Bee Gees World: Quotes

QUOTES

What the Bee Gees have said about...

The Bee Gees - Style - Influences - Covers - Their personalities - Music business - Songwriting - Singing - Playing live - Fame - Saturday night fever - Disco music - Falsetto - Sgt Pepper's - Childhood - Family - Andy - The Oscars - Hall of Fame - CBEs

Collaborator: Melba Beggs

The Bee Gees:

Maurice Gibb: "Contrary to popular belief, we have no leader. We call it a democratic dictatorship." (Daily Express, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "We now own all of our own work, we own all our publishing, we own all of our record masters. Today, times are extremely good and we are in control of ourselves." (Mojo, 2001)		Barry Gibb: "The three of us don't spend time together when we're not working. That keeps our minds fresh." (Performing Songwriter, 1998)		Maurice Gibb: "We'll keep doing what we love to do until we get to the point where we don't love it anymore. If people still want to hear us then we'll continue." (OK On Air, 2001)
Robin Gibb: "We're not a nostalgia act. We're still making contemporary music.'' (USA Today, 1997)	Robin Gibb: "We're a proper band more in the Beatles sense rather than the boy band sense." (Reuters, 2001)		Maurice Gibb: "[We see ourselves as] three brothers trying to be bigger than Beatles." (In Conversation, 2001)		Barry Gibb: "We are brothers first, a pop group second" (1997)
Maurice Gibb: "We all have our separate friends and families. If we don't call each other for a couple of months it doesn't mean anything. We've always done it. When we see each other again we just pick right back up." (Daily Express, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "We're persistent little buggers. We keep on trying and trying and trying. We've had pitfalls, we've had valleys, we've had mountains. And if you didn't have the valleys you wouldn't know about the mountains." (In Conversation, 2001)		Barry Gibb: "It's hard to be an individual. We don't really hang out except when we're working. But we work so much that that's social for us, too. So we don't need to go to each other' s houses.'' (Denver Rocky Mountains News, 1997)		Robin Gibb: "I'm very proud of being a Bee Gee and am always aware that I'll be identified as a Bee Gee. All my solo projects have been 'along with' Bee Gee commitments, rather than 'instead of'." (Top of the Pops, 2003)
Barry Gibb: "My tendency is not to listen to too much of our old stuff. I don't know why. I guess I want to keep moving on and if I keep listening to things from the past, it might influence me in the wrong direction." (Performing Sonwriter, 1998)		Barry Gibb: "We’re all boss of this band at one time or another. If I get really dogged about something and I don’t want to do it and everyone else does, my wife Linda will turn ‘round and say, ‘Get your pants on and go and bloody do it and shut up moaning.’ In fact, all the Bee Gee wives are good like that. They have no time for our egos. They’ll say, ‘This is that showbiz ego thing – get rid of it, act your age.’ So we’re like that with each other, as brothers. We drive each other." (Mojo, 2001)		Robin Gibb: "We didn't really live in each other's pockets. We were only together when we were writing or talking about our career and things. I don't think we were ever like other family-orientated artists where you're part of a family structure. We never had that. We were songwriters first and foremost and he (Maurice) had the same interests and goals in writing, which has kept us together. More so than being brothers." (Saturday Magazine, 2003)

Style:

Robin Gibb: "We're a proper band more in the Beatles sense rather than the boy band sense. What we're also trying to say is that a lot of music today is a mixture of the whole last four decades. Technology is different, but the actual structure and the melodies are very much the same." (Reuters, 2001)		Barry Gibb: "You can't put us in a category. We're part folk, pop, rock, R&B, everything. The tags rarely fit. What is disco? What is rock? It's all pretty vague and ambiguous.'' (USA Today, 1997)		Robin Gibb: "There's a lot more to being an artist than just making a record, you know, if you're a songwriter and you're a musician, there's a lot more I believe that goes into being an artist instead of just having a good-looking face and singing someone else's music. There's a lot more to it. That's my philosophy." (BBC, 2001)
Robin Gibb: "We've never really enjoyed the idea of copying other people. We've come from the old school, where to have a style, to have a sound, and to be unique is more important than sounding like the No. 5 record on the chart." (Toronto Sun, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "Man, we do R&B." (1985)		Robin Gibb: "I think any everybody, any new songwriter or an artist starting out today should establish their own style rather than try and copy everybody else because that the only thing that's gonna work." (BBC, 2001)		Barry Gibb: "Who says you can't play different kinds of music? You just do what you want to do. We play different kinds of music because we put our hearts into different kinds of music." (Rolling Stone, 1977)

