Editing Bee Gees (section)

====''Bee Gees' 1st'', ''Horizontal'' and ''Idea''====
{{see also|The Bee Gees' concerts in 1967 and 1968}}
[[File:Bee gees 1970.JPG|thumb|250px|right|The Bee Gees in 1967 (left to right: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Vince Melouney, Maurice Gibb and Colin Petersen)]]
Before their departure from Australia to England, Hugh Gibb sent demos to [[Brian Epstein]], who managed [[the Beatles]] and directed NEMS, a British music store. Epstein passed the demo tapes to [[Robert Stigwood]], who had recently joined NEMS.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/487863/robin-gibb-of-the-bee-gees-dead-at-62 |title=Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees Dead at 62 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |last=Graff |first=Gary |date=20 May 2012 |access-date=19 February 2015}}</ref> After an audition with Stigwood in February 1967, the Bee Gees signed a five-year contract whereby [[Polydor Records]] would release their records in the UK, and [[Atco Records]] would do so in the US. Work quickly began on the group's first international album, and Stigwood launched a promotional campaign to coincide with its release.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exdHqRsPWAUC&q=robert+stigwood+audition+bee+gees&pg=PT5 |title=Rock Stars Do The Dumbest Things |first1=Margaret | last1 = Moser | first2 = Bill | last2 = Crawford |access-date=19 February 2015|isbn=9781429978385 |date=April 2007|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing }}</ref>

Stigwood proclaimed that the Bee Gees were "The most significant new musical talent of 1967", thus initiating the comparison of the Bee Gees to the Beatles. Before recording the first album, the group expanded to include [[Colin Petersen]] and [[Vince Melouney]].<ref name="ink">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-brief-movie-stardom-of-colin-smiley-petersen/|magazine=Filmink|date=26 November 2024|access-date=26 November 2024|title=The Brief Movie Stardom of Colin (Smiley) Petersen}}</ref><ref name= pc49>{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19826/m1/ |title=Show 49 – The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, The Bee Gees, and The Who, Part 6 |work=Digital Library |publisher=UNT |access-date=9 July 2011}}</ref> "[[New York Mining Disaster 1941]]", their second British single (their first-issued UK 45 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]] was "Spicks and Specks"), was issued to radio stations with a blank white label listing only the song title. Some DJs immediately assumed this was a new single by the Beatles and started playing the song in [[Rotation (music)|heavy rotation]]. This helped the song climb into the top 20 in both the UK and US.<ref>{{cite web|date=14 April 2020|title=The Bee Gees release their first international hit New York Mining Disaster 1941 in 1967|url=https://www.popexpresso.com/2020/04/14/the-bee-gees-release-their-first-international-hit-new-york-mining-disaster-1941-in-1967/|access-date=31 October 2020|website=Pop Expresso}}</ref>

No such chicanery was needed to boost the Bee Gees' next single, "[[To Love Somebody (song)|To Love Somebody]]", into the US Top 20. Originally written for [[Otis Redding]], "To Love Somebody", a soulful ballad sung by Barry, has since become a pop standard recorded by many singers.<ref>{{cite web|title=To Love Somebody – The Songs Of The Bee Gees 1966–1970 – Record Collector Magazine|url=https://staging-www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/love-somebody-songs-bee-gees-1966-1970|access-date=31 October 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111105718/https://staging-www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/love-somebody-songs-bee-gees-1966-1970|url-status=dead}}</ref> Another single, "[[Holiday (Bee Gees song)|Holiday]]", released in the US, peaked at No.&nbsp;16.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Bee Gees|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bee-gees/chart-history/hsi/|access-date=31 October 2020|magazine=Billboard}}</ref>

