{{automatic Taxobox | name = Bees | fossil_range = Early Cretaceous - Recent, | image = Osmia ribifloris bee.jpg | image_width = 200px | image_caption = ''Osmia ribifloris'' | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Anthophila | subdivision_ranks = Families | subdivision = Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Dasypodaidae Halictidae Megachilidae Meganomiidae Melittidae Stenotritidae | synonyms = Apiformes }}

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila. There are nearly 20,000 known species of bees in seven to nine recognized families, though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-pollinated flowering plants.

Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for larvae.

Bees have a long proboscis (a complex "tongue") that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. They have antennae almost universally made up of 13 segments in males and 12 in females, as is typical for the superfamily. Bees all have two pairs of wings, the hind pair being the smaller of the two; in a very few species, one sex or caste has relatively short wings that make flight difficult or impossible, but none are wingless.

The smallest bee is ''Trigona minima'', a stingless bee whose workers are about 2.1 mm (5/64") long. The largest bee in the world is ''Megachile pluto'', a leafcutter bee whose females can attain a length of 39 mm (1.5"). Members of the family Halictidae, or sweat bees, are the most common type of bee in the Northern Hemisphere, though they are small and often mistaken for wasps or flies.

The best-known bee species is the European honey bee, which, as its name suggests, produces honey, as do a few other types of bee. Human management of this species is known as beekeeping or apiculture.

Bees are the favorite meal of ''Merops apiaster'', the bee-eater bird. Other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, beewolves, and dragonflies.

Pollination

Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. Bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand, especially in social species. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators. It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee. Contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. Monoculture and the massive decline of many bee species (both wild and domesticated) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally varying high-demand areas of pollination.

Most bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge, which aids in the adherence of pollen. Female bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into the scopa, which is on the legs in most bees, and on the ventral abdomen on others, and modified into specialized pollen baskets on the legs of honey bees and their relatives. Many bees are opportunistic foragers, and will gather pollen from a variety of plants, while others are oligolectic, gathering pollen from only one or a few types of plant. A small number of plants produce nutritious floral oils rather than pollen, which are gathered and used by oligolectic bees. One small subgroup of stingless bees, called "vulture bees," is specialized to feed on carrion, and these are the only bees that do not use plant products as food. Pollen and nectar are usually combined together to form a "provision mass", which is often soupy, but can be firm. It is formed into various shapes (typically spheroid), and stored in a small chamber (a "cell"), with the egg deposited on the mass. The cell is typically sealed after the egg is laid, and the adult and larva never interact directly (a system called "mass provisioning").

In New Zealand scientists discovered that three genera of native bees have evolved to open flower buds of the native mistletoe ''Peraxilla tetrapetala''. The buds cannot open themselves but are visited by birds such as the tui and bellbird which twist the top of the ripe bud. That action releases a mechanism which causes the petals to suddenly spring open, giving access to the nectar and pollen. However, when observing the native bees in the Canterbury province in the South Island, the scientists were astonished to see the bees biting the top off the buds, then pushing with their legs, occasionally popping open the buds to allow the bees to harvest the nectar and pollen, and therefore aid in the pollination of the mistletoe which is in decline in New Zealand. Nowhere else in the world have bees demonstrated ability to open explosive bird-adapted flowers.

Visiting flowers can be a dangerous occupation. Many assassin bugs and crab spiders hide in flowers to capture unwary bees. Other bees are lost to birds in flight. Insecticides used on blooming plants kill many bees, both by direct poisoning and by contamination of their food supply. A honey bee queen may lay 2000 eggs per day during spring buildup, but she also must lay 1000 to 1500 eggs per day during the foraging season, mostly to replace daily casualties, most of which are workers dying of old age. Among solitary and primitively social bees, however, lifetime reproduction is among the lowest of all insects, as it is common for females of such species to produce fewer than 25 offspring.

The population value of bees depends partly on the individual efficiency of the bees, but also on the population itself. Thus while bumblebees have been found to be about ten times more efficient pollinators on cucurbits, the total efficiency of a colony of honey bees is much greater due to greater numbers. Likewise during early spring orchard blossoms, bumblebee populations are limited to only a few queens, and thus are not significant pollinators of early fruit.

Pollinator decline

From 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic reduction in the number of feral honey bees in the US, which are now almost absent. At the same time there was a significant though somewhat gradual decline in the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers. This decline includes the cumulative losses from all factors, such as urbanization, pesticide use, tracheal and ''Varroa'' mites, and commercial beekeepers' retiring and going out of business. However, in late 2006 and early 2007 the rate of attrition reached new proportions, and the term colony collapse disorder was coined to describe the sudden disappearances. After several years of research and concern, a team of scientists headed by Jerry Bromenshenk published a paper in October 2010 saying that a new DNA-based virus, invertebrate iridescent virus or IIV6, and the fungus ''Nosema ceranae'' were found in every killed colony the group studied. In their study they found that neither agent alone seemed deadly, but a combination of the virus and ''Nosema ceraneae'' was always 100% fatal. Bromenshenk said it is not yet clear whether one condition weakens the bees enough to be finished off by the second, or whether they somehow compound the other’s destructive power. "They're co-factors, that’s all we can say at the moment. They’re both present in all these collapsed colonies." Investigations into the phenomenon had occurred amidst great concern over the nature and extent of the losses. In 2009 some reports from the US suggested that 1/3 of the honey bee colonies did not survive the winter, though normal winter losses are known to be around 25%.

Apart from colony collapse disorder, many of the losses outside the US have also been attributed to other causes. Pesticides used to treat seeds, such as Clothianidin and Imidacloprid, have been considered prime suspects. Other species of bees such as mason bees are increasingly cultured and used to meet the agricultural pollination need.

Native pollinators include bumblebees and solitary bees, which often survive in refuges in wild areas away from agricultural spraying, but may still be poisoned in massive spray programs for mosquitoes, gypsy moths, or other insect pests. Although pesticide use remains a concern, the major problem for wild pollinator populations is the loss of the flower-rich habitat on which they depend for food. Throughout the northern hemisphere, the last 70 or so years have seen an intensification of agricultural systems, which has decreased the abundance and diversity of wild flowers.

Legislation such as the UK's Bees Act 1980 is designed to stop the decline of bees.

Evolution

Bees, like ants, are a specialized form of wasp. The ancestors of bees were wasps in the family Crabronidae, and therefore predators of other insects. The switch from insect prey to pollen may have resulted from the consumption of prey insects which were flower visitors and were partially covered with pollen when they were fed to the wasp larvae. This same evolutionary scenario has also occurred within the vespoid wasps, where the group known as "pollen wasps" also evolved from predatory ancestors. Up until recently, the oldest non-compression bee fossil had been ''Cretotrigona prisca'' in New Jersey amber and of Cretaceous age, a meliponine. A recently reported bee fossil, of the genus ''Melittosphex'', is considered ''"an extinct lineage of pollen-collecting Apoidea sister to the modern bees"'', and dates from the early Cretaceous (~100 mya). Derived features of its morphology ("apomorphies") place it clearly within the bees, but it retains two unmodified ancestral traits ("plesiomorphies") of the legs (two mid-tibial spurs, and a slender hind basitarsus), indicative of its transitional status.

The earliest animal-pollinated flowers were pollinated by insects such as beetles, so the syndrome of insect pollination was well established before bees first appeared. The novelty is that bees are ''specialized'' as pollination agents, with behavioral and physical modifications that specifically enhance pollination, and are generally more efficient at the task than any other pollinating insect such as beetles, flies, butterflies and pollen wasps. The appearance of such floral specialists is believed to have driven the adaptive radiation of the angiosperms, and, in turn, the bees themselves.

Among living bee groups, the "short-tongued" bee family Colletidae has traditionally been considered the most "primitive", and sister taxon to the remainder of the bees. In the 21st century, however, some researchers have claimed that the Dasypodaidae is the basal group, the short, wasp-like mouthparts of colletids being the result of convergent evolution, rather than indicative of a plesiomorphic condition. This subject is still under debate, and the phylogenetic relationships among bee families are poorly understood.

Eusocial and semisocial bees

Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. The most advanced of these are eusocial colonies found among the honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees. Sociality, of several different types, is believed to have evolved separately many times within the bees.

In some species, groups of cohabiting females may be sisters, and if there is a division of labor within the group, then they are considered semisocial.

If, in addition to a division of labor, the group consists of a mother and her daughters, then the group is called eusocial. The mother is considered the "queen" and the daughters are "workers". These castes may be purely behavioral alternatives, in which case the system is considered "primitively eusocial" (similar to many paper wasps), and if the castes are morphologically discrete, then the system is "highly eusocial".

There are many more species of primitively eusocial bees than highly eusocial bees, but they have rarely been studied. The biology of most such species is almost completely unknown. The vast majority are in the family Halictidae, or "sweat bees". Colonies are typically small, with a dozen or fewer workers, on average. The only physical difference between queens and workers is average size, if they differ at all. Most species have a single season colony cycle, even in the tropics, and only mated females (future queens, or "gynes") hibernate (called diapause). A few species have long active seasons and attain colony sizes in the hundreds. The orchid bees include a number of primitively eusocial species with similar biology. Certain species of allodapine bees (relatives of carpenter bees) also have primitively eusocial colonies, with unusual levels of interaction between the adult bees and the developing brood. This is "progressive provisioning"; a larva's food is supplied gradually as it develops. This system is also seen in honey bees and some bumblebees.

Highly eusocial bees live in colonies. Each colony has a single queen, many workers and, at certain stages in the colony cycle, drones. When humans provide the nest, it is called a hive. Honey bee hives can contain up to 40,000 bees at their annual peak, which occurs in the spring, but usually have fewer.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees (''Bombus terrestris'', ''Bombus pratorum'', et al.) are eusocial in a manner quite similar to the eusocial Vespidae such as hornets. The queen initiates a nest on her own (unlike queens of honey bees and stingless bees which start nests via swarms in the company of a large worker force). Bumblebee colonies typically have from 50 to 200 bees at peak population, which occurs in mid to late summer. Nest architecture is simple, limited by the size of the nest cavity (pre-existing), and colonies are rarely perennial. Bumblebee queens sometimes seek winter safety in honey bee hives, where they are sometimes found dead in the spring by beekeepers, presumably stung to death by the honey bees. It is unknown whether any survive winter in such an environment.

Bumblebees are one of the more important wild pollinators, but have declined significantly in recent decades. In the UK, 2 species have become nationally extinct during the last 75 years while others have been placed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as priority species in recognition of the need for conservation action. In 2006 a new charity, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, was established in order to coordinate efforts to conserve remaining populations through conservation and education.

Stingless bees

Stingless bees are very diverse in behavior, but all are highly eusocial. They practise mass provisioning, complex nest architecture, and perennial colonies.

Honey bees

The true honey bees (genus ''Apis'') have arguably the most complex social behavior among the bees. The European (or Western) honey bee, ''Apis mellifera'', is the best known bee species and one of the best known of all insects.