Influences:

Barry Gibb: "I like music that moves you emotionally, music where if you're in pain, it works for you. The first record I bought was 'Cryin' by Roy Orbison, and that destroyed me. I figured, 'There's a guy who's writing for people, who's writing for emotions." (1990)	Robin Gibb: "The black music grooves me, influences me the most. The three of us, still get our inspiration from black music. It's the most innovative in terms of grooves." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "I've always admired Peter Gabriel and musicians like him, who've had longevity - I love anyone who can last this business because there's not many of us around." (Ok On Air, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "We've often been influenced by lots of music in the past and today. I think you've got to stay, at some point, true to your art, and without, you know, you've got to sail between the winds of change, and if you get too trend-orientated, you become that trend. And so you've got to really stay between them, and be influenced by them." (BBC, 2001)
Robin Gibb: "We've always been influenced by particularly American R'n'B." (BBC, 2002)	Robin Gibb: "I am a big fan of Gregorian chant." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)	Robin Gibb: "Barry's a great Noel Coward fan." (BBC, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "Clannad, the Irish folk group. Enya was originally a member of the group. I like their vocal sounds." (Size Isn't Everything Press Kit, 1993)
Maurice Gibb: "We love and have been influenced by many country artists particularly Roy Orbison." (Ticketmaster online chat, 1997)	Robin Gibb: "Otis Redding, for me as a singer, was the greatest, because I think soul music is a great art form of music which should go into every decade. I think it has an important role in every decade and in the future." (BBC, 2002)	Maurice Gibb: "Usually I like a total mixture ranging from classical and R&B to early stuff like the Beach Boys and Beatles." (OK On Air, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "I would say The Beatles, Otis Redding and the whole Motown scene really. There aren't so many contemporary people that would influence me, as there are just far too many cover version artists." (Top of the Pops, 2003)

Covers:

Barry Gibb: "It's interesting when another singer does your song, because when you write something, you kind of sing it in your mind and it's your own voice you hear. So when someone else puts their ideas into it, it often comes out very different." (1968)	Robin Gibb: "We never get jealous when somebody has a hit with one of our songs. Because when we give a song away, we give a song away. We don't go back thinking, 'Oh no they've had a big hit and we haven't.'" (Muse, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "It's the greatest form of flattery that someone thinks your songs are worth enough to sing and then do their own version and enjoy it at the same time and actually love the song. That's a great honor for us, and I don't think that feeling ever changes." (Houston Press, 1995)
Robin Gibb: "The covers are fine because you don't have to go and sit in the studio and write for them, but then there are artists who want new songs too." (Reuters, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "Most times it's very flattering, but often I'm still not comfortable with it." (Billboard, 1998)	Robin Gibb: "I personally like anybody that does our music and expresses it in their own way. It's all fun, it's all fun music." (BBC, 2001)

Personalities:

Barry Gibb: "I can take life seriously and as a joke, because I believe that the moment we're born, we're dying, and there's no use going through it looking miserable! Don't let yourself be dragged down by your own moods; just enjoy what you've got." (1968)	Maurice Gibb: "Barry's blast-offs don't bother me, purely because half of what he says doesn't really mean anything. What I mean is that what he says is true, but he exaggerates it." (Disc and Music Echo, 1969)	Barry Gibb: "I'm very much a family person. I just love the feeling a close family gives you and I wouldn't change it for anything. I've never been into parties, premieres or night-clubbing. I much prefer staying at home with the wife and kids, watching TV or reading a book. I'm Mr Boring, not a party-goer at all." (1998)	Robin Gibb: "I think I'm more of a thinker. I'm less trivial about things than probably I should be, but I do have a great sense of humor ... maybe grumpy with a great sense of humor." (Reuters, 2001)
Maurice Gibb: "I am more or less in the middle. I've always been between Barry and Robin. But I am always the decider. It's just been our life that I always end up being the man in the middle. So they call me the engine. They call me all sorts of stuff. Barry and Robin have these different types of egos sometimes they come out and they stop. And I've got to cut myself out here. I don't want to be like them. So being down to earth is probably more important than anything else. And they're like that. They're just great guys. They're just guys like you and me. We sit and we chat, it's the same thing." (In Conversation, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "He[Maurice] was a very outgoing person, very gregarious, very extrovert, a great laugh, a great wit and very generous, tremendously generous. I know these are nice things to say about people, but he really was very generous, he helped a lot of people, he was always the champion of the underdog, people were going through bad times he would help them, so he really was a good man." (GMTV, 2003)	Maurice Gibb: "Everybody has two training thoughts. It's either fear or love. Nothing in between. It's always the one or the other. I love to live in love today. I don't live in the negative I don't think negative. I don't pursue anything that is negative. I don't even ask questions that are negative. I just go for what I enjoy. And love to do what I to do. And if I am loving it then it's incredible. That you can do something that you love as you work or your hobby whatever. To have that blessing." (In Conversation, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "Barry is a very compassionate person, a very loving person, very protective and that shows in his writing as well - his compassion. Sometimes he can be a little extrovert but more than anything, he totally believes in what he is doing, totally believes in the song, totally believes in the show. Totally believes in whatever he is doing. If he can't do it right, he doesn't want to do it." (This is where I came in, 2001) [Contributed by Melba Beggs]
Maurice Gibb: "I think maturity is setting in, but I'm still the gayest one. I don't mean gay as in homosexual - I mean going out socially." (1979)	Robin Gibb: "Barry is very sensitive and shy, but very, very sweet with it, very passive." (Reuters, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "My idea of pleasure would be sitting in front of TV. I enjoy quiz shows like the Match Game." (Teen Bag Magazine, 1977)	Barry Gibb "I have a huge ego and a huge inferiority complex at the same time." (The Mirror, 1998)

Music business:

Robin Gibb: "Show business is something you have to have in you when you're born." (Rolling Stone, 1977)

Maurice Gibb: "There’s a dark side to the top end of the business which the artist never sees. There are country houses where powerful people meet to plan careers or to help each other out in different ways. All the record company presidents do the same thing. As a result, the artist becomes very isolated. The manager speaks to the record company president. The company president calls the manager back, and the manager lets the group know what’s been decided. But that’s the business now. It’s conglomerate, it’s not localised". (Mojo, 2001)

Songwriting:

Barry Gibb: "Firstly, I think we give the public melodies. And secondly, we don't attempt to preach at people. There are so many groups which try to change the world. We, I think, are simply a pop group which writes all its own songs. We write songs about people and situations; we tell stories in our songs, but we don't give sermons." (1968)	Maurice Gibb: "I do less singing, of course. I only come in on high harmonies. I'm more of the musician, playing the piano, bass, mellotron or organ on records, which saves money on hiring musicians, for one thing. It's the same when it comes to writing. I write the music, because I cannot really write lyrics. But I can write chords like Robin's never heard of. So I provide the music for them to write the lyrics to. It's the same as on stage -when we write we complement each other." (1968)	Robin Gibb: "Titles can inspire a song. 'My Lover's Prayer' and 'I Surrender' were titles first. We've always done that. Way back when we used to write songs like 'Holiday.' We'd say, 'Let's get a name.' We could write a song about anything. And somebody said, 'Holiday.' And we wrote a song called 'Holiday.' That's how we've always done our music." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "It's something that we've been gifted with, and we've just nurtured all the years. It's something that happens, and we all get into the same 'zone.' It's the only word I can use to describe it. That it clicks. That's why if one of us is a little off that night, it's like, 'I don't feel too good tonight.' We don't write. Because we need that input. We need to be joined like a chain. If there's a broken link, we can't do it right." (Still Waters Press it, 1997)
Barry Gibb: "My strengths have always been ideas and construction and lyric form. I started when I was about 8 or 9 years old, then Maurice and Robin sort of jumped on board when they became the same age. I'm about three years older. Then we all started writing together. I'd say Maurice is very creative in the area of keyboards and coming up with the magic chord when you're looking for one, or general ambiance of a song, atmosphere. If I describe to Maurice the atmosphere that I want, he will give it to me, keyboard-wise. So there's a lot of bouncing around. Robin is very good lyrically. Robin's a very good judge. In other words, I'm the persdon who will throw an awful lot of stuff and Robin will be like an antenna and he will say, 'I like that but I don't like this and I really love this.' He becomes the sounding board." (Performing Songwriter, 1998)	Barry Gibb: "We never completely do a song just to please ourselves. We bring everybody we can into the studio, even the receptionist, so that we can get their opinions. We put about thirty percent of what we consider to be our art into our records and about seventy percent of it is us writing for the public. You've got to include both, and that's how we do it. And we don't dwell too much on deep stories, because today people want to hear songs about love. Each song in the Top Twenty is about love. Every album in the Top Ten is based on love." (Rolling Stone, 1978)	Maurice Gibb: "We usually go in and say I feel crazy today, we'll do something. Yes, let's go back. It's just the two of us to start with and then one of them will join us. I'll call Robin, I'll call Barry up: 'Listen I've got this great idea, got to come down, listen I need your input.' And everybody, if each brother says something that's not quite right, there's a reason why he's saying it. So the other two always listen. What is it about it that you want to keep? What is it that's making you argumentative or creative? What is it? And then we'll explore that area totally. If I have something: 'No we shouldn't go there, we should be here.' There's a reason why I am saying it. And each of us now over the years respected each other's opinion." (In Conversation, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "What songwriting's always been to me is basically like a flash. I have a flash of an idea or a flash of a chorus, or a flash of a song before it's actually constructed. That hasn't changed, it's continued right through my life. I'll get up in the middle of the night and put something on a dictaphone and go back to sleep." (Performing Songwriter, 1998)
Maurice Gibb: "If you can write a good song that last for years. I mean that is a great blessing." (In Conversation, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "When we get together and write it’s not like three individuals, it’s like one person in the room." (Mojo, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "Theres is an instinctive information vault that's indigenous to songwriters, a little box you can go to and all of your songs are in there. An imaginary barrel - that's what I always used to call it." (Performing Songwriter, 1998)	Maurice Gibb: "Most of the songs we've written that have been successful have been written quickly." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)
Maurice Gibb: "We're lucky to have been blessed with being able to make music: anybody can write a song, but whether it's nay good or not is another matter. We've always loved writing songs and music and hopefully this will continue." (OK On Air, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "I'm not really that fluent in lyrics. Barry and Robin are more in that area. I'm more into arranging them, trying to paint the picture." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "We always write our songs that we love and record what we love and we hope that everybody else would love what we love. We don't make records or cds or anything like that just to please the public. We always write the songs that we love to write and perform and record." (In Conversation, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "The style of writing songs doesn't change at all, really. We have a cassette player in the middle of a table, and we sit around with the guitars and keyboards and shoot out ideas. I don't think you can do it any other way, really. Melody first, lyrics second." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)

Singing:

Maurice Gibb: "The voices are like instruments of the songs we write. Most emotions and heartfelt feelings is part of the total quality of each brothers voice. We will just sing it together and the voice that suits that song will emerge from that or we just say, 'You sing it.'" (Ticketmaster online chat, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "I love to sing lead but I love to put my energy into harmony and arranging the music to the melodies that I write with my brothers. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that." (Ticketmaster online chat, 1997)		Maurice Gibb: "All we heard around the house was 78's of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and The Mills Brothers. Dad loved their close harmony singing, and he taught us how to do it." (Mojo, 2001)
Maurice Gibb: "They just come out automatically. We'll be doing it while we're writing. We're thinking of where we're going to go with this song, and the harmonies will fall into that. Sometimes, we'll be doing the vocals and we'll say, 'It would be nice if we did this in harmony and did this counter line,' 'cause we already have a rough idea of what we did when we wrote it. So the arrangement usually comes from the writing. When we do the vocals, we perfect it. We clean it up. And we'll go 'Oh, we missed four lines. We'll have to write four lines for that counter melody.' So we'll do that on the spot or the next afternoon." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)		Maurice Gibb: "When we're writing it, if Barry happens to be singing it or Robin, they naturally take those leads. Sometimes, we write especially for Robin's voice. 'Cause each of our voices is an instrument. There used to be a real big argument. I would say, 'Why am I not singing? Why don't I have more leads? Now, unless a song suits my voice, it doesn't matter. But those harmonies--- we always like to have those. That's what's important." (Still Waters Press Kit, 1997)

