The Isle Of Man Post Office will issue a special set of stamps on November 3rd to celebrate the peerless musical career and the tireless charitable work of superstar singer/songwriter/producer and Manxman Barry Gibb.
Says Barry: “I’m very proud of my Manx roots. I was born and bred on the ancient, mystical, magical Isle Of Man, and I have very fond memories of growing up there, so to appear on a set of its stamps is not only a wonderful surprise, but also an honour and a privilege.”
Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of legendary group The Bee Gees, was born at the Jane Crookall maternity home in the Isle Of Man’s capital Douglas on 1st September 1946, and lived on the island until 1955 when the family moved first to Manchester, then emigrated to Australia in 1958 before returning to the UK in ‘67. He currently resides in Miami in the US.
With a career spanning more than five decades, Barry Gibb is one of the most renowned and celebrated musicians of the modern era. He is co-founder and creative leader of the Bee Gees (with his brothers Robin and Maurice), one of the most successful vocal groups of all time. They recorded 22 studio albums and contributed to numerous film soundtracks, including Saturday Night Fever and Grease (Barry wrote the title song performed by Frankie Valli). The Bee Gees have sold more than 200 million albums to date. They had dozens of worldwide hit singles that featured their singular and highly influential three-part harmonies, including “To Love Somebody”, “Jive Talkin”, “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive”, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart,” “I Started A Joke,” “Lonely Days,” “Words,” and “You Win Again.” Barry also had success writing, producing and recording for other artists, notably with Barbra Streisand and the album ‘Guilty’, Dionne Warwick with ‘Heartbreaker’, Diana Ross and “Chain Reaction” and the classic ‘Islands In The Stream’ for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.
With nine #1 singles as a performer, Barry is also amongst the most successful songwriters of all-time (with sixteen #1 singles) and is seventh on the list of most successful producers (with fourteen #1 singles). He is also tied with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for most #1 singles in a calendar year with seven. Among his many awards and honours are a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, eight Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award and, most recently, the 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the recipient of the American Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the BMI Icon Award, four BMI Songwriter of the Year Awards, four BMI Song of the Year Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004 the Bee Gees were made Commanders of the British Empire and, in 2018, Barry received one of Britain’s highest honours when he was knighted by Prince Charles for his services to music and charity.
Barry’s latest album ‘Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook Vol 1’, a beautiful collection of duets of Bee Gees’ classics with some of country music’s biggest names went straight to No 1 in the UK in January ’20, his first no 1 as a solo artist. The title of the album ‘Greenfields…’ is inspired by the first words on the song ‘Butterfly’, which are a reference to the fields near where he grew up on the Isle of Man – “Green fields where we used to wander, Purple valleys, Near my home. We would play there, Beneath the sky, Then I kissed you Butterfly.”
Behind the scenes Barry Gibb has been hugely generous with his time and his talent to support numerous causes that are close to his heart. Beneficiaries of his charitable work include UNICEF (to whom he and his brothers donated the copyright of their hit ‘Too Much Heaven’), the Princes Trust, Nordoff Robbins, the Diabetes Research Institute, the National Association of Police Athletic/Activities League, and Whatever It Takes.
At the request of Sir Barry this stamp issue will support the work of music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.
The seven 2021 Barry Gibb Isle Of Man stamps created feature Barry at various stages in his incredible musical career. The full details of the images on the stamps are as follows:
Stamp 1: during the filming of the Bee Gees 1969 TV Special Cucumber Castle (photograph by Mike Randolph /Paul Popper/Popperfoto via Getty Images).
Stamp 2: a portrait in the late 1970s at his home in Miami, Florida USA (photograph by Ed Caraeff).
Stamp 3: On the set of the film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Los Angeles, October 1977 (photograph by Michael Putland/Getty Images).
Stamp 4: All For One Tour of Europe, 1989 (photograph by Denis O’Regan).
Stamp 5: in concert at The Ahoy in Rotterdam, 1989 (photographer unknown).
Stamp 6: Glastonbury Festival, England – June 25, 2017: Barry Gibb performs the ‘Legends’ slot at Worthy Farm, Pilton (photograph by Samir Hussein – Redferns).
Stamp 7: performing at his home studio, 2019 (photograph by Desiree Prieto).
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