FEELIN’ THE FEVER FOR THE BEE GEES

The Bee Gees, a musical group made up of three brothers: Barry, and his twin brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb, are one of the longest-lived musical acts in pop history. The brothers not only co-wrote all of their own hits, they wrote and produced major hits for other artists such as Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You”, and Frankie Valli’s movie title hit “Grease”. At least 2,500 different artists have recorded a Bee Gees song.

The original Bee Gees’ career has produced more than 220 million record sales, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Only Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees. Hitting the U.S. music charts in the late 1960’s with “I Gotta Get A Message To You”, their tight harmonies became very recognizable. “Lonely Days”, followed with “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” reaching #1 in the U.S., set them on their path to stardom internationally. They had 974 Top 40 hits on worldwide charts, with 200 of them placing in the #1 position. Three Bee Gees singles, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive”, and “Night Fever” reached #1 in most countries around the world, launching the disco era. “Fever was #1 every week… It wasn’t just like a hit album. It was #1 every single week for 25 weeks. It was just an amazing, crazy, extraordinary time,” said Barry Gibb. Saturday Night Fever broke records for best-selling soundtrack albums and has sold more than 40 million copies.

In 1988, Andy Gibb, the youngest Bee Gee brother who had shot to teenybopper stardom on his own, died from an inflammation of the heart muscle due to his massive cocaine addiction just days after his 30th birthday. In 2003, Maurice suffered cardiac arrest and died at age 53. Following his death, Robin and Barry decided to cease performing as the Bee Gees, but both have continued to work independently. In the liner notes for The Ultimate Bee Gees, Tim Rice puts the group’s enormous popularity into perspective:

Enter the Australian Bee Gees ... the world had a need, and this
tribute act knew exactly how to satisfy the desire for more harmonies.

In actuality, the Australian Bee Gees show began with performances in 1996, in homage to the Gibb brothers – celebrating their five decades of unforgettable music. Now fifteen years later, this remarkable show has been enjoyed by more than 1 million people in sold-out venues all across the world (in 40+ countries). This strong desire for the Bee Gees music is such an impressive legacy that the Gibb brothers shared with the world, and now through the Australian Bee Gees show, fans from around the globe can come to Vegas and literally go back in time and relive their own personal memories of where they were when…

The 75-minute multimedia concert held in the Excalibur Hotel and Casino is packed with imagery and comedy to give fans a happy fun experience. The show is loaded with memorable video clips that follow the theme of each decade of music as the band begins in the sixties (full of love and love songs) to the seventies (remember “Lonely Days”?) to the early eighties disco fever of Saturday Night Fever and on…

Australian Maurice (Wayne Hosking) is a roar, taking on the offbeat comedy of brother Gibb. Australian Robin (David Scott) practically “comes-out-of-the-closet” with a crack that makes the audience belly laugh. And Australian Barry (Michael Clift) takes on brother Gibb’s whispering breathy vocals like a champ, like on “You Should Be Dancing”. Together, the three tribute artists, perform magic, along with their drummer (Mike Mitchell) and bass player (Tony Richards) band mates, bringing the totally unique sounds of the Bee Gees back to life for just one night.

Generations of fans come to experience this one night – to relive, to sing along, and even dance… (Maurice makes a special dance club of his own on the right side front of his stage for audience members to dance the night away during their disco medley that starts off with the bouncin’ groove of “Jive Talkin”, moves into “More Than A Woman”, and finishes off with everyone on their feet during “Night Fever”.

Catch the Australian Bee Gees Show – a Tribute to the Bee Gees at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino Tuesday through Sunday at 7pm, for a happy, fun and comedically entertaining night full of great music by one of the most successful and adored bands in musical history. SLV

Issue 65 featuring: Zoe Voss, Jessie Andrews & Virginia Mae