Africanized honey bee

Africanized bees, also called killer bees, are a hybrid strain of ''Apis mellifera'' derived from experiments by Warwick Estevam Kerr to cross European and African honey bees. Several queen bees escaped from his laboratory in South America and have spread throughout the Americas. Africanized honey bees are more defensive than European honey bees.

Solitary and communal bees

Most other bees, including familiar species of bee such as the Eastern carpenter bee (''Xylocopa virginica''), alfalfa leafcutter bee (''Megachile rotundata''), orchard mason bee (''Osmia lignaria'') and the hornfaced bee (''Osmia cornifrons'') are solitary in the sense that every female is fertile, and typically inhabits a nest she constructs herself. There are no ''worker'' bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor beeswax. They are immune from acarine and ''Varroa'' mites, but have their own unique parasites, pests and diseases (see also diseases of the honey bee).

Solitary bees are important pollinators, and pollen is gathered for provisioning the nest with food for their brood. Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistency. Some solitary bees have very advanced types of pollen-carrying structures on their bodies. A very few species of solitary bees are being increasingly cultured for commercial pollination.

Solitary bees are often oligoleges, in that they only gather pollen from one or a few species/genera of plants (unlike honey bees and bumblebees which are generalists). No known bees are nectar specialists; many oligolectic bees will visit multiple plants for nectar, but there are no bees which visit only one plant for nectar while also gathering pollen from many different sources. Specialist pollinators also include bee species which gather floral oils instead of pollen, and male orchid bees, which gather aromatic compounds from orchids (one of the only cases where male bees are effective pollinators). In a very few cases only one species of bee can effectively pollinate a plant species, and some plants are endangered at least in part because their pollinator is dying off. There is, however, a pronounced tendency for oligolectic bees to be associated with common, widespread plants which are visited by multiple pollinators (e.g., there are some 40 oligoleges associated with creosote bush in the US desert southwest, and a similar pattern is seen in sunflowers, asters, mesquite, etc.)

Solitary bees create nests in hollow reeds or twigs, holes in wood, or, most commonly, in tunnels in the ground. The female typically creates a compartment (a "cell") with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off. A nest may consist of numerous cells. When the nest is in wood, usually the last (those closer to the entrance) contain eggs that will become males. The adult does not provide care for the brood once the egg is laid, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males typically emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge. Providing nest boxes for solitary bees is increasingly popular for gardeners. Solitary bees are either stingless or very unlikely to sting (only in self defense, if ever).

While solitary females each make individual nests, some species are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, giving the appearance to the casual observer that they are social. Large groups of solitary bee nests are called ''aggregations'', to distinguish them from colonies.

In some species, multiple females share a common nest, but each makes and provisions her own cells independently. This type of group is called "communal" and is not uncommon. The primary advantage appears to be that a nest entrance is easier to defend from predators and parasites when there are multiple females using that same entrance on a regular basis.

Cleptoparasitic bees

Cleptoparasitic bees, commonly called "cuckoo bees" because their behavior is similar to cuckoo birds, occur in several bee families, though the name is technically best applied to the apid subfamily Nomadinae. Females of these bees lack pollen collecting structures (the scopa) and do not construct their own nests. They typically enter the nests of pollen collecting species, and lay their eggs in cells provisioned by the host bee. When the cuckoo bee larva hatches it consumes the host larva's pollen ball, and if the female cleptoparasite has not already done so, kills and eats the host larva. In a few cases where the hosts are social species, the cleptoparasite remains in the host nest and lays many eggs, sometimes even killing the host queen and replacing her.

Many cleptoparasitic bees are closely related to, and resemble, their hosts in looks and size, (i.e., the ''Bombus'' subgenus ''Psithyrus'', which are parasitic bumblebees that infiltrate nests of species in other subgenera of ''Bombus''). This common pattern gave rise to the ecological principle known as "Emery's Rule". Others parasitize bees in different families, like ''Townsendiella'', a nomadine apid, one species of which is a cleptoparasite of the dasypodaid genus ''Hesperapis'', while the other species in the same genus attack halictid bees.

Nocturnal bees

Four bee families (Andrenidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Apidae) contain some species that are crepuscular (these may be either the vespertine or matinal type). These bees have greatly enlarged ocelli, which are extremely sensitive to light and dark, though incapable of forming images. Many are pollinators of flowers that themselves are crepuscular, such as evening primroses, and some live in desert habitats where daytime temperatures are extremely high.

Flight

In his 1934 French book ''Le vol des insectes'', M. Magnan wrote that he and a M. Saint-Lague had applied the equations of air resistance to bumblebees and found that their flight could not be explained by fixed-wing calculations, but that "One shouldn't be surprised that the results of the calculations don't square with reality". This has led to a common misconception that bees "violate aerodynamic theory", but in fact it merely confirms that bees do not engage in fixed-wing flight, and that their flight is explained by other mechanics, such as those used by helicopters.

In 1996 Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University showed that vortices created by many insects’ wings and non-linear effects were a vital source of lift; vortices and non-linear phenomena are notoriously difficult areas of hydrodynamics, which has made for slow progress in theoretical understanding of insect flight.

In 2005, Michael Dickinson and his Caltech colleagues studied honey bee flight with the assistance of high-speed cinematography and a giant robotic mock-up of a bee wing. Their analysis revealed that sufficient lift was generated by "the unconventional combination of short, choppy wing strokes, a rapid rotation of the wing as it flops over and reverses direction, and a very fast wing-beat frequency". Wing-beat frequency normally increases as size decreases, but as the bee's wing beat covers such a small arc, it flaps approximately 230 times per second, faster than a fruitfly (200 times per second) which is 80 times smaller.

Bees and humans

Bees figure prominently in mythology and have been used by political theorists as a model for human society. Journalist Bee Wilson states that the image of a community of honey bees "occurs from ancient to modern times, in Aristotle and Plato; in Virgil and Seneca; in Erasmus and Shakespeare; Tolstoy, as well as by social theorists Bernard Mandeville and Karl Marx."

Despite the honey bee's painful sting and the stereotype of insects as pests, bees are generally held in high regard. This is most likely due to their usefulness as pollinators and as producers of honey, their social nature, and their reputation for diligence. Bees are one of the few insects regularly used on advertisements, being used to illustrate honey and foods made with honey (such as Honey Nut Cheerios).

In ancient Egypt, the bee was seen to symbolize the lands of Lower Egypt, with the Pharaoh being referred to as "He of Sedge and Bee" (the sedge representing Upper Egypt).

In North America, yellowjackets and hornets, especially when encountered as flying pests, are often misidentified as bees, despite numerous differences between them.

Although a bee sting can be deadly to those with allergies, virtually all bee species are non-aggressive if undisturbed and many cannot sting at all. Humans are often a greater danger to bees, as bees can be affected or even harmed by encounters with toxic chemicals in the environment (see also bees and toxic chemicals).

In Indonesia bee larvae are eaten as a companion to rice, after being mixed with shredded coconut "meat", wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed.

See also

Apiology

Bee and wasp stings

Honey bee life cycle

International Union for the Study of Social Insects

Pesticide toxicity to bees

Schmidt Sting Pain Index

Starr sting pain scale

Proboscis extension reflex

External links

All Living Things Images, identification guides, and maps of bees

Bee Genera of the World

Solitary Bees & Things Solitary Bees in British gardens

Scientists identify the oldest known bee, a 100 million-year-old specimen preserved in amber

North American species of bees at Bugguide

Native Bees of North America

References

Further reading

O'Toole, Christopher, and Raw, Anthony. (1991). ''Bees of the World''. Facts on File.

Michener, Charles D. (2007). ''The Bees of the World'', second edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.

Category:Hymenoptera Category:Pollinators

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name	Eddie Izzard
birth name	Edward John Izzard
birth date	February 07, 1962
birth place	Colony of Aden, Aden Protectorate (now Aden, Yemen)
medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Stage
nationality	British
active	1987–present
genre	Improvisational comedy,Observational comedy
subject	World history, Celebrities, Religion, Language, Sex
influences	Monty Python, Billy Connolly, Lenny Bruce, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, Spike Milligan
influenced	Harry Hill, Dara Ó Briain, Demetri Martin, Hal Sparks
notable work	''Live at the Ambassadors'' ''Definite Article'' ''Dress to Kill'' ''Glorious'' ''Circle'' ''Lenny Bruce'' in ''Lenny'' ''Wayne Malloy/Doug Rich'' in ''The Riches'' ''Roman Nagel'' in ''Ocean's Thirteen'' ''Erich Fellgiebel'' in ''Valkyrie'' ''Mr. Kite'' in ''Across the Universe''
website	eddieizzard.com

}}

Edward John "Eddie" Izzard (born 7 February 1962) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime.

Izzard's works include stand-up sets ''Unrepeatable'', ''Definite Article'', ''Glorious'', ''Dress to Kill'', ''Circle'', ''Sexie'' and ''Stripped''. He had a starring role in the television series ''The Riches'' as Wayne Malloy and has appeared in many motion pictures such as ''Ocean's Twelve'', ''Ocean's Thirteen'', ''Mystery Men'', ''The Cat's Meow'', ''Across the Universe'', The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and ''Valkyrie''.

He has cited his main comedy role model as Monty Python, and John Cleese once referred to him as the "Lost Python". In 2009, he completed 43 marathons in 51 days for Sport Relief in spite of having no prior history of long distance running.

He is also known for his transvestism.

Early life

Izzard was born in Aden, Yemen, then the Colony of Aden in the Aden Protectorate. He was the younger son of British parents Dorothy Ella, a midwife and nurse, and Harold John Izzard, an accountant who was working in Aden with British Petroleum. A year after his birth, the family moved to Bangor in Northern Ireland and lived there until he was five. The family then moved to Skewen in South Wales where his mother died of cancer when Izzard was six and his brother Mark was eight. Following his mother's death, Izzard attended boarding schools: St John's School in Porthcawl, St. Bede's Preparatory School, and Eastbourne College.

Career

Early career

Izzard began to toy with comedy at the University of Sheffield with partner and student friend Rob Ballard. After leaving his accountancy degree course, he and Ballard took their act to the streets, often in Covent Garden. After his split with Ballard, Izzard spent a great deal of the early 1980s working as a street performer in Europe and the United States. He then moved his act into the stand-up comedy venues of Britain. His first gig was at the Banana Cabaret in Balham, London. In 1987, he made his first stage appearance at The Comedy Store, London. In 1989, he met actress Sarah Townsend who was running a Fringe venue at the Edinburgh Festival. He refined his material throughout the 1980s, and in the early 1990s he finally began earning some measure of recognition through his improvisation, in part at his own club "Raging Bull" in Soho.

Success as a comedian

In 1991, Izzard got a spot on the Fry and Laurie produced AIDS benefit ''Hysteria 3,'' where he did his "Wolves" sketch, which broke him into the mainstream comedy circuit and television. His resultant stand-up work brought him British Comedy Awards in 1993 (for ''Live at the Ambassadors''), a part in "Filth" which was a stand up presentation by left-wing sympathetic comedians in aid of raising money for the Terence Higgins Trust in 1994, and 1996 (for ''Definite Article'').

