Tragedy

The rise and fall of the brothers Gibb is perhaps the greatest saga in Australian music history.

Despite several rebirths in a career that spanned many decades, it seemed that tragedy followed the Gibbs like a curse. For every incredible career high there was a hefty personal downside: divorce, drunkenness and death seemed as synonymous with the Gibbs as falsetto harmonies, flares and multi-platinum record sales.

Not long before his death, Robin made it clear that he believed the Gibbs had been forced to pay the highest possible cost for their success. 'All the tragedies my family has suffered . . . is a kind of karmic price we are paying for all the fame and fortune we've had.'

This is the story of the brothers' incredible careers and an examination of the Gibb 'curse', an all-too-human look at the rollercoaster ride of fame.

About the Author

In a career spanning more than 20 years Jeff Apter has written 16 commercially and critically acclaimed biographies, and has contributed to such publications as Rolling Stone (where he spent five years as Music Editor), GQ, Vogue, South Coast Style, The Bulletin, Australian Hi-Fiand the Rock's Back Pages website (where an archive of his work can be viewed, including interviews with Robbie Robertson, Aretha Franklin and Patti Smith). He currently reviews for the Sydney Morning Herald and Rolling Stone. Jeff lives on the New South Wales south coast with his wife Diana, his children Elizabeth Asha and Christian Jai, and a wall-to-wall book and record collection.