robingibb

On Wednesday before we headed off to the Seaquarium, we stopped off at the Bee Gees Middle Ear Studios. This time we were lucky enough to meet all three! Barry Gibb arrived first with his daughter. He stopped and talked to us for afew minutes. Barry signed autographs for us then allowed us to take pictures. We then gave him our T-shirt gift, which I think he enjoyed! Afew minutes after Barry went into the studio Robin pulled into the parking lot with Maurice right behind him. Robin approached us and said “hello again”. It made me feel special that with all the fans they must meet Robin had remembered us! He then went into the studio and allowed us to spend some time with Maurice, who had just joined us. Maurice was all smiles as we gave him our gift. He then eagerly signed autographs and posed for pictures! Robin, Maurice and Barry are all so friendly and eager to spend time with their fans! They truely make you feel special.
To be continued…..

On Wednesday we had plans to go to the Miami Seaquarium to swim with the dolphins! I had prepaid (with my credit card) before we left for our vacation for my daughters could swim with the dolphins. When we arrived at the seaquarium we waited at the area we were to meet for the adverture! Then one of the dolphin training staff approached us. She informed my daughters and I that due to the sewage spill and they way the dolphin tanks are set up. We would not be allowed to swim with the dolphins. But since we had come all that way, they would reimburse our credit card. Still they brought us down on the pier by the dolphins and allowed us to pet them and have our pictures taken shaking their fins. They were very nice and answered any questions we had about the dolphins. One of the dolphins, who the trainers told us was very shy around humans, and was even leery of the trainers. Kept swimming right up to my youngest daughter. She seemed to have made a friend! Even with all this the seaquarium still allowed us complimentary admission to all the shows and exhibits for the day. We had a day filled with fun meeting the dolphins, watching the sea lion show, learning about the manatees and so much more.

To be continued…..

Tuesday we spent our time doing some sight seeing around Miami Beach. We wondered around South Pointe Park and saw Andy Gibb Way. In March 1989 Miami Beach dedicated a street to the memory of Andy Gibb. We walked around the Art Deco area and did some souvenir shopping. We ate at the 11th Street Diner, where pictures were taken for the Bee Gees “Size Isn’t Everything” album. We walked the boardwalk at South Beach. We couldn’t go swimming though because today they banned fishing and swimming. A contractor had drove a piling into the city’s sewage pipeline causing a sewage spill. For the remainder of our stay we were not allowed in the water. And this would have an effect on our plans for Wednesday.
To be continued…..

On Monday we stopped by Middle Ear Studios hoping to catch sight of the Bee Gees. Robin was the only one that came in that day. When we met him as he was leaving the building he was kind enough to stop and talk to us. He signed autographs for my daughters and I. We had pictures taken with Robin. A gentleman who worked at the studios was kind enough to take a picture of all of us together. Robin asked where we were from and talked about working on their new album “This is where I Came In”. We also gave Robin a gift. We had special ordered a t-shirt for Robin and Barry and a hat for Maurice. They were black with the word Massachusetts on them. After he got in his car and began to drive off he waved at us.
When we left the studio we went to a fast food place for lunch. My daughters were laughing at me, and the poor guy waiting on us must have thought I was crazy. I couldn’t even talk straight to order. After eating we drove around past Maurice, Barry and Robin’s homes. When we got back to the hotel we went down to the ocean for a while and got our feet wet. It was a good thing we did, because it would be the last day we were allowed to go into the water.
To be continued…..

In the summer of 2000 my two daughters and I went on vacation to Miami Beach Florida. While we were there we were lucky enough to meet Robin, Maurice and Barry Gibb.

We left Massachusetts from Boston airport at 9 o’clock in the morning on Saturday, June 17th. This was the first time my daughters and I had taken an airplane anywhere. So it was a new experience for us. We landed at Miami International airport at 12:30. We rented a car and headed for the Castilo del Mar Resort on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. The hotel was right on the beach. After checking in we walked down to the beach. The next day, Sunday, we went to the Miami Metrozoo. While driving there it began to downpour. We thought that it would spoil our plans for the day. But by the time we arrived the rain had stopped and the ground was dry. I was impressed with the beauty of the zoo and how natural the areas for the animals were. We spent most of the day just wondering around and enjoying ourselves at the zoo.

To be continued…..

Robin Gibb to appear at this years’s Electric Proms!

The BBC Electric Proms, now in its third year, is scheduled for October 22-26, 2008. The five day music festival will be held in London and Liverpool. On Saturday the 25th, in recognition of the 30th anniversary of “Saturday Night Fever” topping the charts in the UK their will be a special performance held in London’s Roundhouse. Robin Gibb will be appearing along with Sam Sparro, Sharleen Spiteri and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Oscar winning composer, arranger and producer, Anne Dudley will be directing the show.

If you can not attend the event the performance will be shown on BBC TV, interactive TV and online.

Even though Robin, Maurice and Barry were busy recording and promoting their new album, “This Is Where I Came In” between 1998-2001 they also found time to do other things. On December 24, 2000 Robin performed two of his favorite carols, “Silent Night” and “In The Bleak Mid-Winter” for the ITV Christmas Eve special, “Christmas Glory”. The event was filmed in Wales at Cardiff Castle and Llandaff Cathedral. Only Robin’s performance of “In The Bleak Mid-Winter” was aired due to lack of time. On June 19, 2001 the video “Bee Gees: This Is Where I Came In - The Official Story of the Bee Gees” is released. And in November of 2001 a double CD “Bee Gees Their Greatest Hits - The Record” is released. Along with many of the past hits from the Bee Gees the CD included new versions of “Emotion”, “Heartbreaker”, “Islands In The Stream” and “Immortality”. These were all hit songs the Bee Gees had written for other artists, but for this CD the Bee Gees recorded their own versions of these songs.

