Welcome to Morobinbarrystories.com! Please join me on twitter @morobinbarry. This site is for Bee Gee fans everywhere who would like to share and read stories of fun joy, love and inspiration for Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. (Andy is not forgotten and is included at times) If you’d like to share a story, please send it to me at morobinbarrystories@gmail.com. Stories will be posted weekly, some from my collected tales and some from the new ones as they come in. Others I will save for my book, which is in progress. At times I will post articles about special events or news relating to the Gibbs.

One of the many pieces of a Bee Gee collection that a fan brought to show me, a 45 of Shine, Shine

June 6, 2014

Being in Hollywood for four days gave me the opportunity to see fans at several different locations; and whether it was at dinner, pre-concert or at the hotel, each person had a different and distinct Bee Gee tale to share.

I was again impressed with how far fans traveled to see Barry. Temo and his family flew in from Tokyo and had a tangible remembrance that was carried thousands of miles, a fabric banner that read “The Bee Gees”.

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It was a pleasure to meet Helen, who traveled from the UK, and the famous Henk from Holland, who knew all three brothers personally. I wish that I had a week with Henk so that I could hear some of the many happy stories he has to tell.

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With Debbi, Henk and Helen before the concert in Hollywood

Kalyn taveled from Washington, D.C. and was as enthusiastic a fan as any I have seen on the tour. I loved her exuberance and amazing smile. It was definitely an “I’m going to see Barry sing” smile.

             Kalyn in the middle before Hollywood concert

Theresa arrived in the United States as a refugee from Viet Nam when she was 8 and remembers the battles of Ford or Carter in the 1976 election and Bee Gees or Beatles in the music world. Stacey looks like a young girl but told me, “I’m much older than I look.” She became a fan very early on, and the age range for first falling in loe with the boys seems to be between 6 and 12. Evelyn, Elaine, Kym and Paula all had fun stories. Some of them started with loving Andy and progressed on to adding the other three brothers to their “idol” list. Evelyn first heard of Andy in 1977 when she listened to “I Just Want To Be Your Everything”. She was 12 and her favorite Bee Gee song became “Fanny”. Elaine reconnected with the Gibb brothers after seeing a tribute band from Australia. Kym was 10 when she went to see “Saturday Night Fever” and loved the movie soundtrack album. She was 12 when she fell for Barry and received the “Spirits Having Flown” album for her birthday. She lovingly wrote “So Fine” in black sharpie across Barry’s poster. Of course millions of women agree with Kym in her assessment, and Barry is still “so fine” to all of us who love him.

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                 Theresa and Stacey

Mojgan and Kaila are from Iran. They first saw photos of the Bee Gees when Sgt. Pepper was being filmed and loved the way the brothers looked but did not hear any of their music until “Spirits” in 1979. They flew from Iran to Las Vegas in 1997 fo the concert there and brought Persian pastries all the way from home, which the brothers received and ate backstage. Mojgan said to me, “Nooshe Jaan” which means “because you have such love for the Bee Gees, may it be pleasing to your soul”. I flet like I had been blessed!

         Lovely ladies from Iran

Mojgan brought her Bee Gee book bag that she got in 1979, and it means the world to her. 

I could write a daily column for years and repeat stories of first encounters: “I was 11 and saw them with David Frost”; I as 6 and fell in loe with “How Deep Is Your Love”; I was 10 and had a crush on Barry that never went away.”

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Kym and hubby Chad who understands her “Barry worship”

As usual, I spent most of my time listening to fans with my mouth open or laughing at anecdotes while I scribbled my notes. Fans showed me ticket stubs from concerts they attended (one was 1971 in Albany, NY), 45 r.p.m. single releases, tour jackets, signed photos from 1979 and many other special cherished pieces from Bee Gee collections.

The idea that many of these fans borrowed money to fly to LA or took out loans from family to buy their tickets because “This is a once in a lifetime event; I have to see Barry” is mind-blowing. I want to gather all the fans I have talked with and put them in my living room and have Barry sit down with them and listen to how they feel. It would be like a “transfusion of love” for him. The fans that came o LA were just as passionate as fans in Boston or anywhere else; they all have a steadfast devotion to the Bee Gees and support and love Barry now just as they did in the 60’s and 70’s and yet there are the young fans, too, who grew up with the music being played by parents and grandparents. Barry is the man who touched their hearts, and their admiration for him will never waver. I would like to thank the fans in LA for being so open and sharing their cherished memories. Bee Gee passion is fabulous and is something to share with the world.