Robin Gibb

[curiouswombat]

I have seen a few people commenting on the death of Robin Gibb - and a number of articles on the news. They talk a lot about his music and the BBC mentioned the work he did to have a memorial erected to the men who flew in bomber command during WW2; sadly he will never see it unveiled.

What none of them has mentioned is something much closer to home for me - Robin Gibb was born on our small island and said, on a number of occasions, that he considered himself Manx - he and Dwina own a house on the island - and he was a tireless supporter of our local children's hospice - where his passing will be mourned just as much as it is by the great and the good of the music business.

A genuinely kind man.

Comments

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I did see in one of the articles here in the US that he was born on the Isle of Man, and I thought of you. I didn't realize he considered himself Manx, though.

I do love the Bee Gees music. I discovered them during the disco years but when I heard "Massachusetts" and "I Started a Joke", I quickly came to prefer their older, non-falsetto sound. Just a superb musical family, the Gibbs. So sad to see them passing on.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Over the years one or another member or branch of the family has lived here much of the time - his youngest brother used to play with a local band for a year or two as a teenager.

But Robin is the one who maintained his links the most.

I love all that earlier stuff, too - and the snippets I have heard of the Titanic Requiem he wrote with his son sounds good, too, although I am not sure that he ever heard that performed in public.

[alwaysjbj.livejournal.com]

He did seem like a lovely man.

The News here seems to like to by-pass the English leg of their journey, saying they were born on The Isle of Man and moved to Brisbane.

On an interesting note, my best friend's father used to give them music lessons when they were boys.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

my best friend's father used to give them music lessons when they were boys.

What a neat connection. My late great-aunt apparently knew their mother - I remember her saying so about when Massachusetts was a hit.

he News here seems to like to by-pass the English leg of their journey

That amuses me greatly - because I had just commented to my husband that some of the BBC coverage seems to by-pass the Australian years; 'Born in the Isle-of-Man, they moved to Manchester and went on to become one of the greatest groups Britain ever produced, second only to the Beatles as song writers'!!

[deborahw37.livejournal.com]

I'm glad he's out of pain now. May he rest in peace

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I do feel sorry for Barry and his sister - the two eldest ones of five and the only two left - and for their mother who has buried her three youngest sons.

[deborahw37.livejournal.com]

I can't begin to imagine what they're going through.. to lose a child or a brother must be terrible but to have lost three seems so terribly cruel. I feel for Robin's wife and family too.

[spikereader.livejournal.com]

Everyone I've heard talking about him has said just that - he was a genuinely nice, kind, compassionate man.

A sad loss.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

He really does seem to have been - the hospice staff seem to have thought so, too.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

That's a perspective that hasn't been touched on at all in most of the obits.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

That was why I mentioned it really - it seemed sad that this aspect of him was not being mentioned. Although his music was, clearly, the most important thing , he used it (and his fame and money) to benefit others, too.

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

The Bee Gees were part and parcel of my teenage years (late 60s/early 70s), and from what I heard he a very wonderful person. So yes, it was very sad to hear about his death.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I was most fond of the pre-disco stuff - they were my pin-ups when I was at school. And I always had a bit of a soft spot for Robin - the least photogenic of the whole family, but with such a moving voice.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

This. OMG, that voice.

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

Same here. I liked the pre-disco stuff.

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

I was just watching a couple of videos posted by someone else on my f-list and thinking that I'd never seen him not smiling, and that he seemed a genuinely lovely person, but I didn't know about his charity work, nor of his Isle of Man connection.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

He was certainly not a saint - he has a daughter who is only three with his former housekeeper - but he was very genuine about his charity work and everyone who met him in that context seems to have really liked him.

His work for Rebecca House earned him nothing by way of publicity etc, as very few people outside the island were ever aware of it - so I think he really was a genuinely nice guy.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

The news made me so sad. The BeeGees music was such a huge part of my youth. But it's nice to hear about the more human aspects of Robin Gibb. I was not aware he was Manx and it's nice to hear he was a good man as well as a talented one. Thanks for this. I feel so sad for his mother.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I feel very sorry for her - and Barry, too. Their sister has always lived her own life - but Barry must feel very alone now.

Robin was the one who always said he felt Manx - although the whole group did a couple of Manx songs for charity a few years ago - but he kept a home here, and was so good to the children's hospice - without ever using it as a way to seek publicity.

[shirebound]

This is a loss for all of us, but doubly so for you and your neighbors.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

We didn't exactly know him - but we did feel he was one of us - and he clearly did, too.

Rebecca House will miss him.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I am inconsolable over this one.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I loved all their early music, and a lot of what they wrote for others, and he was one of my pin-ups when I was a teenager - it is a hard loss - and he was a good guy as well.

[cbtreks.livejournal.com]

Very sad news. I kept thinking about Barry being the oldest and all his brothers gone. Horrible thought. I didn't realize he was born on the Isle of Man - the one article I read today skipped that bit entirely, just mentioning they were from Manchester (implying, I thought, that they were born there).

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Robin, more than the others, seemed to feel this was where he came from - his parents based themselves back here for quite a while when the BeeGees had their first hits, so it was where he came 'home' to as a teenager and in his early twenties.

I think Barry must feel rather lonely now - and their mother is still alive, too.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I didn't know any of that! I'm particularly impressed by the children's hospice.

And I feel bad for the remaining brother. There's just one left now, right? What a terrible position to be in.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

There's just one left now, right?

Yes,there is just Barry - and a sister who lives out in Australia - she fitted in between Barry and the twins. Their mother is still alive too - I am just imagining how life must have been for her when they were small - she must have had four children under the age of four by the time she was 20!

Robin always maintained links with the island - but things like his work with Rebecca House were not done for publicity apart from his name being able to open doors occasionally.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

How sad for their mom then; she's lost three children. I'm glad she still has the sister and Barry.

And yikes, that would be a busy mom. My sister had three under two for a bit and I remember how stressful that was for her!

I have a lot more respect for celebrities that use their money and influence for the good without using it for publicity.

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

His death hasn't been embraced with the same hysterics and news coverage of Whitney Houston. I'm irrationally irritated when the media makes more of a fuss over the death of someone whose life choices brought about her death than someone else who merely died from disease.

The Bee Gees were such a huge part of my teen years. What some don't realize is what an impact they had on music with their writing. So many of the hits by other artists were written by the Gibb brothers. Amazingly talented men.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I'm irrationally irritated when the media makes more of a fuss over the death of someone whose life choices brought about her death than someone else who merely died from disease.

Absolutely.

The Gibb brothers do seem to lack recognition of just how much of the most memorable music of the past 50 years they wrote. Although, on the news in the UK, it has been pointed out that they have written more hits than Lennon and McCartney - and had at last as big an effect on music - it was good to hear that brief acknowledgement.

[desdemonaspace]

I did not know any of that! Thanks for posting.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I thought it deserved to be mentioned in amongst all the things he is famous for - he will be missed by hospice in particular - he did a concert for them a couple of years ago and raised £25,000.