On Air Now
The Smooth Sanctuary with Gary Vincent 6pm - 10pm
9 July 2021, 12:30 | Updated: 9 July 2021, 15:49
A new statue of the Bee Gees has been unveiled in the Isle of Man, where the Gibb brothers were born.
The bronze statue of Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb has been displayed on the seafront in Douglas.
The £170,000 art project was commissioned in 2019, but was delayed due to the Covid pandemic.
Artist Andy Edwards created the statue, which is inspired by the video for the group's 1977 classic song 'Stayin' Alive'.
At a ceremony held on Thursday 8th July His Worship the Mayor, Mr Councillor Jonathan Joughin JP unveiled the Statues in honour of one of the world’s most famous vocal groups, the Bee Gees. https://t.co/t1D2EUHFIw pic.twitter.com/MNgIRPVmPJ
— Douglas Council (@DouglasBoroughC) July 9, 2021
The artist was also behind the Beatles statue in Liverpool, and said the location on Douglas Promenade was important to show the group "walking back into the town, coming back from across the sea".
Edwards is quoted by BBC News as saying that he had hoped to "capture that swagger" of the Bee Gees. He added that the most challenging element was recreating the trio's "very distinctive hair".
Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive Music Video
"That's one of the nicest things to do in sculpture because that kind of captures some of the movement and spirit that music normally gives," he added.
"I wanted to make it feel like something like that is moving through them, and they're walking in time, they're walking to a rhythm, the boys have returned".