In 1996, he got a part in his first United States-produced film, ''The Secret Agent,'' where he met and befriended Robin Williams. Williams already knew of Izzard's act, and discussed bringing his act to the United States. As a result, Izzard took ''Definite Article'' on a successful stint in New York City in the same year, and as a support act to Williams took ''Dress to Kill'' to San Francisco in 1998. His U.S. breakthrough came in 1999, when ''Dress to Kill'' was shown on the American television channel HBO, about a year or so after he performed the show on tour in the USA, UK and France. Suddenly, America was aware of Izzard, and the show went on to earn him two Emmy Awards in 2000 (for performance and writing).

In 1999, after complaints that his act recycled jokes appearing on his DVDs, the BBC's consumer programme ''Watchdog'' investigated Izzard's live act. Izzard explained that like most comedy performers, he used some of his most successful routines in each show. Nonetheless, Izzard was issued a warning by the Department of Trade and Industry. Since then, Izzard has rarely performed his stand-up act on television, saying that it uses up material at too high a rate, whereas stage material can be continually re-used in front of different audiences for several months.

In 2005, Izzard used his rambling style to provide the voice-over for the British government's television advertisements promoting recycling. The tagline of the ads was "Recycle. The possibilities are endless!" Izzard also performed on stage with Scottish musician Midge Ure at Live8 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He played the piano on the song "Vienna".

In January 2006, the U.S. television network FX announced the production of a new drama series called ''The Riches'' (formerly ''Low Life''). Izzard and British actress Minnie Driver star as a married couple, Wayne and Dahlia Malloy, who have been part of a caravan of con-artist Irish travellers swindling their way across the U.S. with their children. After finding another family killed in a car accident, the Malloys assume their identities and start a new life as law-abiding suburbanites in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The youngest son has shown a preference for wearing girls' clothing, leading to some speculation that the role was based upon Izzard's experiences. Izzard has stated in several interviews that the character of Sam had been given transvestite tendencies long before he was cast as Wayne Malloy, but he has contributed his perspective to keep the character believable.

Theatrical, TV and film appearances

In 1994, Izzard made his West End drama debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet's ''The Cryptogram'' with Lindsay Duncan, in the production at London's Comedy Theatre. The success of that role led to his second starring role in David Beaird's black comedy ''900 Oneonta''. In 1995, he portrayed the title character in Christopher Marlowe's ''Edward II''.

In 1998 Izzard appeared briefly on stage with the Monty Python team in ''The American Film Institute's Tribute to Monty Python'' (also referred to as ''Monty Python Live at Aspen''). He walked on stage with the five surviving Pythons and he was summarily escorted off by Eric Idle and Michael Palin as he attempted to participate in a discussion about how the group got together.

Izzard portrayed comedian Lenny Bruce in the 1999 production of Julian Barry's 1971 play ''Lenny''. In 2001, he replaced Clive Owen in Peter Nichols' 1967 play ''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' at the Comedy Theatre. Izzard and Victoria Hamilton then repeated their lead roles when the show was brought to Broadway in 2003, with The Roundabout Theatre Company production. The revival received four Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Play, Best Leading Actor and Actress for its stars Izzard and Hamilton in their Broadway debuts, and Best Direction for Laurence Boswell. In June 2010, Izzard replaced James Spader in the role of Jack Lawson in David Mamet's play ''Race'' on Broadway.

Izzard has appeared in numerous films, starting with 1996's ''The Secret Agent''. He has appeared as several real-life individuals, including Charlie Chaplin in ''The Cat's Meow'', actor Gustav von Wangenheim in ''Shadow of the Vampire'' and General Erich Fellgiebel in ''Valkyrie''. Other roles have included Mr. Kite in ''Across the Universe'', Lussurioso in ''Revengers Tragedy'' and criminal expert Roman Nagel in ''Ocean's Twelve'' and ''Ocean's Thirteen''. Voice work has included the titular It in ''Five Children and It'', Nigel in ''The Wild'' and the mouse warrior Reepicheep in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.'' He said in 2009 that he would not be reprising his role as Reepicheep and the role was ultimately played by Simon Pegg in ''The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''.

Izzard appeared in the BBC science fiction miniseries ''The Day of the Triffids'' based on the 1951 novel, alongside Jason Priestley, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Dougray Scott and Brian Cox. He played Dr. Hatteras, a skeptical psychology professor, in the Showtime series ''United States of Tara''.

Comic style

Izzard's style is heavily influenced by Monty Python, especially in his use of a stream-of-consciousness delivery that jumps between topics as he free associates on stage. He does not generally work from a script, owing to his dyslexia. Instead, he interrupts himself with new joke ideas, the characters he portrays turn into other characters, and he nonchalantly leaps from topic to topic. This often results in brief pauses in the routine which he fills with 'so, yeah', and other verbal tics that have become his trademarks. Thinking aloud is also part of Izzard's ongoing attempt to make the process of writing the show itself part of the humour. As he put it in a 2004 interview with ''The Guardian'', "It's the oral tradition. Human beings have been doing it for thousands of years". He frequently notes the reaction to a joke midstream by pretending to write on his hand ("Should be funnier"; "Lost them there"; "They didn't believe me"; "They didn't follow, never do that again", "never link those two[references] together ever again.") He asks the audience questions and verbally engages with hecklers.

Among Izzard's comic talents are mimicry and mime. He portrays God as an authority figure using the voice of James Mason and casts Sean Connery as Noah; these impersonations appear in many of his performances. Izzard also imitates activities such as sawing wood, vacuum cleaning, and mowing the lawn, anthropomorphising the machines with accents and personalities. Successful impressions, such as his Scottish clarinet teacher, Mrs. Badcrumble, become running gags which recur in different shows. He tackles topics both contemporary and historic, including frequent re-imaginings of historical events which result in scenes like 'Cake or Death: Church of England runs the Inquisition', or 'Jesus Ministers to the Dinosaurs'.

When asked about his comedy style by George Stroumboulopoulos, host of CBC Television's talk show, ''The Hour'', Izzard described his use of history by saying,

"I just talk complete bullshit. The history, the politics, I noticed that no one was using history, so there's a lot of history lying about the place, and it's all free, and it's on Wikipedia! You know, I use Wikipedia like a crazy idiot, now. Then I take all this stuff, and I regurgitate it into a weird angle".

In 2008, in his ''Stripped'' tour, Izzard began using Wikipedia itself as part of his stand-up act, reading from a live copy of an article and mocking Wikipedia's self-referential editorial style.

Traditionally, Izzard has focused on the creative possibilities of thinking through absurd situations in real time. He also turns much of the attention on himself and his personality, including his cross-dressing ("It is my manifest destiny to wear a dress on all seven continents"). Contemporary pop culture (Harry Potter, ''Star Wars'', etc.) is also a frequent subject, brought up both to critique its weaknesses and to enhance his anecdotes.

His bent towards the surreal even went so far as to produce a sitcom called Cows in 1997 for Channel 4, a live action comedy with actors dressed in cowsuits.

Transvestism

Izzard started to freely talk about his transvestism in venues like Edinburgh Festival as early as 1992. In his show, ''Dress to Kill'', Izzard describes himself as an "executive", "action" and "professional" transvestite, as "a male tomboy" rather than a drag queen or a "weirdo" transvestite (he cites J. Edgar Hoover and Hermann Göring as examples of the latter). He regularly cross-dresses both on and off stage and makes it clear that cross-dressing is, for him, neither a part of his performance nor a sexual fetish. He remarks in his show ''Unrepeatable'', "Women wear what they want and so do I". According to Izzard, "Most transvestites fancy women". He dismisses claims that he is a male homosexual, saying he is "a straight transvestite or a male lesbian". He has also described himself as "a lesbian trapped in a man's body", transgender, and "a complete boy plus half a girl".

Activism

Izzard has engaged in campaigning work. He is especially well-known as a pro-European Union campaigner supporting the further integration of the UK into the EU. In May 2005 he appeared on the BBC's political debate show ''Question Time'', describing himself as a 'British-European', comparing this with other cultural identities such as 'African-American'. As part of his integration campaigning, he was one of the first people to spend a euro in London. This pan-European approach has influenced his work: he regularly performs in French, in which he is fluent, and occasionally in German, in addition to English. In July 2003, Izzard received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England for "pro-Europe campaigning", "his contribution to promoting modern languages and tolerance of other cultures and lifestyles" and for having "transcended national barriers" with his humour.

He has also campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the departments of Drama and Languages, Linguistics and Translation at the University of East Anglia, although the department of Drama was later reprieved. In 1998, Izzard was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party. He appeared in a party political broadcast for the Labour Party in the run up to the 2005 general election. He donated nearly £10,000 to the party in 2008, appeared again in a party political broadcast for the 2009 European election and again in a 2010 election video entitled 'Brilliant Britain'. Izzard appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.

On 20 July 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in Letters from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sheffield, where he spent one year on an Accounting and Financial Management course in the early 80s. During his time at the University he established the now-defunct Alternative Productions Society in the Union of Students with the aim of promoting fringe-based arts. On 4 March 2010 he was elected as the Honorary President of the University of Sheffield Union of Students.

On 7 July 2007, Izzard was one of the presenters from the London leg of Live Earth. During an interview for the 2008 Stripped tour, Izzard spoke about becoming more active in European politics as well as running for political office in Europe within the next decade. Izzard added a stop in New Orleans during his 2008 ''Stripped'' tour. All proceeds from the performance of 23 June 2008 were donated to Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans.

Marathons

On 27 July 2009, with only 5 weeks' training and no significant prior history of running, Izzard began seven weeks of back-to-back marathon runs (with Sundays off) across the UK to raise money for Sport Relief. He ran from London to Cardiff, to Belfast, to Edinburgh, and back to London carrying flags of England, Scotland or Wales depending on which country he was in, and carried a self-designed green flag bearing a white dove when in Northern Ireland. The blog Eddie Iz Running was a document of his road running marathon, in which he ran 43 marathons in 51 days. He completed the run on 15 September 2009, after having run at least 27 miles each day, 6 days a week for 7 weeks straight, covering more than 1,100 miles across the UK.Izzard received a special award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009 for his achievements.

Izzard ran his final marathon in five hours and 30 seconds, narrowly outside his projected time. However, had he not stopped and waited 20 minutes for his film crew to catch up with him he could have finished well under his target time. In March 2010, Izzard took part in the Sport Relief Mile event.

Following the completion of the marathon runs, Izzard has started training to take part in an Ironman Triathlon, saying he has become fascinated with fitness "because there's no point in throwing away all that training".

Personal life

During his ''Stripped'' tour, Izzard said he realised he was an atheist. "I was warming the material up in New York, where one night, literally on stage, I realised I didn’t believe in God at all. I just didn’t think there was anyone upstairs."

