By Luke Voogt
After a decade of paying homage to the legends of disco, the UK Bee Geez will head to Geelong RSL next Saturday night.
The band started in Blackpool – England’s “Vegas of the North” – after its members met playing for different tribute acts.
“We were playing on the circuit in Blackpool,” said Scotsman David Gray, the group’s “Barry Gibb”.
“We were all big Bee Gees fans, and just got chatting and had a little jam. We realised all our harmonies were going to waste.
“So we just decided to give it a try and we got some good reviews, so we just went with it.”
The 43-year-old migrated to Australia with his family six years ago and the other members followed “one by one”.
“I came over first and I saw there was a lack of Bee Gees tributes,” he said.
“This country is fantastic; you can survive in the music industry full time. There’s a lot of places you can’t do that.”
The Gold Coast-based band just returned from a tour of India. They have toured the world and performed alongside The Village People and The Supremes.
“We’re based here but we take it all around the world,” Gray said.
“We do theatres, cruise ships, all sorts of things.”
Gray met Barry Gibb, the last surviving of the three brothers, in their Australian hometown of Redcliffe.
As for the high-pitched vocals, Gray said they come naturally to him.
“I’ve never had any training it’s just something I’ve been able to do,” he said.
“I guess I was born to do this job. You have to stay away from smoking and alcohol though.”
The show will be Gray’s first time in Geelong as a “Bee Gee” but he has been to the city with his other tribute act: The Best of Eagles.
The group will play hits including “Staying Alive“, “You Should Be Dancing“ and “How Deep Is Your Love” in their 11 February performance.
“It’s like a trip down memory lane,” Gray said. “The crowds that come to see us, they want to sing along to the songs they know.”
