Barry Gibb

Barry's story begins on the 1st of September 1946, where he was born the second of five children to parents Barbara and Hugh Gibb.

Original band members of The Bee Gees included drummer Colin Petersen, a former Australian - child star (Smiley (1956)), and guitarist Vince Melouney.

If you were to try and summarize Barry Gibb's forty-five year career in the music industry in a single phrase you would probably come up with something such as "versatile". Barry Gibb continues to remain an important, relevant figure in the music industry due to his willingness to adapt his music, his style and his image into whatever musical styling is at the fore. What makes the story of Barry Gibb so unique is that he has had a successful musical career of over forty years, continually restyling both the image and the music of the Bee Gees in order to remain relevant to the contemporary era. Barry has gone from being the front man of the soft rock/pop styling of the Bee Gees in the 1960s, to bringing the disco scene to the fore in the 70s, becoming a crooner in the 80s and reinventing his career yet again in the 1990s, as the Bee Gees enjoyed yet another reinvigoration, as their new albums and hit "One Night Only" tour proved that the music of the Bee Gees was timeless. Lasting over forty years, the Bee Gees are one of the longest running musical acts of all-time, and Barry's longevity can be attributed in part to the timelessness of his songs about unrequited love, soul-mates, people finding courage in times of dismay and above all, celebrating the short time we have on this earth.

In the early 1960s Barry, and his twin brothers, Maurice and Robin, formed pop group The Bee Gees, named in tribute to two people who helped launch their career, racetrack promoter Bill Goode and a DJ named Bill Gates. It was later changed to an acronym for the Brothers Gibb. Barry and his family emigrated to Australia shortly after the birth of youngest sibling Andy, and the Gibbs performed anywhere and everywhere they could, in order to raise some pocket money.

From the outset Barry was the primary creative force behind the music of the Bee Gees, penning the majority of their hit songs in the 1960s as well as countless other songs for other artists.

After securing a spot performing on local television shows, they were eventually signed for a record label in 1963.

Their breakthrough hit "Spicks and Specks" (as in bits 'n' pieces) was No. 1 in Australia in 1967. It is an upbeat number that deals with past teen relationships. The song was used to close the show in their concerts in the late '60s, In later years it was removed from the group's play list because of the song title's similarity to a slang word for Hispanic.

In the 1970s the was a drastic change to the dynamics of the music industry, which saw singers from previous eras struggle to remain relevant. Barry helped pave the way for the Bee Gees most memorable decade, as he came up with the idea of performing in their now trademark falsetto's, as well as helping to launch the career of his youngest sibling, Andy Gibb. Barry became a mentor to the young Andy, guiding him in his initial foray into the music industry, by penning the majority of his hit singles.

Within a span of just twelve years (1971-1983) he wrote or co-wrote fifteen U.S. number one hits, including six consecutive chart toppers -- a record shared with John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Four sons: Stephen Gibb (b. 1 December 1973), Ashley Gibb (b. 8 September 1977), Travis Gibb (b. 10 January 1981) and Michael Gibb (b. 1 December 1984). His only daughter, Alexandra Gibb (b. 29 December 1991).

The 1980s saw Barry struggle to remain relevant to the music industry, as the onset of the electro-funk styling of bands such as INXS saw the Bee Gees labeled as "uncool". Barry refused to be swayed by the Bee Gees dwindling record sales, and continued to record as both part of the Bee Gees, while also making his mark as a songwriter for other artists, penning memorable hit songs for artists as diverse as Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and Olivia Newton-John.

When he made a cameo in an episode of Only Fools and Horses (1981) set in Miami, David Jason described him as wonderfully self-effacing. He invited Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst into his house, gave them tea and showed them around; the place was like a palace. Gibb was a big fan of the show and used to get tapes of it sent to America.

In 1988 Barry was heartbroken when brother Andy Gibb succumbed to years of substance abuse, and died at the age of 30. Just months before in was decided that Andy would be joining the Bee Gees as the fourth member, and Andy's death took a toll on Barry for the remainder of that decade, and his musical creativity diminished.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 with brothers Robin and Maurice.

While Barry continues to record in the early 90s, it wasn't until 1997 that the Bee Gees returned to the fore, with the critically hailed "Still Waters" album.

In late 1997 Barry, Robin and Maurice performed the legendary "One Night Only" concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, and the DVD recording of the concert has gone on to become the highest selling music DVD in Australian history, remaining on the ARIA DVD chart for over ten years.

Awarded a CBE, or Commander of the Order of British Empire, by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year's Eve Honors List 2001.

The Bee Gees won the 2005 Q Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Sunday Times estimated his and brother Robin's combined net worth at $180 million. [2009]

He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2018 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Music and to charity. He is a singer, songwriter and music producer in Buckinghamshire, England.