He keeps his romantic life private, saying one of the reasons is due to the wishes of his companions not wanting to become content for his show. Izzard dated Sarah Townsend, the director of the documentary ''Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story'', whom he first met while she was running a Fringe venue at the Edinburgh Festival in 1989.

Izzard speaks French and has performed stand up in French during his shows. He also speaks German and used it in the 2001 film ''All the Queen's Men''.

Critical reception

On 18 March 2007, Izzard was listed as number 3 of the 100 Greatest British National Comedians (just behind Peter Kay at number 2 and Billy Connolly at number 1) as part of British television station Channel 4's ongoing ''100 Greatest...'', series. However in the 2010 updated version of the list he was ranked 5th In a 2005 poll to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', Izzard was voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He was number 75 in Comedy Central's ''100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time''.

During the 1999 television special ''It's... the Monty Python Story'', which Izzard hosted, John Cleese said Izzard was the "Lost Python"; Izzard furthered that idea via his substitution for Graham Chapman in public performance of Python material with the rest of the original members of the troupe. He also made a cameo appearance in the Python reunion interview ''Monty Python Live At Aspen''.

In 2008, Izzard received the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of UCD, Dublin, Ireland. In March 2010, the Students Union of the University of Sheffield overwhelmingly elected him their honorary President.

Discography and appearances

Stand-up

''Live at the Ambassadors'' (15 November 1993)

''Unrepeatable'' (14 March 1994)

''Definite Article'' (21 October 1996)

''Glorious'' (17 November 1997)

''Dress to Kill'' (9 November 1998)

''Circle'' (18 November 2002)

''Sexie'' (26 November 2003)

''Stripped'' (23 November 2009)

Stage

''900 Oneonta'' (1994)

''The Cryptogram'' (1994)

''Edward II'' (1995)

''Lenny'' (1999)

''A Day in the Death of Joe Egg'' (2001–2002, 2003)

''Trumbo'' (2003)

''Race'' (2010)

Filmography

''The Oncoming Storm'' (1995) as Luthor Keeton

''The Secret Agent'' (1996) as Vladimir

''Velvet Goldmine'' (1998) as Jerry Devine

''The Avengers'' (1998) as Bailey

''Mystery Men'' (1999) as Tony P

''The Criminal'' (1999) as Peter Hume

''Circus'' (2000) as Troy

''Shadow of the Vampire'' (2000) as Gustav von Wangenheim

''The Cat's Meow'' (2001) as Charlie Chaplin

''All the Queen's Men'' (2001) as Tony Parker

''Revengers Tragedy'' (2002) as Lussurioso

''Alien Invasion'' (2003) as Brik

''Blueberry'' aka ''Renegade'' (2004) as Prosit

''Five Children and It'' (2004) as It (voice)

''Romance & Cigarettes'' (2004) as Gene Vincent

''Ocean's Twelve'' (2004) as Roman Nagel

''The Aristocrats'' (2005) as Himself

''The Wild'' (2006) as Nigel (voice)

''My Super Ex-Girlfriend'' (2006) as Professor Bedlam

''Ocean's Thirteen'' (2007) as Roman Nagel

''Across the Universe'' (2007) as Mr. Kite

''The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008) as Reepicheep (voice)

''Igor'' (2008) as Dr. Schadenfreude (voice)

''Valkyrie'' (2008) as Erich Fellgiebel

''Rage'' (2009) as Tiny Diamonds

''Every Day'' (2009) as Garrett

''The Other Side'' (2009) as Dean Bellamy

''Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story'' (2009) as Himself

''Cars 2'' (2011) as Miles Axelrod

''Snow White and the Huntsman'' (2012) as Tiberius

TV appearances

''Barf Bites Back (Amnesty International Gala)'' (1991) – ITV

''Open Fire'' (1994)

''Have I Got News for You'' (1994, 1995 and 1996) – BBC Two

''Aristophanes: The Gods are Laughing'' (1995)

''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' (1995)

''Tales from the Crypt'' (1996) – HBO

''Clive Anderson Talks Back'' (1996)

''Inspector Derrick'' (1997)

''Channel Izzard'' (1997)

''The Roseanne Show'' (1998)

''Rex the Runt'' (1998) – BBC

''Shooting Stars'' (1998) – BBC

''Parkinson'' (3 times)

''Dennis Miller Live'' (1999) – HBO

''Python Night – 30 Years of Monty Python'' (1999) – BBC

''Good News Week'' (2000) – Network 10

''Mongrel Nation'' (2002) – Discovery Channel

''The Caroline Rhea Show'' (2002)

''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' (2002, 2004 and 2007)

''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' (2009)

''40'' (2003) – Channel 4

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (2003, 2008) NBC

''QI'' (Unaired pilot- 2002 or 2003, and 2010)

''Top Gear'' (2004) – BBC Two

''Last Call with Carson Daly'' (2005)

''The Sharon Osbourne Show'' (2006)

''Late Show with David Letterman'' (6 times)

''Late Late show with Craig Kilborn'' (4 times)

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

''The Henry Rollins Show'' (2006)

''The Paul O'Grady Show'' (2009)

''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (2006)

''Kitchen'' (2007) – five

''Comedy Cuts'' (interview) (2007)

''The Hour'' (2007)

''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' (2007 and 2009)

''The Daily Show'' (2000, 2003 and 2007)

''The Riches'' (2007–2008)

''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' (2008)

''The Graham Norton Show'' (2008)

''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' (2009)

''Kevin Pollak's Chat Show'' (2009)

''BBC Sports Personality of the Year'' (2009 award winner)

''The Day of the Triffids'' (2009)

''Marathon Man'' (2010)

''The Simpsons'' episode ''To Surveil with Love'' (2010)

''Chelsea Lately'' (2010)

''United States of Tara'' (2011)

''Alan Carr: Chatty Man'' (2011)

Video game

''102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue'' – Sgt. Tibbs the Cat (voice)

Future projects

Eddie Izzard said in a personal appearance (for his biopic ''Believe'') that he is currently putting together a script for a movie as a conclusion to ''The Riches''. He said the plan is to "pick up exactly where we left off, and we think we're going to make a film of the next bit". As of 24 May 2010 there are no indications that this film will ever be made, leaving ''The Riches'' without a conclusion.

He has announced for future tours that a dollar out of each ticket sale will be appropriated to supplying Africa with contraceptives and other means of sexual protection.

See also

Cross-dressing in film and television

References

External links

Official web site

BBC America – Eddie Izzard

Interview with Izzard – ''The Observer'', 3 October 2004

''It's stupid and I love it – the Goon Show and me'' – ''The Guardian'', 14 February 2005.

Izzard interviewed by Bono – ''The Independent'', 16 May 2006

Venus Zine Staff Picks: Eddie Izzard, Dress to Kill

Eddie Izzard Category:1962 births Category:People from Aden Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:English atheists Category:English buskers Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English voice actors Category:English television actors Category:English stand-up comedians Category:Cross-dressers Category:Living people Category:Old Eastbournians Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People educated at Oakleigh House School

ar:إدي آيزارد de:Eddie Izzard es:Eddie Izzard fa:ادی ایزارد fr:Eddie Izzard gv:Eddie Izzard id:Eddie Izzard it:Eddie Izzard he:אדי איזרד hu:Eddie Izzard nl:Eddie Izzard ja:エディー・イザード no:Eddie Izzard nn:Eddie Izzard pl:Eddie Izzard ru:Иззард, Эдди simple:Eddie Izzard fi:Eddie Izzard sv:Eddie Izzard tr:Eddie Izzard

name	Bee Gees
origin
background	group_or_band
genre	Pop, soft rock, blue-eyed soul, disco
years active	1958–2003, 2009–present
label	Polydor, RSO, Warner Bros.
associated acts	Andy Gibb
website
current members	Barry GibbRobin Gibb
past members	Maurice GibbColin PetersenVince MelouneyGeoff Bridgford }}

The Bee Gees are a musical group that was originally made up of three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a foremost act of the disco music era in the late 1970s. The group sang three-part tight harmonies that were instantly recognisable; Robin's clear vibrato lead was a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B; falsetto became their signature sound during the late 1970s and 1980s. The brothers co-wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists.

Born in the Isle of Man to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived their first few years in Chorlton, Manchester, England, then moved in the late 1950s to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where they began their musical careers. After achieving their first chart success in Australia with "Spicks and Specks" (their 12th single), they returned to the United Kingdom in January 1967 where producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to a worldwide audience. It has been estimated that the Bee Gees' career record sales total more than 220 million, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; the presenter of the award to "Britain's first family of harmony" was Brian Wilson, historical leader of the Beach Boys, a "family act" also featuring three harmonising brothers. The Bee Gees' Hall of Fame citation says "Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees".

Following Maurice's sudden death in January 2003, Barry and Robin Gibb ended the group after 45 years of activity. In 2009, however, Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed that the Bee Gees would reform and perform again.

History

Early years

Barry Gibb (born 1946) and twin brothers Robin (born 1949) and Maurice Gibb (1949–2003) were born on the Isle of Man, but the family returned to father Hugh Gibb's home town of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester, England where they went to Oswald Road Primary School, in the early 1950s where the boys began to sing in harmony. The story is told that they were going to lip sync to a record in the local Gaumont cinema (as other children had done on previous weeks) and as they were running to the theatre, the heavy 78-RPM record broke. The brothers had to sing live and received such a positive response from the audience that they decided to pursue a singing career.

In 1958, the Gibb family, including infant brother Andy (1958–1988), emigrated to Redcliffe in Queensland, Australia. The young brothers began performing where they could to raise pocket money. First called ''the Rattlesnakes'', later ''Wee Johnny Hayes & the Bluecats'', they were introduced to radio DJ Bill Gates by racetrack promoter Bill Goode (who saw them perform at Brisbane's Speedway Circuit). Gates renamed them the "Bee Gees" after his and Goode's initials – thus the name was not specifically a reference to "Brothers Gibb", despite popular belief.

By 1960, the Bee Gees were featured on television shows, and in the next few years began working regularly at resorts on the Queensland coast. Barry drew the attention of Australian star Col Joye for his songwriting, and Joye helped the boys get a record deal with Festival Records subsidiary Leedon Records in 1963 under the name "Bee Gees." The three released two or three singles a year, while Barry supplied additional songs to other Australian artists.

A minor hit in 1965, "Wine and Women", led to the group's first LP ''The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs''. However, by 1966 Festival was on the verge of dropping them from the Leedon roster because of their perceived lack of commercial success. It was at this time that they met American-born songwriter, producer and entrepreneur Nat Kipner, who had just been appointed A&R; manager of a new independent label, Spin Records. Kipner briefly took over as the group's manager and successfully negotiated their transfer to Spin in exchange for Festival being granted the Australian distribution rights to the group's recordings.

