Bee Gee’s Barry Gibbs recently celebrated his 76th birthday. Being the oldest of the brothers, he is the only one alive after they all died from various causes. He was lucky to have found his wife, former Miss Edinburg, Linda Gray, who kept him in line.
British musician Barry Gibbs celebrated a milestone as he turned 76 on September 1, 2022. Following a Facebook post wishing him a wonderful birthday, fans took to the comment section to pass their good wishes, hoping he lived many more years.
Fans who have been ardent followers of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups, helped celebrate the big day with him. And they trickled in in plenty.
While he still has not hung up his singing coat, releasing his third solo album in 2021, Gibb rose to fame as part of the three-man group Bee Gees’ comprising of him and his two brothers.
Gibbs was one of the three-member group Bee Gee’s, which rose to fame in the late 1960s and even influenced much of the disco craze of the 80s. Comprising three brothers, Barry Gibbs and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice, the group became one of the most listened to groups of all time.
The Bee Gees found the limelight from their connection as brothers, other than collaborating with other musicians, like many other groups that found fame at the time did. They may also have been lucky to inherit some musical DNA from their drummer and bandleader father and their gifted singer mother.
What stands is that they found fame all on their own, through pure talent and ambition. Neighbors recall Gibbs strumming his tennis racket as his brothers followed him around. But the trio only realized their full potential after the family moved to Manchester, England, in 1955.
By 1959, Gibb was playing his guitar, while his brothers used their vocals to attract crowds to buy sodas. There, they drew the attention of Bill Goode, who hired them to perform their songs at the Redcliffe Speedway racetrack.
They formed the group name “The BGs” — this would later change to the spelled out version “Bee Gee’s,” in later years — and after performing at outdoor exhibitions, they started gaining traction in the industry. They even began appearing on TV shows such as “Cottie’s Happy Hour,” and “Anything Goes.”
On March 22, 1963, Bee Gees’ released the song “The Battle of the Blue and the Grey.” While it charted modestly, it threw them into unprecedented international stardom, making them household names.
However, with fame came the downsides. Gibbs brothers all struggled with this or that addiction. Maurice fancied scotch and coke, which would soon become an addiction, while Robin was overly fond of amphetamines.
Andy, who was not part of the group but rode on his brothers’ fame to launch a successful solo career, also suffered from cocaine addiction. Of all the brothers, Gibb escaped unscathed by the demon of addiction, thanks to his wife, Linda.