Bronze statue of the 'The Bee Gees' on Loch Promenade in Douglas. The statue was erected in the Summer of 2021. The brothers were born on the Island.
The base of the statue is the shape of a record with the Lyrics of 'Ellan Vannin' inscribed behind the figures and the following set between the Manx triskelion and the Douglas Borough coat of the arms:
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb CBE
Robin Hugh Gibb CBE
Maurice Ernest Gibb CBE
known as
THE BEE GEES
were born here on the Isle of Man
They have written, produced and performed over 1000 songs all over
the world and stand amongst the most successful artist of all time.
The Bee Gees recorded a version of Ellan Vannin, the unofficial anthem of the island
for Isle of Man charities in 1997. The song was released as a single and included
in their world tour as a show of pride in the place of their birth.' The Bee Gees (the Gibb Brothers) “The Bee Gees, English-Australian pop-rock band that embodied the disco era of the late 1970s. In becoming one of the best-selling recording acts of all time, the Bee Gees (short for the Brothers Gibb) adapted to changing musical styles while maintaining the high harmonies, elaborate melodies, and ornate orchestrations that were their trademark. The principal members were Barry Gibb (b. September 1, 1946, Isle of Man), Robin Gibb (b. December 22, 1949, Isle of Man—d. May 20, 2012, London, England), and Maurice Gibb (b. December 22, 1949, Isle of Man—d. January 12, 2003, Miami, Florida, U.S.).
After emigrating to Australia with their parents, the Gibb brothers returned to England in the mid-1960s to further their singing careers. Their early recordings, including dramatic hits such as “Massachusetts” (1967), drew comparisons with the Beatles. The trio reached the Top Ten with “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” and “I Started a Joke” (both 1968) but split briefly after the relative failure of their concept album Odessa (1969). Once reunited, they had hits with “Lonely Days” (1970) and “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (1971), but there were several hitless years before they returned to the charts with Main Course (1975). Recorded in Miami, grounded in rhythm and blues, and typified by the chart-topping single “Jive Talkin’,” it put the Bee Gees at the forefront of the disco movement, which their work on the soundtrack album Saturday Night Fever (1977) would popularize and in many ways define. The recording earned several Grammy Awards, including album of the year. Besides writing their own hits, such as “Stayin’ Alive,” the brothers composed tracks for other artists on the album, which would eventually sell 40 million copies. Subsequent albums, however, failed to match the success of their earlier work. The group disbanded on several occasions, most notably after the death of Maurice in 2003, though Barry and Robin reunited in 2009 and made several appearances. After Robin died in 2012, Barry occasionally performed and recorded as a solo act.
In 1997 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2015 received a Grammy for lifetime achievement. The documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart appeared in 2020.
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The Statue The Statue was created by the internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor Andy Edwards who was commissioned by the Borough of Douglas and cost £170,000.
The finished work has been installed n Loch Promenade between Marine Gardens 1 and 2 opposite Regent Street, the statues, and shows Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb walking back into the town of their birth, Douglas.
The statue was unveiled by the Mayor of Douglas, Councillor Jonathan Joughin JP on Thursday 8 July 2021.
At the ceremony Mr Joughin said that the brothers His Worship say how despite becoming one of the best-selling music artists of all time the Bee Gees ‘never forgot the land of their birth’ and that the brothers had always taken every opportunity to speak with ‘deep affection and pride’ of their Manx roots.
Describing the statue, the sculptor said: ‘The title on the stone base is simply The Bee Gees (born here). They are depicted in the swagger of the 1977 video for Stayin' Alive. The song went to number one in The States and became one of six consecutive number one hits for the brothers, equalling The Beatles’ record.
‘The material of the finished statues is bronze, the exact same bronze as The Beatles’ statues. My original sculptures from which the bronzes were cast after being moulded, were modelled in clay, originating from Stoke on Trent, 'The Potteries', UK centre of ceramics, the exact same clay as used by the famous nearby Wedgwood factory today.
‘The statues stand at 2.2m tall - about one fifth bigger in scale than life-size and stand on a base 2.5m in diameter.’
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