Did the Beatles ever comment on the Bee Gees?

"I knew the film wasn't going to be a big hit," he concluded with a swallow, dropping another empty potato skin onto his plate.


I just had to type that out for the SHtv archives.

 

I didn't see it mentioned but FWIW Maurice Gibb did the arrangement for "Bye Bye Blackbird" on Ringo's debut solo album SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY.

 

His interview with Jagger was good too.

Sometimes John is a right old tosser. The early Bee Gees were not the Beatles redone imo. I suppose when you're a Beatle you can get incredibly bigheaded, i've observed Paul being that way sometimes over the years.

 

I just came across this clip in the "Let It Be" thread. You can hear Paul playing the melody to "Words" at the 1:00 mark.

 

Nice.

 

I hope that Paul grants Barry his wish and writes with him, even one song. Barry has mentioned in it interviews in recent years and going back to the 90's.

 

A reporter once asked Barry Gibb what he'd been doing recently. Barry responded he'd been in Africa playing cards with the Natives.
Reporter inquired, "Oh, Zulus?" Barry laughed and said, "No, I usually won !"
(Thanks to Mickey Dolenz and whoever his joke writer was.)

 

Paul has recorded a cover version of "Too Much Heaven" which was due to come out around 2004 on a Bee Gees tribute album, but the project was shelved and no explanation ever given.

 

I would love to hear it!

 

Primarily a Maurice tribute but the song selection as far as we know it was more the Bee Gees as a whole rather than highlighting Mo's contributions. There was a planned concert in mind for the summer of 2006 with a star-studded list on top of it all, the album would likely have been released by that point. Basically Barry was peeved, claiming he was kept out of the tribute. Robin on the other hand saying that wasn't the case at all. It was all a big, public back and forth mess with Entertainment Tonight airing their interviews late 2005. Essentially Barry and Robin had conversations in private which basically put the whole thing on the shelf permanently. To the best of my knowledge, none of the recordings that were done in 2004 and 2005 have seen the light of day.

 

I'd like to know what Robin was smoking when he made that ridiculous quote about the Bee Gees Pepper vs The Beatles.
Talk about pretentiousness.

 

Maurice got a Guitar from John Lennon for his 21st Birthday, Maurice is playing on it in "This is Where I Came In"
Maurice and Ringo made a silly short movie in Ringo's garden

 

Bee Gees 'on a par with Beatles'

Sure they were ridiculed during the disco era by the music press, but the songs stand the test of time. Not only the ones they recorded, but the other big hits they wrote for others.

 

Yeah I think John could not have been oblivious the Bee Gee's phenomenon by 1980, no way in hell. They were utterly dominating the US charts for several years by that point. For sure he must have owned a couple of the disco singles and admired them... in secret.

 

I don't even think the Stones rivalled the Beatles, let alone the Bee Gees. Who's next, the Monkees????

 

The Bee Gees had 6 consecutive #1 singles in the US, tying The Beatles. I would think that's rivaling, no?

 

The actual quote was "All music is rehash. There are only a few notes. Just variations on a theme. Try to tell the kids in the Seventies who were screaming to the Bee Gees that their music was just the Beatles redone. There is nothing wrong with the Bee Gees. They do a damn good job. There was nothing else going on then."
I would think that's a compliment from quite an opinionated figure. In terms of success, The Bee Gees definitely rivaled The Beatles.

 

Yes, possibly. I remember in one of his interviews from the 70' he said that he likes disco.

 

I don't think he was trying to be pretentious, but rather buffoonish.

If memory serves, Barry and Maurice always claimed Robin was the one with the most sense of humour.

In Barry's case, hardly a feat, but Maurice was a riot.

"Toilets are very popular in our business."

 

I've heard that Maurice Gibb, no slouch on the bass, was heavily influenced by Paul McCartney's bass playing.

And "Lonely Days" is one of the best--if not the best--homage/pastiche/rip-off of The Beatles sound. They even treated Mo's vocals to sound like Lennon's for the section at the end....

Two more tidbits--Maurice was one of the many who have been rumored to have appeared uncredited on All Things Must Pass.

Finally a few years ago, both McCartney and Barry Gibb appeared on Saturday Night Live on the same night. They were seen to hug and talk at the end of the show when the cast takes a bow.

 

The problem in quoting parts of interviews from celebrities is that they are often just snapshots in time--how the subject felt that particular day. Also. journalists have been known to--how you say?---"stir the pot" to get a reaction. Then the headline writer will pull a quote that sounds "meaty" so that you'll read the interview.

I'm sure that among the members of the Stones, Beatles, Bee Gees and others you'll find a mixture of respect, affection, jealousy , ego, competitiveness and admiration.
Depending on the day.

 

hey, that’s my channel

 

I had that issue as a kid!!

 

Why would The Beatles ever need to comment on The Brothers Gibb? It's amazing the run they had from 1975-1980!

Nights on Broadway
Jive Talkin'
Fanny
You Should be Dancing
Night Fever
Stayin' Alive
Too Much Heaven
Tragedy

all great stuff.

 

I've been reading the Tales of the Brothers Gibb biography. I hadn't realized that Maurice and Lulu lived next door to Ringo and Maureen in the early '70s and the four often socialized together. That was probably pretty exciting for young Mo, who was never shy about proclaiming his Beatles fandom.