quote]And Justin Timberlake came across as a hillbilly idiot in this.

I forgot about him - again what the fuck has he got to do with the fucking Bee Gees?

this interview is very infamous in England, when they stormed off the stage.

I can’t stand Oasis, so overrated and taken WAY too seriously by rock critics. I’m sure twenty years ago the BeeGees would’ve earned nothing but distain from whatever the Oasis guy’s name is, but now they’ve earned his “cred”. Stuff your cred where the sun don’t shine, Oasis guy and guy who had the conscious uncoupling and Timberlake.

A lot of "documentaries" these days are 80% cunts like these, talking to the camera...often people with zero connection to the subject.

It's a lazy way to do a doc r163. And often the people have no connection to the subject.

I'd never heard Chris Martin speak before and he sounded very common. I am shocked that Gwyneth married a guy who talked like that. Snob that she is.

That Jonas brother had probably never even heard of the Bee Gees before they asked him to do the doc, just like they didn't know "September" before they were asked to play it at the Kennedy Center Honors.

[quote]I'd never heard Chris Martin speak before and he sounded very common.

He's not what anyone would call hot.

What was his connection to the Bee Gees? I can't remember.

It was great. Enjoyed every minute.

JFC R150, there's tons and tons of great singers in disco music. Just because you only know of a few shitty ones doesn't mean your opinion is valid.

Stayin' Alive was brilliantly produced, so were Chic songs, Earth Wind and Fire, Blondie, Tavares, Donna Summer, Patti LaBelle songs.

You're really a dumbass!

People who hate disco need to find their boogie shoes. It’s the best dance music.

[quote] I forgot about him - again what the fuck has Justin Timberlake got to do with the fucking Bee Gees?

Justin Timberlake played Robyn Gibb on The Barry Gibb Talk Show skit on SNL. It's one of the more popular skits of the 00s and pretty funny (the first time they did it anyway). Barry guest starred the last time they did it with the terminally unfunny Madonna.

Their music was absolutely terrible. I hate the revisionism that people have done lately. People are making Queen out to be as big as the Beatles and now BeeGees are now claimed to have been cool!??

I DARE you to remain in your seat if Tragedy started playing.

for r154: behold this hair wonder, 1986. Robin Gibb meets A Flock of Seagulls:

The Hair Nadir, circa '83:

Robin had a FBI file on him for trying to hire a hit man to off his first wife. He was also a sex addict who got his maid pregnant on his second wife and as a child he was an arsonist. Most people described his as odd.

I think he’s hot. I wish he were still around.

I wish your eyesight was still around.

There was tons of great disco music. There was also tons of crappy disco music.

The problem with disco was when it didn't become just mainstream, but a bonafide "craze", in the wake of the success of "Saturday Night Fever".

Suddenly it was everywhere. You couldn't escape it. You'd go to buy clothes, or go to get a haircut, and there'd be disco music blasting. TV shows were using bad disco tunes as their theme songs. TV commercial jingles were done in disco format. Everything was "disco this" and "disco that". Friggin' OLD PEOPLE in retirement homes were learning disco dancing. Even for kids like me who liked the music, it got to be a bit obnoxious.

People forget this now, but at the height of it all, just about every major city had at least one radio station playing non-stop disco music 24/7. That was a lot of airtime to fill, and as great as a lot of the music was, that meant a lot of garbage was going to get played as well. There were some great white rock artists who dabbled in it successfully, and others who came up with pure dreck. Likewise, a lot of black R&B artists from the 60's attempted to revive their careers by latching on to the disco craze; many failed miserably. Even the great Aretha put out a shitty disco album that flopped. And then there was all the nameless, faceless, formulaic, forgettable stuff. And all the bad disco remakes of non-disco songs, like "Evergreen".

Disco just got too popular for its own good. The backlash was inevitable.

And yeah, a lot of the backlash had racist undertones to it.

"Tragedy"

I forget his name, but the man in the documentary who owned the gay club said that the music industry's greed is what pushed disco into overdrive. SNF was such a hit, suddenly everything was disco this and disco that to cash in, as r178 said. For every one great song by Chic or Donna Summer or Diana Ross, there were five songs that were just garbage. The market became so oversaturated that it was inevitable the public would tire of it.

Dance music as mainstream music wouldn't really come around again until Madonna, iirc.

Robin and Maurice had terrible combovers for a time and robin wore a piece. Maurice looked much better when he started to wear the fedora.

Their late 70s look wasn’t that different from a lot of other artists, also the spirits tour was massive so the flashy costumes weren’t that out of the ordinary.

The last time Barry shaved his beard off was in the mid 80s when he did it for a music video for his solo album. He looked pretty good but went back to the beard quickly. He won’t shave it now as he believes that he’s had it for so long it pulled down his face and he would look droopy.

