September 1st marked the 74th birthday of a man who just may be the second most successful popular songwriter of all time after Paul McCartney. Sure, these things can be a little hard to quantify, but songwriter of 16 different US #1 hits, 10 different UK #1 hits, 21 different US or UK #1 hits…
Category: Bee Gees
Samantha Gibb Covers Her Dad’s Most Beloved Song – What Maurice Said To Me Backstage With The Bee Gees In 1999
March 20th, 1999 and I’m in some kind of delirious state of nirvana because I’m backstage with Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb – the Bee Gees – at Western Springs stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Against the hum of 70,000 awaiting fans and here I am, a 17-year old in my new corduroy pants and…
The Bee Gees ‘Cucumber Castle’ Turns 50 & It’s Time This Brilliant, Forgotten Album Was Rediscovered
50-years ago this month, Cucumber Castle by the Bee Gees was released. To mark the anniversary of this largely forgotten album, I’ve done a deep dive to figure out how something this good managed to slip through the cracks… The semi-soundtrack to a silly TV special nobody saw, likewise became an album that few people bought….
Kenny Rogers Dies Aged 81 – Half A Dozen Unbelievable Songs The Bee Gees Wrote For Him
It’s a testament to how a big a deal Kenny Rogers is that his death yesterday at the age of 81 has successfully snuck its way through all the Coronavirus-related headlines. And Kenny Rogers was – for over 50-years – a very, very big deal. This is a man who sold over 100-million records, who…
Forget Bradley Cooper, Here’s Who Should Play Barry Gibb In The Upcoming Bee Gees Biopic
OK, forgive me the headline because truth be told, if the rumours are correct and Bradley Cooper does end up playing Barry Gibb in the upcoming movie about the Bee Gees, I’ll be more than happy. He’s got the acting chops, looks and musical sensibilities, not to mention the necessary Gibb-like hirsuteness and Gibb-like tan-ability….
How The Bee Gees Got Me My Start In Radio (& Other Cracking Yarns) – Being Interviewed On Newstalk ZB’s ‘Real Life’
Last month I was interviewed on the Newstalk ZB show ‘Real Life With John Cowan’ where I got to indulge in my multiple obsessions with things like cricket, Malaysia and the Bee Gees. Specifically, how a childhood in Malaysia still shapes me as an adult, how cricket was crucial in making me love New Zealand, and how…
Samantha Gibb On The New Band Of Brothers She’s Producing, Spirits Having Flown’s 40th Anniversary & If There’ll Be Another Gibb Collective Album
Recently I caught up again with Bee Gee offspring Samantha Gibb, the daughter of the late Maurice Gibb, for an extended interview. Our second full interview following on from our conversation in 2017 (that interview – which you can link to here – became the most read post on Roxborogh Report for 2017 and one…
Every Bee Gees Album Ranked From 22-1
Not only have I debated with other fans, I’ve endlessly debated with myself as to what the absolute finest Bee Gees albums actually were. So let’s spark up that debate once more! Only this time, with a little mathematics to help us out. Put the kettle on, get comfy, fire up the speakers and get…
Great Southern Land: The Soundtrack To An Aussie Outback Road Trip – My NZ Herald Article
On Monday I’ll be returning to the Queensland Outback so here’s a recent piece of mine the New Zealand Herald published about my ‘roo-dodging, Aussie-soundtracked road trip there back in 2016: New Zealand Herald, May 6, 2018: ‘Brisbane – Way beyond the beach’ As the title suggests, this was “way beyond the beach”. As in,…
21 Different Genres, 21 Different Bee Gees Songs – Barry Gibb Gets His Knighthood
I’m so thrilled for Barry Gibb, or Sir Barry Gibb as he is now officially known. His knighthood was finally presented to him by Prince Charles a few hours ago (having been announced in December last year) with Barry joking to the future king about the difficulty in getting up from the stool he had to kneel…
40 Years Since Andy Gibb’s ‘Shadow Dancing’ & The Biggest Hit Of 1978
This past week marked 40 years since Andy Gibb hit the summit of the US singles charts with Shadow Dancing, the title track to his second album. This wasn’t just a big hit. We’re talking double platinum in the US with more than 2.5 million copies sold in that country alone. Then there are the…
Barry Gibb Reveals Long Lost Grease Demo As The Film Turns 40
I can remember reading once that Barry Gibb reportedly earned more money for writing the song Grease than any one person has ever earned for a solitary song in music history. Something both highly contestable and near-on impossible to quantify, but who cares, it’s a great fun fact. Even if the “fact” aspect is mightily…