Through Kipner, the Bee Gees met engineer-producer Ossie Byrne. He produced (or co-produced with Kipner) many of the earlier Spin recordings, most of which were cut at his own small self-built St Clair Studio, in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville. Byrne gave the Gibb brothers virtually unlimited access to St Clair Studio over a period of several months in mid-1966 and the group later acknowledged that this enabled them to greatly improve their skills as recording artists. During this productive time they recorded a large batch of original material—including the song that would become their first major hit, "Spicks and Specks" (on which Byrne played the trumpet coda) – as well as cover versions of current hits by overseas acts such as The Beatles. They regularly collaborated with other local musicians, including members of beat band Steve & The Board, led by Steve Kipner, Nat's teenage son.

Frustrated by their lack of success, the Gibbs decided to return to England in late 1966. Ossie Byrne travelled with them, and Colin Petersen, who eventually became the group's drummer, followed soon after. While at sea in January 1967, they learned that "Spicks and Specks", a No. 1 hit in October 1966 had been awarded Best Single of the Year by ''Go-Set'', Australia's most popular and influential music newspaper.

Late 1960s – first international fame

Before their departure from Australia to England, Hugh Gibb sent demos to Brian Epstein who managed The Beatles and was director of NEMS, a British music store and promoter. Brian Epstein had passed the demo tapes to Robert Stigwood, who had recently joined NEMS. After an audition with Stigwood in February 1967, the Bee Gees were signed to a five-year contract whereby Polydor Records would be the Bee Gees' record label in the United Kingdom, and ATCO Records would be the United States distributor. Work quickly began on the group's first international album, and Robert Stigwood launched a promotional campaign to coincide with its release.

Stigwood proclaimed that the Bee Gees were "The Most Significant New Talent Of 1967" and thus began the immediate comparison to The Beatles. Their second British single (their first UK 45 rpm issued was "Spicks and Specks"), "New York Mining Disaster 1941", was issued to radio stations with a blank white label listing only the song title. Some DJs immediately assumed this was a new Beatles' single and started playing the song in heavy rotation. This helped the song climb into the Top 20 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. No such chicanery was needed to boost the Bee Gees' second single, "To Love Somebody", into the US Top 20. Originally written for Otis Redding, "To Love Somebody" was a soulful ballad sung by Barry, which has since become a pop standard covered by hundreds of artists including Gram Parsons, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, Janis Joplin, The Animals, Nina Simone, and Michael Bolton. Another single, "Holiday" was released in the United States, peaking at No. 16. The parent album, the erroneously titled ''Bee Gees 1st'', peaked at No. 7 in the United States and No. 8 in the United Kingdom.

Following the success of ''Bee Gees 1st'', the band (which now consisted of Barry on rhythm guitar, Maurice on bass, Vince Melouney on lead guitar and Colin Petersen on drums),. began work on the act's second album. Released in late 1967, ''Horizontal'' repeated the success of their first album, featuring the No. 1 UK single "Massachusetts" (a No. 11 US hit), and the No. 7 UK single "World". The sound of the album ''Horizontal'' had a more "rock" sound than their previous release, though ballads like "And The Sun Will Shine" and "Really And Sincerely" were also prominent. The ''Horizontal'' album reached No. 12 in the US, and No. 16 in the UK promoting the record, the Bee Gees made their first appearances in America, playing live concerts and television shows such as ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' and ''Laugh In''.

Two more singles followed in early 1968, the ballad "Words" (No. 15 US, No. 8 UK) and the double A-sided single "Jumbo" b/w "The Singer Sang His Song". "Jumbo" was the Bee Gees' least successful single to date only reaching No. 57 in the US, and No. 25 in the UK. The Bee Gees felt that "The Singer Sang His Song" was the stronger of the two sides, an opinion shared by listeners in the Netherlands, who made it a No. 3 hit. Further Bee Gees chart singles followed: "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (No. 8 US, No. 1 UK) and "I Started A Joke" (No. 6 US), both culled from the band's third album ''Idea''. ''Idea'' was another Top 20 album in the US (No. 17) and the UK (No. 4). Following the tour and TV special to promote the album, Vince Melouney left the group, feeling that he wanted to play more of a blues style music than the Gibbs were writing. Melouney did achieve one feat while with the Bee Gees—his composition "Such A Shame" (from ''Idea'') is the only song on any Bee Gees album not written by a Gibb brother.

By 1969, the cracks began to show within the group. Robin began to feel that Stigwood had been favouring Barry as the frontman. Their next album, which was to have been a concept album called ''Masterpeace'', evolved into the double-album ''Odessa''. Most rock critics felt this was the best Bee Gees album of the 60s, with its progressive rock feel on the title track, the country-flavoured "Marley Purt Drive" and "Give Your Best", and signature ballads such as "Melody Fair" and "First Of May"; the last of which became the only single from the album, and was a minor hit. Feeling that the flipside, "Lamplight" should have been the A-side, Robin quit the group in mid-1969 and launched a solo career. Robin Gibb saw brief success in Europe with the No. 2 hit "Saved By The Bell" and the album ''Robin's Reign''. Barry and Maurice continued as the Bee Gees, even recruiting their sister Lesley to appear with them on stage.

The first of many Bee Gees compilations, ''Best of Bee Gees'' was released, featuring the non-LP single "Words" plus the Australian hit "Spicks and Specks" The CD release replaces "Spicks and Specks" with another non-LP single "Tomorrow Tomorrow", because Polydor could no longer secure the rights to the Australian track. "Tomorrow Tomorrow" was a moderate hit in the UK reaching No. 23, but stalled at No. 54 in the US. The compilation reached the Top Ten in both the US and the UK.

While Robin was off on his own, Barry, Maurice, and Colin continued on as the Bee Gees, recording their next album, ''Cucumber Castle''. There was also a TV special filmed to accompany the album, which aired on the BBC in 1971. Colin Petersen played drums on the tracks recorded for the album, but was fired from the group after filming began and his parts were edited out of the final cut of the film. After Colin was fired, Australian drummer Geoff Bridgford was recruited to complete the recording of songs for Cucumber Castle. The leadoff single, "Don't Forget to Remember" was a big hit in the UK reaching No. 2, but a disappointment in the US, only reaching No. 73. The next 2 singles, "I.O.I.O." and "If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else" barely scraped the charts, and following the release of the album, Barry and Maurice parted ways. It seemed that the Bee Gees were finished. Barry recorded a solo album which never saw official release, though "I'll Kiss Your Memory" was released as a single, without much interest. Meanwhile, Maurice released the single "Railroad", and starred in the West End musical ''Sing A Rude Song''.

Early 1970s

The three brothers reunited in the later part of 1970 penning a series of songs about heartache and loneliness. During this period they became a four piece band joined again by Australian drummer Geoff Bridgford who after playing on the 2 Years On album and Trafalgar album became the last non-Gibb brother to be a member of the Bee Gees. Although they had lost traction on the British charts, the Bee Gees hit No. 3 in America with "Lonely Days" (from the reunion LP ''2 Years On'') and had their first US No. 1 with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (from ''Trafalgar''). The trio's talents were included in the soundtrack for the 1971 film ''Melody'' as they performed several songs for the title. In 1972, they hit No. 16 in America with the single "My World" and "Run To Me" from the LP ''To Whom It May Concern''; the latter also returned them to the British top ten for the first time in three years.

By 1973, however, the Bee Gees were in a rut. The album, ''Life in a Tin Can'', released on RSO Records and its lead-off single, "Saw a New Morning," sold poorly with the single peaking at No. 94. This was followed by an unreleased album (known as ''A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants''). A second compilation album, ''Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2'' was released in 1973, though it did not repeat the success of Volume 1.

On the advice of Ahmet Ertegün, head of their US label Atlantic Records, Stigwood arranged for the group to record with famed soul music producer Arif Mardin. The resulting LP, ''Mr. Natural'', included fewer ballads and foreshadowed the R&B; direction of the rest of their career. But when it too failed to attract much interest, Mardin encouraged them to work with the soul music style.

The brothers attempted to assemble a live stage band that could replicate their studio sound. Lead guitarist Alan Kendall had come on board in 1971, but did not have much to do until ''Mr. Natural''. For that album, they added drummer Dennis Bryon, and they later added ex-Strawbs keyboard player Blue Weaver, completing the late 1970s "Bee Gees band". Maurice, who had previously performed on piano, guitar, organ, mellotron, and bass guitar, as well as exotica like mandolin and Moog synthesiser, now confined himself to bass onstage.

At Eric Clapton's suggestion, the brothers relocated to Miami, Florida, early in 1975 to record. After starting off with ballads, they eventually heeded the urging of Mardin and Stigwood and crafted more rhythmic disco songs, including their second US No. 1, "Jive Talkin'", along with US No. 7 "Nights on Broadway." The latter featured Barry Gibb's first attempts at singing falsetto based on Arif Mardin's suggestion, in the backing vocals toward the end. Robin also began singing some passages in a falsetto pitch. The band liked the resulting new sound, and this time the public agreed, sending the LP ''Main Course'' up the charts. This was their second album to have two US top-10 singles since 1968's ''Idea''. ''Main Course'' also became their first charting R&B; album. Mardin was unable to work with the group afterwards, but the Bee Gees enlisted Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson who had worked with Mardin during the ''Main Course'' sessions. This production team would carry the Bee Gees through the rest of the 1970s.

The next album, ''Children of the World,'' was drenched in Barry's newfound falsetto and Weaver's synthesiser disco licks. Led off by the single "You Should Be Dancing," it pushed the Bee Gees to a level of stardom they had not previously achieved in the US, though their new R&B;/disco sound was not as popular with some die hard fans from the 1960s. The Bee Gees' band was now closer to a rock act, with rhythm guitar and real drums behind the falsetto.

Late 1970s: ''Saturday Night Fever''

Following a successful live album, ''Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live'', the Bee Gees agreed with Stigwood to participate in the creation of the ''Saturday Night Fever soundtrack''. It would be the turning point of their career. The cultural impact of both the film and the soundtrack was seismic, not only in the United States but in the rest of the world, bringing the nascent disco scene mainstream.

The band's involvement in the film did not begin until post-production. As John Travolta asserted, "The Bee Gees weren't even involved in the movie in the beginning ... I was dancing to Stevie Wonder and Boz Scaggs." Producer Robert Stigwood commissioned the Bee Gees to create the songs for the film. The brothers wrote the songs "virtually in a single weekend" at France's Château d'Hérouville studio. Barry Gibb remembered the reaction when Stigwood and music supervisor Bill Oakes arrived and listened to the demos:

Bill Oakes, who supervised the soundtrack, asserts that ''Saturday Night Fever'' did not begin the disco craze; rather, it prolonged it: "Disco had run its course. These days, ''Fever'' is credited with kicking off the whole disco thing–-it really didn't. Truth is, it breathed new life into a genre that was actually dying."

Three Bee Gees singles ("How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", and "Night Fever") reached No. 1 in the United States and most countries around the world, launching the most popular period of the disco era. They also penned the song "If I Can't Have You" which became a No. 1 hit for Yvonne Elliman, while the Bee Gees' own version was the B-Side of "Stayin' Alive." Such was the popularity of ''Saturday Night Fever'' that two different versions of the song "More Than a Woman" received airplay, one by the Bee Gees, which was relegated to album track, and another by Tavares, which was the hit. The Gibb sound was inescapable. During an eight-month period beginning in the Christmas season of 1977, the brothers wrote six songs that held the No. 1 position on the US charts for 25 of 32 consecutive weeks—three under their own name, two for brother Andy Gibb, and the Yvonne Elliman single.