Linda gibb Barry’s wife should’ve been recruited for the Miami housewives show. She’s flashy, dresses too young and has has a lot of work done and she’s fabulous and a fun lady to be around. She’s the one who got Barry to start recording again after he went into semi retirement after robins death.

Of the gibb children robins son Spencer, maurices daughter Sam and Barry’s son Steve are very talented.

Andy Gibb did so much coke he was dead at 30! JFC.

I didn't know that Barry Gibb has lived in Miami all these years. He's been there since the mid 70s. I also had no idea it was Eric Clapton who got them down to Miami in the first place and played a big role in changing their sound.

BTW "Subway" is not as well-known as their other songs, but it's a favorite of mine.

[quote] Robin had a FBI file on him for trying to hire a hit man to off his first wife. He was also a sex addict who got his maid pregnant on his second wife and as a child he was an arsonist. Most people described his as odd.

IIRC, all 3 BeeGees got in trouble with the law for arson, etc. That's why they moved from England to Australia. The arson was the one thing in their backgrounds that gave me pause. Arson & animal cruelty are supposed to be markers of really bad things.

As a gayling, I was quite taken with Andy and Victoria on Phil Donahue, where they lip synched their cover of All I Have To Do Is Dream.

The two of them WERE a dream. It could never last.

[quote]Their late 70s look wasn’t that different from a lot of other artists, also the spirits tour was massive so the flashy costumes weren’t that out of the ordinary.

They looked completely odd and out of place in '79, with the matching satin baseball jackets, massive gold medallions and polyester pants so tight you could see what religion they were. Not a bulge hidden.

Their true contemporaries didn't style like this. The Eagles didn't dress like this; Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner and Supertramp did not dress like this. Hell Led Zeppelin, totally tacky and overblown by their '77 tour, looked like grandmas compared to the Bee Gees. By their last tour (Europe 1980) even Page/Plant got a clue and went back to wearing shorter hair, jeans, tees, and the occasional skinny tie/jacket.

The only other major "white" acts from the era that looked that kitschy were ABBA and KISS (I'm not counting Parliament Funkadelic, EW&F and the like). And the Bee Gees were far superior musicians and respected songwriters than either. Those bands always styled terribly from their inceptions; the brothers weren't known for that kind of styling until after SNF, well into their careers. It was a radical departure and strange to see.

And Robin didn't impregnate his maid, as was widely reported. She was his PA/longtime mistress, who lived on his estates for many years with him and his second wife, who had an open marriage. She'd originally been a much-younger groupie/superfan who caught his fancy, and he moved her in.

I wasn't around back then so I don't have all the baggage from that era, but looking at old pics and vids of the Bee Gees I liked their late 70s look. It was glam and "showbiz." A refreshing contrast to the hippie shit that a lot of bands were still sporting and was so played out by then.

I'm biased, though. I've always liked the glamorous late 70s disco/jet set/Halston style.

BULGES. And terrible outfits (although Andy looked quite cool):

Nice bulge on Barry. Love the outfit. You had to be thin and fit as hell to get away with wearing clothes like this.

Barry's bulge looks stuffed or else he very well-endowed.

You can’t wear underwear with pants that tight. r190

[quote]The only other major "white" acts from the era that looked that kitschy were ABBA and KISS (I'm not counting Parliament Funkadelic, EW&F and the like).

And the rest.

There are videos of the 78-80 American music awards and Grammys on YouTube and you see variations of their look. It wasn’t that unique.

it was the combo of the clothes, the hair and the screechy singing.

as I already said, they were the epitome of uncool.

people who weren't around in the 70s think we were all totally blind to the kitschy ugly side of the 70s - we were not, us, even slightly cool types, laughed at them and their like.

"You're really a dumbass!"

You're really an asshole who adores disco. DISCO. Oh my God, that is so pitiful.

I don't think R196 quite gets that he's posting on a gay message board.

R196 thinks dance/disco/black/latin music is inferior to white music, a la Pat Boone.

R196 also thinks Donald J. Trump is the second coming of Christ.

#Sad. #Pathetic. #Pitiful.

I watched this last night and every time I see the disco demolition in documentaries, I get more and more disgusted with that whole movement. The person who compared that night to a book burning was 100% correct. The disco-era is before my time, but it seemed like such a fun time. It makes me sad that society-at-large has quit dancing (MARY!).

The nerve of those people to burn Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye albums along with DISCO DUCK!!!

Linky stinky at r193.

I'll try another link, R200

Thanks r201.

No one ever said Rod had taste. Nice body though, back then.

"R196] thinks dance/disco/black/latin music is inferior to white music, a la Pat Boone.

[R196] also thinks Donald J. Trump is the second coming of Christ."

