Sydney Entertainment: 1989
The Bee Gees, The Show Must Go On - And This One's For Andy
The Three Musketeers of pop music - the Bee Gees - feel their brother,Andy Gibb, is with them on the comeback trail as he intended.
Barry, 42, and twins Maurice and Robin, 39, feel their "baby brother" is still here despite his death just over a year ago.
"As corny as that may sound, that's what we feel and you can never accept that that person has gone," Barry said yesterday. "You always think they're somewhere. Is there nothing after life? Is that it? I don't think so."
Speaking in Sydney at the launch of their One For All tour of Australia - their first here since 1974 - they stressed losing Andy was a big partof the decision to tour to support their new album, One.
"Andy was supposed to be on this tour with us as well as on the album," Maurice said. "It didn't come across obviously, but the album and the tour are dedicated to Andy."
The Brothers Gibb say their "all for one and one for all" philosophy has been strengthened by the death of latter day d'Artagnon from a virus of the heart muscle made lethal by years of addiction to cocaine.
Barry blamed Hollywood for providing the fatal fuel for Andy's" addictive personality"."He never had real confidence in himself," Barry said. "The way he lived his life is what killed him, it's as simple as that."
The remaining brothers, who say they also fought with drugs but survived, have found new interest in the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of life as a result of their loss.
The brothers, who say they think and feel as one person, share a hobby of studying things supernatural, paranormal and occult. "Not that black magic stuff, just like unexplained things," Maurice said.
The Bee Gees, whose Lancashire accents are reminiscent of the Beatles, despite nine years in Australia and many more in Miami Beach, said it was only a slump in their career that had prevented them returning "home" sooner.
The Bee Gees left Australia in 1967 after a string of 13 flops. It was only as they were sailing to England that they hid their first hit - Spicks and Specks. "This is still home to us. It always has been," Maurice said.
They have already visited their old home and nearby Bronte Beach ("we were the ones with our clothes on") and seen some of their many Australian relatives. They hope to visit old haunts in Brisbane, as well as their granny in Adelaide.
With them on the tour are Maurice's son Adam and Barry's eldest Steve, who is a guitar technician.
The irony of the Bee Gees' career is that their Saturday Night Fever album, which has sold 30 million copies, also produced a backlash which led to the break-up of the group in 1981.
The Bee Gees' tour dates are: November 7, Bruce Stadium, Canberra; November 9, Memorial Drive, Adelaide; November 11, Entertainment Centre, Perth; November 15, Entertainment Centre, Sydney; November 17-18, National Tennis Centre, Melbourne; November 20, Entertainment Centre, Brisbane; November 23, Entertainment Centre, Sydney.
