BEE GEES - CHILDREN OF THE WORLD - BOB STANLEY with PETE PAPHIDES

We're delighted to welcome back to Walthamstow Trades Hall author, journalist, curator and compiler Bob Stanley (St Etienne) to discuss Children of the World, his highly-anticipated biography of the Bee Gees.

The Bee Gees are one of the most important and influential bands in pop history. Their musical story spans the entire modern pop era and they are the only group to have scored British top-ten singles in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Yet, for a band of such renown, little is known about Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb. Weren’t two of them twins? Didn’t one of them marry Lulu? And why did they storm out of that Clive Anderson interview?

Bob Stanley delivers the definitive biography of this incredible band of brothers, from the world-conquering disco successes like ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘More Than a Woman’, the million-selling albums, the private jets and UNICEF concerts to the vicious split of 1969 to the unreleased albums, a demoralising cabaret season and disastrous TV and film appearances.

This compelling read captures the human story at the heart of the Bee Gees – an important and enigmatic group who continue to inspire musicians and fans alike with music which matches the imagination of the Beatles and the pop craft of ABBA.

Bob Stanley says: “Since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by the Bee Gees. The first things I heard were their early 70s ballads, ‘Run To Me’ and ‘My World’, and they seemed extraordinarily melancholy. Their harmonies were something else. A little later I became aware of their sixties hits, like ‘Massachusetts’ and ‘To Love Somebody’, and shortly after that they metamorphosed into the biggest group in the world. What happened after the disco years was rarely less than intriguing. Even in their darkest times, the Gibbs’ music was rarely off the chart, whether it was sung by Al Green (‘How Can You Mend a Broken Heart’), Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (‘Islands in the Stream’) or Destiny’s Child (‘Emotion’). For me the Bee Gees’ story has the drama of Fleetwood Mac, and their music has the emotional heft of the Beach Boys. I wanted to write Children Of The World to explain how deeply strange, unique and important the Bee Gees are.”

At this very special pre-publication event BOB WILL BE IN CONVERSATION WITH PETE PAPHIDES, answer audience questions, sign books and maybe have a surprise or two. Dancing and dressing funkily at the decks we have DJ THEODORA GOES WILD

Finally, the definitive biography of the Bee Gees. Bob Stanley tells one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of pop, epic and mythical, with tales of heart-stopping joy and sadness. Children Of The World does full justice to the Gibb brothers' extraordinary musical legacy. I pretty much inhaled it in one sitting.' -- Pete Paphides

'The Bee Gees are my all-time favourite band. Perhaps I love them that fraction more than any other artist because I don't think their genius - or their flat-out weirdness - has ever been fully appreciated. But they are here: meticulously researched, endlessly entertaining, written with both love and a cool critical eye. Bee Gees: Children of the World wins again and again.' -- Alexis Petridis

Host or Publisher Walthamstow Rock 'n' Roll Book Club