I think no such thing. I DO think you are one dumb twat.

R44 It's a bit obnoxious that it wasn't mentioned AT ALL, to be honest. It was a flop, but why pretend it didn't exist?!

Never forget.

IIRC, Robin was rumored to dabble in satanism towards the end.

If God gave me a face like that, I would too.

Huh. Dwina, his wife, was into druidism for many years during their marriage, at one point she was a High Priestess and built a Stonehenge replica in their back garden. Druid religion isn't = satanism though. He was never into that - New Age stuff maybe, they were both into it. But not devil worship.

As much as I admire their songwriting talents. They all were uneducated bogans, just with money.

R172 is a moron with no taste.

The Bee Gees made amazingly great music and were hugely popular.

Hard to believe the oldest one is the only one still alive.

And that they pretty much died youngest-to-oldest order.

Barry’s older sister Leslie is still living and is in Australia .

[quote][R172] is a moron with no taste. The Bee Gees made amazingly great music and were hugely popular.

so was ABBA.

Yes. They were.

R212 I would argue that while ABBA was certainly very popular and sold loads of records, their musicianship and songwriting was not quite at the same level as the brothers.

Their career flamed out rather quickly too, done by 1980. Benny and Bjorn have certainly done other things successfully, but the group/unit had a fairly brief but bright run.

[quote]Barry's bulge looks stuffed or else he very well-endowed.

I doubt they stuffed, especially when you see how Maurice looks here . . .

^ OMG

I remember very visible penises in the 70s - I'd forgotten this.

He looks totally hard there. No way that's a soft dick.

I mean you can see the rim where the shaft meets the head! Why can't we bring back these good old days?

Damn this documentary to hell for playing a clip of Disco Duck. I've had that song stuck in my head for the entire week. HELP!!!

Terrific documentary. I’ve always loved the Bee Gees. Great songwriters and performers. And I was so in love with beautiful Andy.

It really is fascinating how the actual twins didn't look all that much like each other, but the oldest and the youngest were basically twins separated by time.

Robin was always butt ugly but I thought Maurice was cute.

R221 You've heard of fraternal twins, right?

R223, you missed the point about how much two brothers separated by years looked nearly identical, but whatever.

I didn't miss anything. If they were identical twins, yeah, it would be weird. That's just how genetics works. It's not special.

They never explained -- or if they did I missed it -- why they were called the Bee Gees. Anyone know?

Doesn't Bee Gees stand for Brother Gibbs?

^^Brothers Gibb

In the footage of Andy singing with them in concert, he looked coked out of his mind.

The Bee Gees 1979 special, enjoy!

R225 is being deliberately obtuse.

I watched it. Barry was fine as fuck.

I just watched this too and loved. Yes, Barry was hot af. Too bad, he's a Trumper.

I particularly like the part of the doc where they exposed the anti-disco movement as an anti-black movement.

The name “Bee Gees” actually came about because two guys who helped them get started had the initials BG, as of course did Barry. It didn’t mean “brothers Gibb” though that became the popular perception.

Why the fuck did they let Robin look like a Charles Dickens Victorian orphan? I mean...surely by the time Saturday Night Fever came out they could have fixed his overbite and bad hair? I feel bad for him, because the other two Maurice and Barry were so handsome in comparison. I bet he had the biggest penis tho...that's the only reason I can think of to not fix your teeth. Orthodontics!!

Holy shit. The days before any kind of stylist. Hahaha!

It's a 200K video shoot. Come as you are!!

I mean, $20 video shoot, obv.

Hey, we have the roller rink from 8-10 am. Don't be late! And bring your own Sears shirts. We have access to the slow skate dance lights tho...YAY!!

Not to speak ill of the dead, but Barry obv. got all the good jizz. Why didn't the twins just kill themselves? Except for the harmony. And all the cash $$$.

Holy shit. Those tight asses at the end of the video tho. I mean, ass toe anyone? Can't get much higher!

Ok. I'm done. LOL.

Las Vegas 1997 - the Bee Gees singing "In The Morning Of My Life". One of my favorite songs of the band. I love the lyrics (written by Barry in about 1965) and the harmonies are so soothing.

It's like they never had a bad performance. Every song was, at the minimum, listenable. They never penned a bad tune and put out plenty of great ones.

They were great but they were very much of their time. Nobody is listening to them in 2021 except for those on a 70s nostalgia kick. So much talent and their vocal harmonies were heavenly, but their music is not timeless like The Beatles.

R246 some of their late 70s disco stuff seems dated, but they had a lengthy stay on the charts over several decades. Many of their late 60s catalog hits are considered classics today (I Started a Joke, To Love Somebody, etc).

Songs they wrote for others have actually had serious staying power. Islands in the Stream is a classic mainstay on pop and country playlists.