Fueled by the movie's success, the soundtrack broke multiple industry records, becoming the highest-selling album in recording history to that point. With more than 40 million copies sold, ''Saturday Night Fever'' is among music's top five best selling soundtrack albums. It is currently calculated as the 9th highest-selling album worldwide.

During this era, Barry and Robin also wrote "Emotion" for an old friend, Australian vocalist Samantha Sang, who made it a Top Ten hit (the Bee Gees sang back-up vocals). Barry also wrote the title song to the movie version of the Broadway musical ''Grease'' for Frankie Valli to perform, which went to No. 1. During this period, the Bee Gees' younger brother Andy followed his older siblings into a music career, and enjoyed considerable success. Produced by Barry, Andy Gibb's first three singles all topped the US charts. In March 1978, The Bee Gees held the top 2 positions on the US Charts with "Night Fever" and "Stayin' Alive", the first time this had happened since the Beatles. On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for 25 March 1978, five songs written by the Gibbs were in the US top ten at the same time: "Night Fever", "Stayin' Alive", "If I Can't Have You", "Emotion" and "Love is Thicker Than Water". Such chart dominance hadn't been seen since April 1964, when the Beatles had all five of the top five American singles. Barry Gibb became the only songwriter to have four consecutive number one hits in the US breaking the John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1964 record. These songs were "Stayin' Alive", "Love Is Thicker Than Water", "Night Fever", "If I Can't Have You".

The Bee Gees also co-starred with Peter Frampton in the movie ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1978) loosely inspired by the classic 1967 Beatles album. The film had been heavily promoted prior to release, and was expected to enjoy great commercial success. However, the disjointed film was savaged by the movie critics, and ignored by the public. Though some of its tracks charted, the soundtrack too was a high-profile flop. The single "Oh! Darling", credited to Robin Gibb, reached No. 15 in the US. Previously, the Bee Gees had recorded three Beatles covers—"Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight", "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" and "Sun King" – for the transitory musical documentary ''All This and World War II''.

The Bee Gees' follow-up to ''Saturday Night Fever'' was the ''Spirits Having Flown'' album. It yielded three more No. 1 hits: "Too Much Heaven", "Tragedy", and "Love You Inside Out." This gave the act six consecutive No. No. 1 singles in America within a year and a half (a record surpassed only by Whitney Houston). "Too Much Heaven" ended up as the Bee Gees' musical contribution to the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979, a benefit organised by the Bee Gees, Robert Stigwood, and David Frost for UNICEF that was broadcast worldwide. The brothers donated the royalties from the song to the charity. Up to 2007, this song has earned over $11 million for UNICEF. During the summer of 1979, The Bee Gees embarked on their largest concert tour covering the US and Canada. The Spirits Having Flown tour capitalised on Bee Gees fever that was sweeping the nation, with sold out concerts in 38 cities. The Bee Gees produced a video for the title track of "Too Much Heaven" directed by Miami-based film-maker, Martin Pitts and produced by Charles Allen. With this video, Pitts and Allen began a long association with the brothers.

The Bee Gees even had a country hit in 1979 with "Rest Your Love On Me", the flip side of their pop hit "Too Much Heaven", which made Top 40 on the country charts. In 1981, Conway Twitty's version of "Rest Your Love On Me" topped the country charts.

The Bee Gees' overwhelming success rose and fell with the disco bubble. By the end of 1979, disco was rapidly declining in popularity, and the backlash against disco put the Bee Gees' American career in a tailspin. Radio stations around America began promoting "Bee Gee Free Weekends". Following their remarkable run from 1975 to 1979, the act would have only one more top ten single in the US, and that would not come until 1989. The Bee Gees' international popularity sustained somewhat less damage. Barry Gibb considered the success of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack both a blessing and a curse:

1980s

Robin and Barry Gibb released various solo albums in the 1980s but only with sporadic and moderate chart success. However, the brothers had continuing success behind the scenes, writing and producing for several artists. In 1980, Barry Gibb worked with Barbra Streisand on her album ''Guilty''. He co-produced and wrote or co-wrote all nine of the album's tracks (four of them written with Robin and the title track with both Robin and Maurice). Barry also appeared on the album's cover with Streisand, and duetted with her on two tracks. The album reached No.1 in both the US and the UK, as did the single "Woman in Love" (written by Barry and Robin), becoming Streisand's most successful single and album to date.

In 1982, Dionne Warwick enjoyed a UK No.2 and US Adult Contemporary No. 1 with her comeback single, "Heartbreaker", taken from her album of the same name written largely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry Gibb. The album reached No.3 in the UK and the Top 30 in the US where it was certified Gold.

A year later, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers recorded the Bee Gees-penned track "Islands in the Stream", which became a US No. 1 hit and Top 10 in the UK. Rogers' 1983 album, ''Eyes That See In The Dark'', was written entirely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry. The album was a Top 10 hit in the US and was certified Double Platinum.

In 1985, Diana Ross released the album ''Eaten Alive'', written by the Bee Gees, with the title track co-written with Michael Jackson (who also performed on the track). The album was again co-produced by Barry Gibb and the single "Chain Reaction" gave Ross a UK and Australian No.1 hit.

In 1981, the Bee Gees released the album ''Living Eyes'', their last release on RSO. This album was the first CD ever played in public, when it was played to viewers of the BBC show ''Tomorrow's World''. With the disco backlash still running strong, the album failed to make the UK or US Top 40. Two singles from the album fared little better - "He's a Liar" reached No. 30 in the US and "Living Eyes" reached No. 45, breaking the Bee Gees' Top 40 streak which started in 1975 with "Jive Talkin'". In 1983, the Bee Gees had greater success with the soundtrack to ''Staying Alive'', the sequel to ''Saturday Night Fever''. The soundtrack was certified platinum in the US, and included their Top 30 hit "The Woman in You".

In 1983, the band was sued by Chicago songwriter Ronald Selle, who claimed that the brothers stole melodic material from one of his songs, "Let It End", and used it in "How Deep Is Your Love". At first, the Bee Gees lost the case; one juror said that a factor in the jury's decision was the Gibbs' failure to introduce expert testimony rebutting the plaintiff's expert testimony that it was "impossible" for the two songs to have been written independently. However, the verdict was overturned a few months later.

The Bee Gees released the album ''E.S.P.'' in 1987, which sold over 3 million copies. It was their first album in six years, and their first for Warner Bros. Records. The single "You Win Again" went to No. 1 in numerous countries, including Britain, but was a disappointment in the US, charting at No. 75. The Bee Gees voiced their frustration over American radio stations not playing their new European hit single, an omission which the group felt led to poor sales of their current album in the States.

On 10 March 1988, younger brother Andy died at the age 30 as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. His brothers acknowledge that Andy's past drug and alcohol use probably made his heart more susceptible to the ailment. Just before Andy's death, it was decided by the group that Andy would join them, which would have made the group a four piece. This did not come to pass, however. The Bee Gees' following album, ''One'' (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here". The album also contained their first US top ten hit (No. 7) in a decade, "One". After the album's release, they embarked on their first world tour in ten years.

1990s

In 1990, Polydor Records issued the box set ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'', which contained all of the group's singles (except 1981's "Living Eyes"), rare B-sides, unreleased tracks, solo material, and live performances. Many songs received new stereo mixes by Bill Inglot with some songs making their CD debut. At the time of its release, ''Tales'' was one of the first box sets issued in the music business and it was considered an honour for a group to have one. In the UK, Polydor issued a single disc hits collection from ''Tales'' called ''The Very Best of the Bee Gees'', which contained their biggest UK hits. The album became one of their best selling albums in that country, eventually being certified Triple Platinum.

Following their next album, ''High Civilization'' (1991), which contained the UK top five hit "Secret Love", the Bee Gees went on a European tour. After the tour, Barry Gibb began to battle a serious back problem, which required surgery. In addition, he also suffered from arthritis, and at one point, it was so severe that it was doubtful that he would be able to play guitar for much longer. Also in the early 1990s, Maurice Gibb finally sought treatment for his alcoholism, which he had battled for many years, with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1993, the group returned to the Polydor label, and released the album ''Size Isn't Everything'', which contained the UK top five hit "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Success still eluded them in the US, however, as the first single released, "Paying the Price of Love" only managed to reach No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the parent album stalled at No. 153.

In 1997, they released the album ''Still Waters'', which sold over four million copies, and reached No.2 in the UK (their highest album chart position there since 1979) and No.11 in the US. The album's first single, "Alone", gave them another UK Top 5 hit and a top 30 hit in the US. ''Still Waters'' would be the band's most successful US release of their post-RSO era.

On 14 November 1997, the Bee Gees performed a live concert in Las Vegas called ''One Night Only''. The show included a performance of "Our Love (Don't Throw It All Away)" synchronised with a vocal by their deceased brother Andy and a cameo appearance by Celine Dion singing "Immortality". The CD of the performance sold over 5 million copies. The "One Night Only" name grew out of the band's declaration that, due to Barry's health issues, the Las Vegas show was to be the final live performance of their career. After the immensely positive audience response to the Vegas concert, Barry decided to continue despite the pain, and the concert expanded into their last full-blown world tour of "One Night Only" concerts. The tour included playing to 56,000 people at London's Wembley Stadium on 5 September 1998 and concluded in the newly built Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 27 March 1999 to an audience exceeding 105,000.

In 1998, the group's soundtrack for ''Saturday Night Fever'' was incorporated into a stage production produced first in the West End and then on Broadway. They wrote three new songs for the adaptation. Also in 1998 the brothers recorded ''Ellan Vannin'' for Isle of Man charities. Known as the unofficial national anthem of the Isle of Man, the brothers performed the song during their world tour to reflect their pride in the place of their birth.

The Bee Gees closed the decade with what turned out to be their last full-sized concert, known as ''BG2K'', on 31 December 1999.

2000s

In 2001, the group released what turned out to be their final album of new material as a group, ''This Is Where I Came In''. The album was another success, reaching the Top 10 in the UK (being certified Gold), and the Top 20 in the US. The title track was also a UK Top 20 hit single. The album gave each each member of the group a chance to write in his own way, as well as composing songs together. For example, Maurice's compositions and leads are the "Man in the Middle" and "Walking on Air," while Robin contributed "Déjà Vu," "Promise the Earth," and "Embrace," and Barry contributed "Loose Talk Costs Lives," "Technicolour Dreams", and "Voice in the Wilderness". The other songs are collaborative in writing and vocals. They performed many tracks from ''This Is Where I Came In'', plus many of their biggest hits, on the live televised concert series ''Live by Request'', shown on the A&E; Network. The last concert of the Bee Gees as a trio was at the ''Love and Hope Ball'' in 2002.

