Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin and Maurice, he rose to global fame as a founder of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music, currently being the only surviving member of the trio. Gibb is well known for his wide vocal range, including a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. Gibb's career has spanned over 70 years.
As a songwriter, Gibb shares the record for most consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones, at six, with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. In total, he has written or co-written sixteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones.
In 1994, Gibb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with his brothers. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of the Bee Gees. In 2007, Q magazine ranked him number 38 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers". Guinness World Records lists him as the second most successful songwriter in history, behind Paul McCartney.
Gibb was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours for services to music and entertainment, and a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music and charity. He was also made an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia on 27 January 2022.
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb was born at Jane Crookall Maternity Home in Douglas, Isle of Man, on 1 September 1946, to Hugh Gibb (15 January 1916 – 6 March 1992), a drummer, and Barbara Gibb (née Pass; 17 November 1920 – 12 August 2016), both Manchester natives. He has English, Irish and Scottish ancestry. Gibb's grandfather Hugh Gibb Sr. was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1892. He has an older sister, Lesley Evans. His second name, "Alan", was after his father's youngest brother, who had died in infancy. According to Hugh Gibb, in a mix of fact and fiction, his third name, "Crompton", was given to honour the Gibbs' ancestor Sir Isaac Crompton (actually Samuel Crompton).
When Gibb was born, his father was busy as a musician working at various hotels in Douglas, while his mother stayed at home looking after the children. Later, the Gibbs moved to Chapel House on Strang Road. When he was almost two years old, he was badly scalded in an accident involving a hot teapot his mother had just set on the table, which he was able to reach and knock over. He was in Nobles Hospital for about two and a half months. Gibb later commented on that incident:
Then the gangrene set in. Because in those days, the advancement of medicine simply didn't apply to people with bad scalds, so you didn't have skin grafts, you didn't have things like that. But this was a particularly bad scald, and I think I had 20 minutes to live at some point. The incredible thing for me is that whole two years is wiped from my memory, the whole period of being in hospital. The idea of being burnt is in there somewhere, but I have no knowledge of it. I've got the scars but I have no knowledge.
In 1949, the Gibb family relocated to 50 St. Catherine's Drive. Later that year, on 22 December, Gibb's two younger brothers Robin and Maurice were born. When the twins were young, the family moved to Smedley Cottage, Spring Valley, also in Douglas.
Gibb started school on 4 September 1951, three days after his fifth birthday, attending Braddan School. In 1952, the Gibb family relocated to 43 Snaefell Road, Willaston, where they lived for the next two years. The same year, he went to Tynwald Street Infants School. On his seventh birthday in 1953, he went to Desmesne Road Boys School.
1955–1966: early performances and songwriting
In 1955, when the Gibb family moved back to their hometown of Manchester, the brothers formed the skiffle group the Rattlesnakes, consisting of Barry on vocals, lead and slide guitar, Robin and Maurice on vocals and acoustic guitar and friends/neighbours Paul Frost and Kenny Horrocks also providing vocals. By 1957, the Rattlesnakes played songs by Cliff Richard, Paul Anka, Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. Gibb said the first song they played was Paul Anka's "I Love You, Baby"; however, in 1968, he remembered it as the Everly Brothers' "Wake Up Little Susie". The Rattlesnakes' first professional gig took place on 28 December 1957 in the Gaumont Cinema. Around 1958, Gibb's guitar was accidentally broken by Frost, who described the guitar as "broken in the middle". By May 1958, when the Gibbs moved to Northern Grove, it signalled the departure of Frost and Horrocks. The brothers later changed the group's name to Wee Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats. Under that name, they performed regularly in Minor 15, a talent contest for under-fifteens held on Thursday nights from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Princess Club in Chorlton.
On 5 March 1958, Gibb's youngest brother, Andy, was born. Five months later, in early August, the Gibb family set sail for Australia as part of an assisted migration scheme from Southampton on the ship Fairsea. Also aboard was Red Symons, future guitarist of Skyhooks, as well as Kylie Minogue's parents. The group later made a new group called the Bee Gees. In 1959, the brothers began singing between races at the Redcliffe Speedway to earn money. Their vocal talent brought them to the attention of Bill Gates, a radio deejay. Gates was also interested in Gibb's original material, including "Let Me Love You" and "(Underneath the) Starlight of Love". After hearing those songs, Gates asked Gibb for more original material. Gibb quit school in September 1961, and the Gibbs moved to Surfers Paradise. The brothers spent the summers of 1961 and 1962 performing at hotels and clubs in the Gold Coast area. By September 1962, Gibb managed to audition songs to Col Joye. The Gibb family moved to Sydney at the start of 1963.
Around the same time, the Bee Gees were signed to Festival, but they were assigned to Leedon. Their first single, "The Battle of the Blue and the Grey", was written by Gibb. Gibb wrote all of the Bee Gees' singles from 1963 to 1966. In July 1963, Lonnie Lee, one of Australia's top recording stars of the time, recorded what is said to be the first rock and roll recording of a Barry Gibb song. Recorded on Leedon Records and named "I'd Like To Leave If I May", radio preferred the flip side. Also between 1963 and 1966, Gibb's songs were recorded by numerous other Australian recording artists including Trevor Gordon, Noeleen Batley, Anne Shelton, April Byron, Ronnie Burns and Lori Balmer. One of them is his composition "One Road" which hit No. 2 in Australia New South Wales Chart and No. 32 on the Kent Music Report charts for Jimmy Little in 1964. Another of his compositions, "I Just Don't Like to Be Alone" by Bryan Davies, reached No. 25 on the New South Wales chart in 1964.
In 1966, Gibb won the annual Radio 5KA award for the best composition of the year, "I Was a Lover, A Leader of Men".
1967–1970: return to UK, commercial break-out and worldwide popularity
The Bee Gees returned to the United Kingdom in early 1967. On 24 February, the group passed a live audition with Robert Stigwood and later signed to Robert Stigwood Organization, also the same day that "Spicks and Specks" was released by Polydor as a single in the United Kingdom. Stigwood became the manager of the Bee Gees. Colin Petersen, drummer, and Vince Melouney, lead guitarist, later joined the group. The result was their first international LP, Bee Gees' 1st. The second single from the album, "To Love Somebody", on which Gibb provided the lead vocal, has become a standard covered by hundreds of artists consistently throughout the years since.
Around the same time, the Gibb brothers contributed backing vocals on the track "Cowman, Milk Your Cow", a song written by Gibb and Robin and sung by the singer Adam Faith.
In 1967, Gibb was in The Speakeasy Club, a nightclub in London, where he was introduced by Pete Townshend to John Lennon. Lennon was still wearing his outfit for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band photo shoot earlier that day on 30 March 1967; after a couple of scotch and cokes, Townshend said to Gibb, "Do you want to meet John?" and he led Gibb across to a room where Lennon was holding court and Townshend said, "John. This is Barry Gibb, from the group the Bee Gees" to which Lennon replied, "Howyadoin'"."So I met John Lennon's back", Gibb said with a laugh, "I didn't meet his front." Gibb earlier said in 2010 about the meeting, "It was virtually a closed club and you went downstairs and there was a coffin and if you were someone they knew and you were supposed to go in, the wall would turn around ... and in you would go. There would be [Rolling] Stones lying around all over the place. It was one of those days when I met John Lennon – from the back. It was Pete Townshend who introduced me ... [Lennon said] 'Pleased to meet you', and he carried on talking to his guest."