Playing live:

Barry Gibb: "We still get very nervous before shows. I don't think I'm any less petrified than I was 20-years-ago when I got on stage. But we feel comfortable on stage. It's been our whole life. It comes naturally to us. When it works, we're very relaxed. We know we belong there. " (Teen Bag Magazine, 1977)	Maurice Gibb: "Playing Wembley Stadium had been a dream of ours for years. But what I remember most about it was that we were all up in this room above the stadium watching the crowds stream in and Barry nudged me and said, ‘Well, we got away with it. We fooled them again.’ And we just laughed ourselves silly, because that’s how it’s always felt to us – like we’re getting away with it and one day somebody will notice." (Mojo, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "The only thing I don't want to do is a tour. I'm a 50 year old man, jumping out of bed each morning and getting on a place is no longer feasible for me. I have a condition that is pretty arthritic. It's one of 100 different kinds of arthritis, and I have to deal with that. " (Live, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "As long as we've got an audience, we'll keep doing it [playing live]. To go out now and still have respectability is beyond our wildest dreams. That's why we've never taken it for granted since the first time." (Los Angeles Times, 2001)
Robin Gibb: "I always get a bit nervous like half an hour before we do a show, then I'm all right when we get on." (Radio 2, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "You can't just record and never see your fans. You've got to present a physical image, something they come and see or you're containing yourself as an artist." (Teen Bag Magazine, 1977)	Robin Gibb: "We're all fond of touring. But it is a drag living out of a suitcase for three months and moving from hotel to hotel." (Teen Bag Magazine, 1977)	Maurice Gibb: "This [the Spirits Having Flown tour] is the tour we have dreamed about all our lives and never, never expected to do." (People Magazine, 1979)

Fame:

Maurice Gibb: "We made all our mistakes during what we call 'first fame syndrome'. We split, we fought, we abused our bodies, lost money, watched love ones destroy themselves, everthying. It's only now we cherish what matters." (Daily Express, 1997)

Barry Gibb: "First fame is a very dangerous thing. You read about yourself, believe what people say about you, you believe that you have something very special to say, and God speaks through you and the public need to know, you know. This happens to you when you become famous for the first time, and especially on an international level." (VH1, 1997)

Maurice Gibb: "In the Sixties, everyone was doing drugs, and so did we, but we had limits. We never did LSD or heroin. We loved grass because it helped us create. But we were virginal compared to some others. I remember sitting in a room talking to John Lennon and I didn't realise he was tripping on acid. I just thought he had a very vivid imagination. Another time I was in a club and wondered why the Beatles were all sharing a cigarette... We were that green." (Daily Express, 1997)

Barry Gibb: "Between the mid Seventies and beginning of the Eighties, we had such pressure from the masses, we were nearly torn apart but we all had a strong friendship... I've always said of that period that I didn't enjoy not being able to answer my own phone. I didn't enjoy people climbing over the walls in my back garden and there are moments in life when those things happen, but that level of fame it isn't consistent and everlasting - it has to have a break" (Muse, 2001)

Saturday Night Fever:

Barry Gibb: "It still haunts me like hell. Every time anyone asks me about it my mouth goes dry. It’s almost become the kind of subject matter that to talk about actually will make you nauseous. We won’t be playing too many of those songs on the next tour. But that’s one side of my brain. The other side says wasn’t that a wonderful time and it wasn’t really about The Bee Gees, so don’t worry about it. It was about a period of time where everybody was sort of going through a party mode. Maybe it was something else we were trying to get over." (Mojo, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "We had been down on our luck and someone said, 'Would you write some songs about a painter who goes out dancing in the evenings?' so we did. If we'd have know Travolta would make such a good job out of it we wouldn't have knocked out any old rubbish and sung in those stupid voices." (Daily Express, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "All we were told was that it was about a Brooklyn guy who works at a paint shop across the bridge in New York and goes out every Saturday night and wins a dance competition. [After the film] the world wanted to dance. Lawyers and judges and people who never buy albums, normally, were buying Saturday Night Fever and taking dance lessons." (Entertainment Weekly, 1999)	Barry Gibb: "To have the music loved so much and then rejected out of hand within a decade... Your family thinks it's over for you. You're no longer going to be a pop star. 'What are you going to do now, Dad?' That creates hunger. You're determined to show it's not over." (Entertainment Weekly, 1997)
Maurice Gibb: "I’ll tell you something, though, I love those songs and, whatever went down, we had to go through there to get to here. A lot of people I know would have loved to have a Fever in their career. I’ve always been proud of it, but we had to live with the pisstake through the negative ‘80’s." (Mojo, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "The public today are rediscovering the music for themselves, and it has nothing to do with what the Bee Gees say or do. People will be dancing to Fever in 2050. It's part of pop culture, ... just as much as The Beatles, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.'' (Denver Rocky Mountains News, 1997)	Barry Gibb: "It [Stayin alive] is very danceable but at the same time the lyrics are interesting. I think the idea of 'Saturday Night' is overused. Staying alive is a slightly better concept. I also suggested they use 'Night Fever' as a title." (Teen Bag Magazine, 1977)	Maurice Gibb: "That music was for that time. Now the culture wants to go back. People ask, 'Can you do another Stayin' Alive?' We had a great time, but it's over. We're going forward.'' (USA Today, 1997)
Maurice Gibb: "The film took off in a way nobody had expected. Suddenly, the whole world wanted to dance. But I'm grateful to it." (Daily Express, 2001)	Maurice Gibb: "A lot of people would love to have a "Fever" in their career. It blew us away. Then we got crucified for it. And now we get respect for it. " (San Francisco Chronicle, 2002)	Barry Gibb: " We're the enigma with the stigma" (When inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "A lot of people thought we started with Saturday Night Fever, so it became our albatross. Before the film, we were called blue-eyed soul, but after the film we were the kings of disco." (Mojo, 2001)

Disco Music:

Maurice Gibb: "People accuse us of being nothing more than a disco band now. But they don't know what they're talking about. If you listen to our records, you'll find that there's dance music. But there are also ballads like More Than A Woman. And there are some very beautiful, undanceable songs, too." (TG Magazine, 1978)	Maurice Gibb: "You've got to remember, we weren't doing disco. To us, KC & the Sunshine Band and Donna Summer and the Village People made party disco music, which is all good fun. KC, to me, is the king of disco. This man was doing it long before anybody else. " (San Francisco Chronicle, 2002)	Robin Gibb: "It's a sickness of the media to lock artists into one decade. Look at music in the '90s. It's derivative of the last four decades. The high-tech electronic music is directly out of the late '70s.'' (USA Today, 1997)	Barry Gibb: "It [disco backlash] hurt at the time, but I've gotten philosophical. A segment of the industry wanted to shed the whole disco movement. We were the heads they put on a stick.'' (USA Today, 1997)
Maurice Gibb: "All that stuff we did for Fever was R & B. We weren't disco. We never heard the word disco. And so KC and the Sunshine Band and Donna Summer, they were disco to us. The Village People. It was all that happy dance music that would go on longer than the normal record. And we thought that was disco; that was great fun times, you know. The one that was "Stayin' Alive" and "How Deep Is Your Love," songs of that credibility, of substance that lasts for years. We weren't thinking disco. We never even knew what disco to us was. Just great dance fun. We knew about the R & B from the Stylists, Delphonics, so forth. And that falsetto voice, but it was black, and it was R & B, it's soul and that's been our influence for years." (In Conversation, 2001)	Robin Gibb: "We never made any effort to get into the disco market. We wrote those songs [on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack] for our new album in France and Stigwood called us and asked us if we had any new songs for this film. We knew nothing about disco music. Disco to us was what a club was always called in England and we never knew there was such music as disco, that was a phrase that came up in America after the film came out. We never saw the film till it came out so that music to us was just R&B music we were making for our album." (Radio 2, 2001)	Barry Gibb: "I hate disco music. I listen to it now and all I hear is a cymbal and a back-beat. The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group. We enjoy change and freshness, and disco was only one area we’ve delved into. I don’t think we’ll want to do it again." (Teen Beat, 1980)	Robin Gibb: "A lot of bad records were made in that era, but the Bee Gees' songs hold up and will still be in clubs in 2050. It was exciting, progressive R&B, and the world went mad. The backlash was led by dinosaur critics who thought rock and heavy metal were the only music people should hear.'' (USA Today, 1997)