Maurice, who had been the musical director of the Bee Gees during their final years as a group, died unexpectedly on 12 January 2003 at the age of 53 from a heart attack, while awaiting emergency surgery to repair a strangulated intestine. Initially, his surviving brothers announced that they intended to carry on the name "Bee Gees" in his memory. But as time passed they decided to retire the group name, leaving it to represent the three brothers together.

The same week that Maurice died, Robin's solo album ''Magnet'' was released. On 23 February 2003, the Bee Gees received the Grammy Legend Award. Barry and Robin accepted as well as Maurice's son, Adam, in a tearful ceremony.

Although there was talk of a memorial concert featuring both surviving brothers and invited guests, nothing materialised. Barry and Robin continued to work independently, and both released recordings with other artists, occasionally coming together to perform at special events.

After the Bee Gees

In late 2004, Robin embarked on a solo tour of Germany, Russia and Asia. During January 2005, Barry, Robin and several legendary rock artists recorded "Grief Never Grows Old," the official tsunami relief record for the Disasters Emergency Committee. Later that year, Barry reunited with Barbra Streisand for her top-selling album ''Guilty Pleasures'', released as ''Guilty Too'' in the UK as a sequel album to the previous ''Guilty''. Robin continued touring in Europe. Also in 2004, Barry recorded his song "I Cannot Give You My Love" with Cliff Richard, which became a UK top 20 hit single.

In February 2006, Barry and Robin reunited on stage for a Miami charity concert to benefit the Diabetes Research Institute. It was their first public performance together since the death of brother Maurice. Barry and Robin also played at the 30th annual Prince's Trust Concert in the UK on 20 May 2006.

In October 2008, Robin performed a couple of songs in London as part of the BBC Electric Proms ''Saturday Night Fever'' performance. This involved various other performers and the BBC Concert Orchestra and was screened on the BBC and BBC interactive services.

Return to performing

On 1 September 2009, Barry Gibb, in an interview with Easy Mix radio host Tim Roxborough, mentioned on the subject of future tours that "they will be back"; but in an agreement with Warner/Rhino they would not make an announcement at that time. On 7 September 2009, Robin Gibb disclosed to Jonathan Agnew that he had been in touch with Barry Gibb and that they had agreed that the Bee Gees would re-form and "perform again".

Barry and Robin performed on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' on 31 October 2009 and appeared on ABC-TV's ''Dancing with the Stars'' on 17 November 2009.

On 15 March 2010, Barry and Robin inducted the Swedish group ABBA into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 26 May 2010, the two made a surprise appearance on the ninth season finale of ''American Idol''.

In October 2010, Robin Gibb was interviewed by the ''Daily Mail'', and confirmed that the story of the Bee Gees is to be made into a Hollywood movie by Steven Spielberg. The Oscar-winning director believes the group’s journey from unknowns in Manchester to worldwide fame will prove box-office gold. Robin told the ''Daily Mail'': "The movie is going to be done by some very important people. It will be our life story. Barry and I will be involved in the technical side". One of the challenges for Spielberg will be replicating the brothers’ distinctive three-part harmonies and Barry’s falsetto voice. Robin said: "I’d like our original recordings to be used because it’s very hard to emulate them."

Songwriting success

The Bee Gees have sold in excess of 220 million records worldwide. At one point in 1978, the Gibb brothers were responsible for writing and/or performing 9 of the songs in the Billboard Hot 100. In all, the Gibbs placed 13 singles onto the Hot 100 in 1978, with 12 making the Top 40.

At least 2,500 artists have recorded their songs. Their most popular composition is "How Deep Is Your Love", with 400 versions by other artists in existence. Among the artists who have covered their songs are Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Al Green, Eric Clapton, Lulu, Elton John, Tom Jones, Nina Simone, John Frusciante (who has covered "How Deep Is Your Love" during Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts), Feist, Billy Corgan, Michael Bolton, Robert Smith, Ardijah, Jinusean, Faith No More, The Flaming Lips and Destiny's Child. The band's music has also been sampled by dozens of hip hop artists.

Songs written by the Gibbs, but largely better known through versions by other artists, include:

"Immortality" by Celine Dion

"If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman

"Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross

"Spicks and Specks" by Status Quo

"Emotion" by Samantha Sang and by Destiny's Child

"Come On Over" by Olivia Newton-John

"Warm Ride" by Graham Bonnet and by Rare Earth

"Guilty" and "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand

"Heartbreaker" & "All The Love In The World" by Dionne Warwick

"Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Grease" by Frankie Valli

"Hold On To My Love" by Jimmy Ruffin

"Only One Woman" by The Marbles

"Morning of My Life" by Abi and Esther Ofarim

"Rest Your Love on Me" by Conway Twitty

"Buried Treasure" by Kenny Rogers (backing vocals The Gatlin Brothers)

"Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You" by Teri DeSario

"I Will Be There" by Tina Turner

Awards and recognition

Inductions

1979 Hollywood Walk of Fame

1994 Songwriters Hall of Fame

1995 Florida's Artists Hall of Fame

1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

1997 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Hall of Fame

2001 Vocal Group Hall of Fame

2004 Dance Music Hall of Fame

2005 London's Walk of Fame

Grammy Awards

1978 Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Group – "How Deep Is Your Love"

1979 Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group – "Saturday Night Fever"

1979 Best Arrangement Of Voices – "Stayin' Alive"

1979 Album Of The Year – "Saturday Night Fever"

1979 Producer Of The Year – "Saturday Night Fever"

1981 Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal – "Guilty" (Barry Gibb with Barbra Streisand)

2000 Lifetime Achievement Award

2003 Legend Award

2004 Hall Of Fame Award – "Saturday Night Fever"

World Music Awards

1997 Legend Award

American Music Awards

1979 Favorite Pop / Rock Band, Duo Or Group

1979 Favorite Soul / R&B; Album – "Saturday Night Fever"

1980 Favorite Pop / Rock Band, Duo Or Group

1980 Favorite Pop / Rock Album – "Spirits Having Flown"

1997 International Artist Award

BRIT Awards

1997 Outstanding Contribution To Music

BMI Awards

On 15 May 2007, The Bee Gees were named BMI Icons at the 55th annual BMI Pop Awards. Collectively, Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb have earned 109 BMI Pop, Country and Latin Awards.

Commemorative stamps

In October 1999 the Isle of Man Post Office unveiled a set of 6 stamps honouring their native sons' music. The official launch took place at the London Palladium where the stage show of ''Saturday Night Fever'' was playing. A similar launch was held in New York shortly after to coincide with the show opening across the Atlantic. The songs depicted on the stamps are "Massachusetts", "Words", "I've Gotta Get A Message To You", "Night Fever", "Stayin' Alive" and "Immortality".

Civic honours

In 1978, following the success of ''Saturday Night Fever'', and the single "Night Fever" in particular, Reubin Askew, the Governor of the US state of Florida, named the Bee Gees honorary citizens of the state, since they resided in Miami at the time.

All three brothers (including Maurice, posthumously) were appointed Commanders in the Order of the British Empire, one level underneath knighthood, in December 2001 with the ceremony taking place on 27 May 2004.

On 10 July 2009, the Isle of Man's capital bestowed the Freedom of the Borough of Douglas honour on Barry and Robin, as well as posthumously on Maurice, thereby conveying the award of the town of their birth to all three brothers. On 20 November 2009, Douglas Borough Council released a limited edition commemorative DVD to mark their naming as Freemen of the Borough.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Title ! US Chart ! UK Chart |- | 1965 | style="text-align:left;"|''The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs'' | — | — |- | 1966 | style="text-align:left;"|''Spicks and Specks'' | — | — |- | 1967 | style="text-align:left;"|''Bee Gees 1st'' | 7 | 8 |- | 1968 | style="text-align:left;"|''Horizontal'' | 12 | 16 |- | 1968 | style="text-align:left;"|''Idea'' | 17 | 4 |- | 1969 | style="text-align:left;"|''Odessa'' | 20 | 10 |- | 1970 | style="text-align:left;"|''Cucumber Castle'' | 94 | 57 |- | 1970 | style="text-align:left;"|''2 Years On'' | 32 | — |- | 1971 | style="text-align:left;"|''Trafalgar'' | 34 | — |- | 1972 | style="text-align:left;"|''To Whom It May Concern'' | 35 | — |- | 1973 | style="text-align:left;"|''Life in a Tin Can'' | 68 | — |- | 1974 | style="text-align:left;"|''Mr. Natural'' | 178 | — |- | 1975 | style="text-align:left;"|''Main Course'' | 14 | — |- | 1976 | style="text-align:left;"|''Children of the World'' | 8 | — |- | 1979 | style="text-align:left;"|''Spirits Having Flown'' | 1 | 1 |- | 1981 | style="text-align:left;"|''Living Eyes'' | 41 | 73 |- | 1987 | style="text-align:left;"|''E.S.P.'' | 96 | 5 |- | 1989 | style="text-align:left;"|''One'' | 68 | 29 |- | 1991 | style="text-align:left;"|''High Civilization'' | — | 24 |- | 1993 | style="text-align:left;"|''Size Isn't Everything'' | 153 | 23 |- | 1997 | style="text-align:left;"|''Still Waters'' | 11 | 2 |- | 2001 | style="text-align:left;"|''This Is Where I Came In'' | 16 | 6 |}

Live albums

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Title ! US Chart ! UK Chart |- | 1977 | style="text-align:left;"|''Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live'' | 8 | — |- | 1998 | style="text-align:left;"|''One Night Only'' | 72 | 4 |}

Soundtrack releases

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Title ! US Chart ! UK Chart |- | 1977 | style="text-align:left;"|''Saturday Night Fever'' | 1 | 1 |- | 1978 | style="text-align:left;"|''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' | 5 | 38 |- | 1983 | style="text-align:left;"|''Staying Alive'' | 6 | 14 |}

Catalogue reissue

The Gibbs recently gained ownership rights to their back catalogue, and set up a new distribution arrangement with Warner/Rhino/Reprise Records where they have since reissued digitally remastered versions of ''Saturday Night Fever'', their later ''Bee Gees Greatest'' album, and a new boxed set: ''The Studio Albums: 1967–1968''.

Additionally, more recent titles such as ''Still Waters'' and ''This Is Where I Came In'' were among the first batch of re-releases. The band's three Warner Bros. releases, ''E. S. P.,'' ''One'' and ''High Civilisation'' were also made available on iTunes for the first time since the albums went out of print in North America in the mid-90s.

According to Robin Gibb's website, three more reissues were planned for the 2008 holiday season: ''Best of Bee Gees'', ''Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2'' and ''Love Songs''. The double album ''Odessa'' was released on 13 January 2009 in a special 3-disc deluxe edition complete with the original red velvet cover with remastered stereo and mono versions of the album as well as alternate versions and unreleased tracks.

Limited edition

was recorded in 1997 as a 1,000 quantity limited edition single for Isle of Man charities. The song was featured in the Bee Gees World Tour and on ITV's "An Evening With ..." but to date has not been released generally. The single was subsequently also available as part of the 1999 Bee Gees Stamp issue.

