The Bee Gees were born on the Isle Of Man, three of five children to Drummer Hugh Gibb and singer Barbara Pass, and made their first performance in Manchester in 1955 when Barry was nine and the twins Robin and Maurice were six. They had formed a group called The Rattlesnakes- which was later changed to Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats- which consisted of the three Gibb brothers and their two friends Paul Frost and Kenny Horrocks.
����In 1958 the Gibb family- Hugh, Barbara, Barry, Robin, Maurice, sister Lesley and baby brother Andy- emigrated to Brisbane, Australia, where the brothers were heard singing at the Redcliffe Speedway by Bill Goode- one of the racing drivers. He was so amazed by what he heard that he took them to meet Bill Gates- a disc jockey in Brisbane- and soon they were singing in between the races, collecting the money which had been thrown onto the track by the audience. The group was named the BG's, and Bill Gates began playing their songs on his radio show: 'Swingin' Gates Platter Chatter'. In 1962 they moved to Sydney, signed to Festival Records, and began hosting their own weekly television series- The BG's Half-Hour'- but as a result they found little success. In 1963, their group name was changed to the Bee Gees and in 1965 they released their first album: 'Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs'. In 1966 they teamed up with producer Ossie Byrne, and released the single 'Spicks and Specks'- the song's title coming from a name the boys had dreamed up for an imaginary pop group- which topped the Australian charts just before the Gibb family began their journey back to England.
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