Falsetto:

Barry Gibb: "When we were cutting our song 'Nights on Broadway', Arif [Mardin] asked me if I had any falsetto. He wanted somebody singing up high or maybe screaming. So I went out in the studio, and I found that not only could I scream in tune, I could sing a whole song in falsetto." (TV Guide, 1979)

Barry Gibb: "I was just tired of that sound. While I liked the idea of doing that at 25, 35 or even 45, I get the horrors of doing it at 55! Of course, there's no argument about all that putting food on the table." (1998)

Maurice Gibb: "We got the falsetto thing from the Stylistics. It was very sensual. Barry heard "Betcha by Golly Wow" and decided to give it a go on "Nights on Broadway." So I kicked him you-know-where as hard as I could and he just started screaming. And then he realized he could sing like that as well. Everyone was doing falsettos -- the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys -- but not like the R&B groups we liked. " (San Francisco Chronicle, 2002)

The Sgt Pepper's film:

Robin Gibb: "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band should have been more like 'Superman.' It should have had more excitement poured into it. As we were making it, I was thinking, ‘I hope they are going to put some visual effects in here.’ When I saw it, it was exactly as we shot it, nothing was improved. On the set the camera is pointing at you and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘It’s gotta be more than just me sitting here in this room, ‘cause nothing’s happening.’ But then you see the film and that’s all there IS. I knew the film wasn’t going to be a big hit… Well, better luck next time." (Teen Beat, 1980)

Robin Gibb: "I hated doing the film, recording the music, because "Sgt. Pepper’s" wasn’t just a Bee Gee project. We didn’t have a chance to act because we didn’t talk; we were just mouthing Beatles lyrics. And I’m not happy singing other people’s songs." (Teen Beat, 1980)

Childhood:

Barry Gibb: "My childhood is fairly vivid to me. I remember standing in Spring Valley... Being about 4 or 5, I remember standing on the loading dock at the back of the ice cream factory pretending to perform." (1997)	Barry Gibb: " We were street kids. Our parents had no control over us. I had a great fear of he law, but I also was very rebellious. Life on the street became more fun, and we wouldn't come home until 11 at night, 12 at night. We'd be on the streets every night." (Daily Express, 1997)	Robin Gibb: "I think it was the environment, especially in Manchester because there were a lot of restless kids on the street. But the fortunate thing with us is that we had something that we wanted to pursue even that early and that was our music... Our father couldn't quite understand where we were coming from at first because we weren't taught anything. We suddenly ended up in the bedroom just harmonising together... We started singing on street corners and cinemas before the film started - it was kind of a grass roots kind of thing, very natural. My parents were a bit worried at first because they didn't know where it was going to end or whether they should encourage it." (1997)	Maurice Gibb: "At school we sang to the other kids. They didn't like us much, but we used to stand against the wall, tell jokes and sing. In fact, most choirs we were in at school, we were thrown out of so it is interesting that we ended up doing what we did. Most of the schools didn't like us harmonising to 'God Save The Queen'. We didn't mean to. It's just that we sang it that way, and naturally they said, 'What are you doing? Get out of my class!'" (1997)
Barry Gibb: "I think a lot of our father's frustration for not quite making it goes into us. We carry on from him." (1997)	Robin Gibb: "We were like the Bronte sisters in that we created our own world and fed off our fantasies and ideas. Once we'd created this inner world we immersed ourselves in that. The Brontes wrote stories, we wrote songs. Outsiders thought we were mad, but once we discovered music we never doubted we would succeed. And it was never about money, it was about being recognised and being liked." (Daily Express, 1997)	Robin Gibb: "When we were little kids we had natural- three-part harmony. We started singing in local theaters around Manchester [England] when Maurice and I were 7 or 8, and we turned professional around 1959-60, after the family had emigrated to Australia. Our dad, who'd been a professional drummer and bandleader for 20 years, was struggling to make ends meet; our mom was ill, and there were five kids. Singing wasn't a question of having a career at that point. It was a question of survival. We started performing between the races at the Redcliffe Speedway in Brisbane, and then we put an act together for the Australian nightclub circuit. That's when we began to have career ambitions." (TV Guide, 1979)	Maurice Gibb: "Our father never once told us that we were good. Every time we came off stage, he told us we were terrible and I think this is what stopped us from being bigheaded." (1997)