The parent album, ''[[Bee Gees' 1st|Bee Gees 1st]]'' (their first internationally), peaked at No.&nbsp;7 in the US and No.&nbsp;8 in the UK. Bill Shepherd was credited as the arranger. After recording that album, the group recorded their first BBC session at the [[Playhouse Theatre]], [[Northumberland Avenue]], in London, with Bill Bebb as the producer, and they performed three songs. That session is included on ''BBC Sessions: 1967–1973'' (2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Bee-Gees-The-BBC-Sessions-1967-1973/release/1478006 |title=Bee Gees, The* – BBC Sessions 1967–1973 |publisher=Discogs |access-date=19 February 2015}}</ref> After the release of ''Bee Gees' 1st'', the group was first introduced in New York as "the English surprise".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ykEAAAAMBAJ&q=bee+gees+bee+gees%27+1st+billboard&pg=PA7 |title=The Children of Rock; Belt the Blues |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=20 July 1967 |access-date=24 January 2015}}</ref> At that time, the band made their first British TV appearance on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''. Maurice recalled:

{{blockquote|[[Jimmy Savile]] was on it and that was amazing because we'd seen pictures of him in the Beatles fan club book, so we thought we were really there! That show had [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]], us, [[the Move]], and [[The Rolling Stones|the Stones]] doing '[[Let's Spend the Night Together]]'. You have to remember this was really before the superstar was invented so you were all in it together.{{Sfn|Bilyeu|Cook|Hughes|2009}} }}

In late 1967, they began recording their second album. On 21&nbsp;December 1967, in a live broadcast from [[Liverpool Cathedral|Liverpool Anglican Cathedral]] for a Christmas television special called ''How On Earth?,'' they performed their own song, "Thank You For Christmas" which was written especially for the programme, as well as a medley of the traditional Christmas carols "[[Silent Night]]", "[[The First Noel]]" and "[[Mary's Boy Child]]" (the latter incorrectly noted as "[[Hark! The Herald Angels Sing]]" on tape boxes and subsequent release). The songs were all pre-recorded on 1&nbsp;December 1967 and the group lip-synched their performance. The recordings were eventually released on the "Horizontal" reissue bonus disc in 2008. The folk group [[The Settlers (band)|the Settlers]] and Radio 1 disc-jockey, [[Kenny Everett]], also performed on the programme, which was presented by the Reverend Edward H. Patey, dean of the cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/rhino-factoids-bee-gees-christmas-special|title=Rhino Factoids: Bee Gees Christmas Special – Rhino|website=Rhino.com|access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Bee Gees cover of KRLA Beat January 27 1968.jpg|thumb|Bee Gees on the cover of the 27 January, 1968 issue of [[KRLA Beat]]]]
January 1968 began with a promotional trip to the US. [[Los Angeles Police Department|Los Angeles Police]] were on alert in anticipation of a Beatles-type reception, and special security arrangements were being put in place.<ref name=pc49 /> In February, ''[[Horizontal (album)|Horizontal]]'' repeated the success of their first album, featuring the group's first UK No.&nbsp;1 single "[[Massachusetts (Bee Gees song)|Massachusetts]]" (a No.&nbsp;11 US hit) and the No.&nbsp;7 UK single "[[World (Bee Gees song)|World]]".<ref name="Charts">[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/bee%20gees/ "Bee Gees: UK Charts History"]. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2014</ref> The sound of the album ''Horizontal'' had a more "rock" sound than their previous release, although ballads like "[[And the Sun Will Shine]]" and "[[Really and Sincerely]]" were included. The ''Horizontal'' album reached No.&nbsp;12 in the US and No.&nbsp;16 in the UK.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/12951/bee-gees/|work=[[Official Charts]]|title=Official Charts - Bee Gees|access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>

With the release of ''Horizontal'', they also embarked on a Scandinavian tour with concerts in [[Copenhagen]]. Around the same time, the Bee Gees turned down an offer to write and perform the soundtrack for the film ''[[Wonderwall (film)|Wonderwall]]'', according to director [[Joe Massot]].{{Sfn|Bilyeu|Cook|Hughes|2009}}