Also in the summer of 2000 my daughters and I while on vacation were lucky enough to meet Robin, Maurice and Barry.

To be continued…..

With the release of “This Is Where I Came In” in 2001 Robin, Maurice and Barry were very busy promoting their new album. On March 14, 2001 Robin was a guest on Johnnie Walker’s Radio 2 programme to present the new album. He also appeared on Radio 5’s Five Live programme. Later in the month he appeared on Steve Wright’s radio show. On March 17 the Bee Gees taped for Thomas Gottichalk’s Wetten Dass program in Austria. March 20 the boys recorded a one hour special concert for Radio 2 at the 300 seat BBC Radio Theatre. On March 24 they were guests on the Parkinson Show and on the 23 they taped a Top of the Pops 2 special. Robin did an interview on Capital Gold radio on March 22. Maurice and Robin presented the new single on the UK morning show GMTV on March 26. In April they began promotions in the US. On April 6th Robin called (from his home in the UK) to my local area radio station Star 93.7 to talk about the new album and the Live By Request show. (Star 93.7 was also the first station in the US to start playing the single) April 16 they had an all day meeting at Middle Ear were representatives from networks (Argentine, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico) flew in for interviews. On the 20th of April they appeared on A&E Biography, and VH1 All Access. The 24th they appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. On the 25th you could fing them on VH1’s Legends and Bee Gees One Night Only. On both April 26th and 27th they appeared on Good Morning America. Also on the 27th at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City Robin, Maurice and Barry performed on Live By Request. They also appeared in many magazines including a special March 24 issue of Billboard magazine, “The Bee Gees: 35 Years Of Music”. And an interview with Maurice in OK Magazine.
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“This Is Where I Came In”
released in 2001
This album proved that the Bee Gees still had what it takes to make a hit record.
Their harmonies are still perfect.
Their voices still strong and unique.
1. “This Is Where I Came In” (written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) The song opens simply and beautifully with Maurice on guitar and Robin on vocals, then Robin alternates verses with Barry. This song shows some great bluesy guitar work from Maurice. Two of the guitars Maurice used were old guitars that used to belong to The Beatles.
2. “She Keeps On Coming” (written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) This song is a great showcase for Robin’s unique voice. He does a great job getting us moving on this rock style song.
3. “Sacred Trust” (written by Barry Gibb) Originally written for the Backstreet Boys, but they never used it. Barry sings lead with that slow breathy voice that can get your heat beating for this love song. With Robin chanting in the background. The Bee Gees still have the beautiful harmonies we all love.
4. “Wedding Day” (written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) A beautiful love ballard with Barry on lead during the verse and Robin giving us chills during the chorus. What bride wouldn’t want to dance with their groom to this song on their Wedding day.
5. “Man In The Middle” (written by Maurice Gibb) The first of two Maurice solo songs. A very personal song with a blues sound. Maurice is in top form here. Songs like this make you wish he had stepped forward and sang lead more often.
6. “Deja Vu” (written by Robin Gibb) The first of Robin’s solo songs. Robin went to Area 21 Studios in London and worked with Peter John Vettese for his solo work. Robin puts so much feeling into his voice that you can feel yourself trembling in his arms as he sings “Sheltering arms reach out to you”. A very modern love song.
7. “Technicolor Dreams” (written by Barry Gibb) The first of Barry’s three solo songs from the album. If you listen you can hear Barry say “Kiss my arse” at the beginning. Has a dance hall 1950 sound to it.
8. “Walking On Air” (written by Maurice Gibb) The second of Maurice’s solo songs. Maurice did the vocal, backing vocal, guitar, keyboard and drum programming for this song that will have you singing along while shaking your hips.
9. “Loose Talk Costs Lives” (written by Barry Gibb) A ballard solo from Barry with a very modern feel.
10. “Embrace” (written by Robin Gibb) This song starts out slow with just a guitar, then changes to a techno drum beat. Robin’s voice can make you feel the song. When he sings “Another daybreak, another heartache. I long for your embrace” The saddness coming through his voice makes you long to melt in his embrace.
11. “The Extra Mile” (written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) Written for the 2000 Olympics where the Bee Gees were to open the Sydney Games. Beautifully done with the Bee Gees blending their rich voices with a symphany orchestra.
12. “Voice In The Wilderness” (written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) The last of three Barry songs on the album. Robin and Maurice join Barry for a rocking end to the album that will get your heart racing.
Japan, Australian, UK edition Bonus Tracks….
13. “Just In Case” (written by Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb) A Ballard with Robin singing lead and Barry on the chorus. Fans were able to watch how the Bee Gees go about writing a song. When the brothers were filmed working on this song during the documentary “Keppel Road” in 1996.
14. “Promise The Earth” (written by Robin Gibb) Robin has a very distinctive voice that can bring out all the emotion from each song he sings. This is a beautiful solo ballard that Robin throws all his heart and soul into. Robin, I believe!

On April 2, 2001 (US had to wait until April 24) Robin, Maurice and Barry released what would result in becoming their final album of all new material. “This Is Where I Came In”. The album reaches #16 on the charts in the US, #6 in the UK and #3 in Germany.

Recording for the album began early in 1998. During the later half of the year the brothers took a break from recording while they performed their “One Night Only” concerts. They returned to Middle Ear studios in March of 1999. Where by June they had written 18 songs. They then decided to go off by themselves and work on some songs. Which resulted in three Barry songs, two Maurice songs and three Robin songs. By the later part of 1999 Robin, Maurice and Barry got back together and finished up working on the album.

Where by 2001 “This Is Where I Came In” was ready for release. And Robin, Maurice and Barry prepared themselves to promate the new album.

To be continued…..