Family :

Barry Gibb: "Having families keeps us sane. With all the ups and downs we've experienced, we have to have someone to sit at home with who'll tell us, 'Hey, you're just a person. Knock it off'." (TV Guide, 1979)

Barry Gibb: "They [our children] are all musical. But it took more than being musical for us - you had to be passionate and hungry. To be honest, I don't see that in any of our kids yet. We started this because we had to, we knew nothing else. They've got other choices. I just hope we're around to stop them making the mistakes we made." (Daily Express, 1997)

Andy:

Maurice Gibb: "Andy emulated Barry a lot. He thought a great deal of his older brother. A sort of hero was he for him." (VH1, 1997)	Barry Gibb: "Maurice and Rob were twins so they always had each other. Andy was someone I could always talk to and he always could talk to me, because both of us sort of had a sense of isolation in growing up, so we were extremely close." (VH1, 1997)	Barry Gibb: "The last thing that happened between me and Andy was an argument, which is devastating to me because I have to live with it all of my life. And that was a phone call between he and me and I said "you really have to react, this is no good..." Instead of being gentle about it I was angry, because someone else had said to me at some point that tough love is the answer. For me it wasn't because it was the last conversation we had. So that's my regret, that's what I live with." (VH1, 1997)
Barry Gibb: "I regret that we didn't spend more time, that we were always too busy. Of course you always feel that when somebody's gone, you feel remorse because you could've given him more time, things you could've said and you didn't say..." (VH1, 1997)	Maurice Gibb: "People will remember particularly his kindness, because he helped a lot of people, but he just couldn't help himself." (VH1, 1997)	Barry Gibb: "I definitely feel Andy is in my home in Miami. That is where he wants to be. One night he appeared at my wife's bedside. She saw him clearly. Our son, Travis was restless and had come into our bed, which made it rather too crowded. I had trouble getting to sleep so I went off to lie down in another room. My wife Linda told me later that she was awakened by Andy, who was standing by the bed. He had stubble on his face and he bent and kissed her on the cheek. Then he evaporated into thin air. Linda told me later she wasn't frightened because Andy seemed so calm and peaceful. I knew then that he was happy. Next day, Linda was talking to my mom on the phone and Mom said exactly the same thing had happened to her. It was uncanny." (National Enquirer, 1989)

The Oscars:

Maurice Gibb: "I believe things even in life happen for a reason. One thing even as kids we always dreamed of earning an Oscar. Unfortunatley during the Fever days pop music was not regarded as credible Oscar material. But on the bright side Fever opened the door to popular music. Hence the following year "Flashdance" won." (Ticketmaster online chat, 1997)

Barry Gibb: "I think we'd like to havea really good song in a really good movie. I think that has never really happened to The Bee Gees, apart from Fever and Grease, of course. But they were sort of novelty things in our minds. We've never had that serious shot at being nominated for an Academy Award for a song in a film and I think that that's one of our dreams. At least having a serious shot. That would be wonderful." (Performing Songwriter, 1998)

Maurice Gibb: "It would be nice to get an Oscar but it's not that important. Our goal is to continue playing our music to an audience." (OK on Air, 2001)

Entering Hall of Fame:

Maurice Gibb: "Brilliant. It's a hell of an honor, the cream on the cake." (Rolling Stone, 1997)

Maurice Gibb: "It's like the pinnacle of everything you've worked for. It vindicates everything you've believed in." (Entertainment Weekly, 1997)

Maurice Gibb: "I must admit in the last three years though there has been unbelievable respect. Four lifetime achievement awards, the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame ... all that in three months? We had no idea, you couldn't have planned it. And the respect we've had!" (New Zealand Herald, 1999)

The Bee Gees honored CBEs:

Maurice Gibb: "It's indescribable, it really is, I'm speechless, and Barry and Robin are the same. This is the first time I've had phone calls with them when they haven't said anything. They're just taking a deep breath, going 'Is it true?'" (BBC, 2001)