Bee Gees first TV gig: Teenage Barry Gibb and 10 year olds Robin and Maurice sing in 1960

31 October 2024, 13:11

The brothers were just kids when they gave their first ever national TV performance, but their harmonies, even then, were unmatched.

When Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb gave their first performance on national TV, they probably never dreamed that the Bee Gees would go on to be as successful as they were.

It was August 12, 1960, when the three brothers were invited to sing on the Desmond and the Channel 9 Pins Australian variety show.

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At the time, Barry was 13 years old – a towering teenager beside twins Maurice and Robin, who were only 10 years old.

And yet their harmonies sounded just as wondrous as they did for the decades of music that followed, as they performed an original song penned by Barry, 'Time is Passing By'.

The Bee Gees - Time Is Passing By (1960)

The family were flown in from Brisbane specially for the performance. It was only two years earlier that the Gibbs had emigrated to Redcliffe, Australia, leaving behind their home in Manchester, England.

To earn some extra pocket money, the talented young brothers had been performing together.

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But after this TV appearance, they began regularly working at resorts on the Queensland coast.

Five years later they published their first ever album, titled The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs.

In 1967, their first international full-length recording, Bee Gees' 1st, was released.

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The Bee Gees' final live performance took place on February 23, 2002, with a show held at the Love and Hope Ball, at Miami Beach in the States.

Maurice passed away the next year at the age of 53, due to complications of a twisted intestine.

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It wasn't until 2006 that Barry and Robin performed live together again.

Robin sadly died in 2012 at the age of 62 after being diagnosed with cancer.

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