50th anniversary collections

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of The Bee Gees (when they started calling themselves 'Bee Gees' in 1959), Rhino Records is releasing two new collections. ''Mythology'' is a four-disc collection highlighting each brother, including Andy, with tracks personally selected by Barry, Robin, Maurice's wife Yvonne (with his children Adam and Samantha), and Andy's daughter Peta. Maurice's disc contains two unreleased tracks called "Angel Of Mercy" and "The Bridge". Andy's disc contains the unreleased track "Arrow Through The Heart". ''Mythology'' also features a scrapbook of family photos, many never-before published, along with tributes from artists such as George Martin, Brian Wilson, Elton John, Graham Nash and the band's longtime manager Robert Stigwood.

The second collection, ''The Ultimate Bee Gees'' is a more modest two-disc, 40-track collection highlighting their biggest hits which will include a bonus DVD of unreleased videos, previously unreleased television appearances, live performances, and promo videos. Each disc is themed with the first disc being the more upbeat songs called 'A Night Out' and the second disc being more ballad focused called 'A Night In'.

Band instrumentalists

Barry Gibb played rhythm guitar.

During the early 1970s, Robin Gibb played piano and violin occasionally, but most of the time he only sang. Although he keeps on playing strings and keyboards privately, he has not played any instrument on stage since mid-'70s.

Maurice Gibb played bass guitar, rhythm and lead guitar, piano, organ, harpsichord, electric piano, mellotron, and electronic keyboards, synthesisers and drum tracks. From 1966 to 1972 he played multiple instruments on many records. During the late 1970s he played mainly bass guitar. From about 1986 onward he usually played keyboards and guitars. Maurice was credited by the brothers as being the most technologically savvy member of the band, and had built his own home studio. The bootleg CD ''ESP Demos'' allegedly includes rough versions of tracks from the album of the same name that were recorded at that studio.

These musicians were considered members of the band:

Colin Petersen – drums 1967–69

Vince Melouney – lead guitar 1967–68

Geoff Bridgford – drums 1969–72

Alan Kendall – lead guitar 1971–80, 87–01

Dennis Bryon – drums 1974–80

Blue Weaver – keyboards 1975–80

Here are some other musicians who backed up the Bee Gees live and in the studio:

Carlos Alomar – guitar

Ray Barretto – bongos

Reb Beach – guitar

David Foster – keyboards

Steve Gibb – guitar

Scott Glasel – Synthesizer and Drum Programming

Steve Jordan – drums

Manu Katché – drums

Jim Keltner – drums 1973

Rhett Lawrence – Synthesizer Programming

Marcus Miller – bass guitar

Pino Palladino – bass guitar

Greg Phillinganes – keyboards Jeff Porcaro – drums

Russ Powell—bass guitar

Steve Rucker – drums

Raphael Saadiq – bass guitar, guitar, drum programming, vocals

Stephen Stills – percussion

Peter-John Vettese – keyboards

Waddy Wachtel – guitar

Joe Walsh – guitar

Filmography

1969: ''Cucumber Castle''

1978: ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''

1979: ''The Bee Gees Special''

1990: ''One For All Tour''

1997: ''Keppel Road''

1998: ''One Night Only''

2001: ''This Is Where I Came In''

2002: ''Live By Request''

2010: ''In Our Own Time''

In pop culture

Australian music quiz show ''Spicks and Specks'' takes its name from the Bee Gees song of the same name, and features the song in its opening titles

A TV sketch by Kenny Everett in which he played all three Gibbs as well as an interviewer, had the Bee Gees answering all of his questions with song quotes

They were parodied by Philip Pope, Angus Deayton, and Michael Fenton Stevens recording as The Hee Bee Gee Bees, singing "Meaningless Songs (in Very High Voices)"

In an episode of ''The Simpsons'' while at a yard sale Homer and Disco Stu perform the "Staying Alive" parody "Table Five"

In 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011 Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake parodied Barry and Robin Gibb on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the show's ''Barry Gibb Talk Show'' sketches.

The pop punk band Blink 182 parodied the Bee Gees in their "First Date" video

A ''MADtv'' parody shows Barry Gibb, portrayed by Michael McDonald, making an American soundtrack with Randy Newman and other celebrities like Chaka Khan (Aries Spears) and Destiny's Child (Debra Wilson)

In 1998, the British television comedy sketch show ''Big Train'' featured a sketch starring Simon Pegg, Mark Heap and Kevin Eldon as the Bee Gees depicted as outlaws being killed by lawman Chaka Khan in a Western-style shoot-out

In ''The Mighty Boosh'' episode "The Legend of Old Gregg", The Bee Gees are one of the bands who wanted a piece of The Funk

In ''The Goodies'' episode "Saturday Night Grease", Tim imitated the high-pitched voices of the Bee Gees used in the soundtrack ''Staying Alive''

In ''The Fairly OddParents'', Cosmo refers to the untrue history of the Bee Gees, and mentions that "there's too much Bee Gees".

References

External links

Bee Gees – official website

Barry Gibb – official website

Robin Gibb – official website

Bee Gees at ''Rolling Stone''

Bee Gees' Vocal Group Hall of Fame webpage

Bee Gees at bmi.com

* Category:Musical groups established in 1958 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian rock music groups Category:Disco groups Category:English dance music groups Category:English rock music groups Category:Family musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Musical groups from Manchester Category:Manx musical groups Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Queensland musical groups Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Sibling musical trios Category:UNICEF people

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name	The Bird and the Bee
background	group_or_band
origin	Los Angeles
genre	Indie popSynthpopPsychedelic PopShoegaze
years active	2006–present
label	Blue Note Records
associated acts	Geggy Tah
website	www.thebirdandthebee.com/
current members	Greg KurstinInara George
notable instruments	}}

The Bird and the Bee is an indie/Synthpop/alternative musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of musicians Inara George ("the bird") and Greg Kurstin ("the bee"). Kurstin, a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Lily Allen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Beck, Barenaked Ladies, The Flaming Lips, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers, is also a member of the band Geggy Tah. George and Kurstin met while the two were working on her debut album and they decided to collaborate on a jazz-influenced electro pop project. Their debut EP, ''Again and Again and Again and Again'', was released in October 2006 and their debut album was released on January 23, 2007, on Blue Note Records.

History

According to their MySpace page, "Greg and Inara met a few years ago. Discovered a common love of jazz standards... nerded out for a couple of hours playing every song they knew... and then wrote and recorded a record together."

That record was the 3-song EP ''Again and Again and Again and Again'', released by Blue Note Records on October 31, 2006. Included on the EP was a fourth track, a remix version of "Fucking Boyfriend", and it was that track that took less than a month to create a buzz about The Bird And The Bee. December 2006 a remix of "Fucking Boyfriend" topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, although because of its title, radio stations only played the edited version of the song in their club mix shows.

The band's first full-length album, the self-titled ''The Bird And The Bee'' was released on January 23, 2007 to positive reviews; Allmusic for example described it as "irresistible" and "charming and delightful at every turn".

Summer of 2007 found the band touring as opening act for performer Lily Allen, while their music was heard twice that year on the ABC drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', with "Again & Again" featured in the April 26 episode titled ''Desire'', and "Polite Dance Song" featured on the October 25 episode ''Haunt You Every Day ''. With the holiday season came additional exposure for the group, when Apple Inc.'s iTunes web store chose "Carol of the Bells" to be the featured "Free Single of the Week" for the week of November 27.

In 2008 the band released ''One Too Many Hearts'' a "digital EP", exclusively for purchase online. Its February 12, 2008 release timed to coincide with Valentines Day, the four-song collection featured a rendition of the 1920s standard Tonight You Belong to Me.

The Bird and the Bee appeared repeatedly in TV and movies during 2008, with "Fucking Boyfriend" appearing in the film ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' and "How Deep Is Your Love" included in ''Sex and the City: The Movie'' and VH1 promos for their reality show lineup. In July a performance recorded at Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas was released as an EP titled ''Live At The Palms''. The EP included live versions of "Again & Again (Bossa Nova Version)", "Fucking Boyfriend", "Autumn Leaves", "Man", and "Preparedness".

The Bird and The Bee marked the release of their second full album, ''Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future'' with two national television appearances, January 26 on NBC's ''Tonight Show'' and February 4 on ABC's ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''. Following its January 27 release, the album debuted atop the Billboard Magazine Top Heatseekers chart on sales of over 5,000 copies. In support of the new album the band went on a brief 11 performance U.S. tour, which concluded with a March 7, 2009 performance at New York's Carnegie Hall. On March 14 The Bird and The Bee played the Tricot Showroom in Los Angeles as part of a FMLY show.

"What's in the Middle" was featured in Episode 13 of Season 5 of ''Bones''. "4th of July" was featured in the ''Larry'' episode of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

The band's song "Diamond Dave" appeared in the Judd Apatow film ''Funny People''.

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="5" |- !rowspan="2" | Year !rowspan="2" | Album details !colspan="1" | Peak chart positions |- ! style="width:3em;" | US |- |2007 |''The Bird and the Bee''

Released January 23, 2007

Label: Blue Note Records

|align="center"|— |- |2009 |''Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future''

Released: January 27, 2009

Label: Blue Note Records

|align="center"|78 |- |2010 |''Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates''

Released: March 23, 2010

Label: Blue Note Records

|align="center"|75 |}

Extended plays

{|class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Year ! width="250"| EP details |- |2006 |''Again and Again and Again and Again''

Released: October 2006

|- |2007 |''Please Clap Your Hands''

Released: September 2007

|- |align="center" rowspan="2"|2008 |''One Too Many Hearts''

Digital release: February 2008

|- |''Live From Las Vegas at the Palms''

Digital release: July 2008

|}

Singles

{|class="wikitable" border="1" |- !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2" width="175"| Single !colspan="2"| Peak chart position !rowspan="2"| Album |- !style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | US Dance !style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | JPN |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2006 |"Fucking Boyfriend" |align="center"|1 |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''Again and Again and Again and Again (EP)'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2007 |"Again & Again" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''The Bird and the Bee'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2007 |"La La La" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''The Bird and the Bee'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2007 |"Polite Dance Song" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''Please Clap Your Hands (EP)'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2007 |"Carol of the Bells" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''Stockings by the Fire (EP)'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2009 |"Love Letter to Japan" |align="center"|— |align="center"|90 |rowspan="1"|''Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2009 |"My Love" |align="center"|— |align="center"|— |rowspan="1"|''Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future'' |- |align="center" rowspan="1"|2009 |"Diamond Dave" |align="center"|TBR |align="center"|TBR |rowspan="1"|''Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future'' |- |align="center" colspan="5" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes singles that did not chart. |}

Contributions

''Stockings By the Fire'' (2007, Hear Music) – "Carol of the Bells"

See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

Official website

The Bird and the Bee Photo Feature in SPIN

The Bird and the Bee Interview in SPIN

Category:American indie pop groups Category:American dance music groups Category:American electronic music groups Category:Electronic music duos Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 2006

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