On 27 February 1968, the band, backed by the 17-piece Massachusetts String Orchestra, began their first tour of Germany with two concerts at [[Laeiszhalle|Hamburg Musikhalle]]. In March 1968, the band was supported by [[Procol Harum]] (who had a hit "[[A Whiter Shade of Pale]]") on their German tour.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0DMDAwAAQBAJ&q=bee+gees+procol+harum&pg=PT68 |title=Procol Harum: The Ghosts Of A Whiter Shade of Pale |first=Henry | last = Scott-Irvine |access-date=19 February 2015|isbn=9780857128027 |date=20 November 2012 |publisher=Omnibus Press }}</ref> As Robin's partner Molly Hullis recalls: "Germans were wilder than the fans in England at the heights of [[Beatlemania]]." The tour schedule took them to 11 venues in as many days with 18 concerts played, finishing with a brace of shows at the Stadthalle, [[Braunschweig]].

After that, the group was off to [[Switzerland]]. As Maurice described it:

{{blockquote|There were over 5,000 kids at the airport in Zurich. The entire ride to Bern, the kids were waving Union Jacks. When we got to the hotel, the police weren't there to meet us and the kids crushed the car. We were inside and the windows were all getting smashed in, and we were on the floor.{{Sfn|Bilyeu|Cook|Hughes|2009}} }}

On 17 March, the band performed "Words" on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''. The other artists who performed on that night's show were [[Lucille Ball]], [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] and [[Fran Jeffries]].<ref>{{Citation |contribution-url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/march-17-1968-the-bee-gees-lucille-ball-george-hamilton-fran-jeffries-108953/ |title=The Ed Sullivan show |contribution=17 March 1968: The Bee Gees, Lucille Ball, George Hamilton, Fran Jeffries |publisher=TV |access-date=14 May 2013 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017035552/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/march-17-1968-the-bee-gees-lucille-ball-george-hamilton-fran-jeffries-108953/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 27&nbsp;March 1968, the band performed at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London.{{Sfn|Bilyeu|Cook|Hughes|2009}}

[[File:The Bee Gees.png|thumb|The Bee Gees performing on Dutch television ''Twien'' in 1968]]
Two more singles followed in early 1968: the ballad "[[Words (Bee Gees song)|Words]]" (No.&nbsp;8 UK, No.&nbsp;15 US) and the double A-sided single "[[Jumbo (Bee Gees song)|Jumbo]]" backed with "[[The Singer Sang His Song]]". "Jumbo" only reached No.&nbsp;25 in the UK and No.&nbsp;57 in the US. The Bee Gees felt "The Singer Sang His Song" was the stronger of the two sides, an opinion shared by listeners in the [[Netherlands]] who made it a No.&nbsp;3 hit.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Further Bee Gees chart singles followed: "[[I've Gotta Get a Message to You]]", their second UK No.&nbsp;1 (No.&nbsp;8 US), and "[[I Started a Joke]]" (No.&nbsp;6 US), both culled from the band's third album ''[[Idea (album)|Idea]]''.<ref name="Charts" /> ''Idea'' reached No.&nbsp;4 in the UK and was another top 20 album in the US (No.&nbsp;17).<ref name="Charts" />

After the tour and TV special to promote the album, Vince Melouney left the group, desiring to play more of a blues style music than the Gibbs were writing. Melouney did achieve one feat while with the Bee Gees: his "[[Idea (album)|Such a Shame]]" (from ''Idea'') is the only song on any Bee Gees album not written by a Gibb brother.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The band were due to begin a seven-week tour of the US on 2&nbsp;August 1968, but on 27&nbsp;July, Robin collapsed and fell unconscious. He was admitted to a London nursing home for nervous exhaustion, and the American tour was postponed.{{Sfn|Bilyeu|Cook|Hughes|2009}} The band began recording their sixth album, which resulted in their spending a week recording at [[Atlantic Studios]] in New York. Robin, still feeling poorly, missed the New York sessions, but the rest of the band put away instrumental tracks and demos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/68.html |work=Gibb Songs |title=1968 |last=Brennan |first=Joseph |publisher=Columbia |access-date=14 May 2013}}</ref>