Bee Gees walk off of interview

[Spidey2112]

When he didn't field it himself, looked as if Barry was playing traffic cop as to who would answer the next question, by a look toward either brother.

That's called 'spreading the brotherly love'.

 

[Spidey2112]

Not 'I'll just leave', but 'we'll'.

Pack it up, boys! Drinks are on me.

 

[ElectroVibe]

I don't think the walk-off was exactly "planned" in advance, but it seemed like the most graceful way to end the interview. They did stick around until practically the end. And they knew it would get publicity for the show anyway. I don't think Barry cared all that much about it. He had probably been thinking about walking off earlier, but at least he stuck around to the end, which didn't upset the show too much since they only had about a minute left anyway.

 

[ElectroVibe]

When he didn't field it himself, looked as if Barry was playing traffic cop as to who would answer the next question, by a look toward either brother.

That's called 'spreading the brotherly love'.

Yes, but I look at it more like he was looking to them for help since he was uncomfortable with the way things were going. It was all just a momentary thing.

 

[ElectroVibe]

Barry says, "Well we're just hitting it off like a storm, aren't we Clive?" And then "As a matter of fact, I think we'll just leave."



I was watching Robin through the interview, and he looked somber and unhappy from very early on, while Maurice and Barry are still smiling and joking along.

My read on the interview is this: they were ready to joke and be self-deprecating and play along, but Robin was absolutely not in the mood and I suspect Barry could feel the glare coming from his brother. Maurice was increasingly sidelined in the conversation, so there's Barry trying to keep it up by himself and it just goes on and on with the host treating them like a joke and finally he just doesn't have the energy for it anymore.

I think they wanted to talk about exciting new things they're doing and after nine minutes they still didn't have the chance to do it, time's running out and the prodding doesn't stop, so he's not going to keep it up indefinitely. I agree that the "tosser" line got to him also; it's one thing to say "I was a tosser back then" and quite another for someone you don't know to say, "Yeah, you were."

The thing about a band like the Bee Gees at that time was that, yes, they were very often the butt of a lot of jokes, and they had come down a lot from being ultracelebrity hitmakers. When you're in that position, you don't want nine minutes of having your nose rubbed in it. You can joke about it for a couple of minutes, then you want to turn the page and say, "So that was then, here's what we're doing now," and the interview just wasn't going there. I don't think they would have taken the interview if they expected just to have their noses rubbed in it.



If it was, Maurice wasn't in on it. Robin was ready to leave pronto as soon as Barry got up. Maurice was awkwardly fumbling around taking his mic off. With the other two already offstage, Clive is sort of pleading with him to stay and finish the time slot, and Maurice says, "I don't do impressions," which I take to mean that he wasn't going to pretend to be Barry, who had been getting all the questions aimed at him. So he probably wasn't happy either.

Robin is actually the most witty. He had the same kind of quick wit that Clive has. Watch any other interview for reference.

My impression is that Robin could tell that Barry was upset with the interview, and while he (Robin) might have been able to handle the interview on his own without the help of the others, he could see that it was bothering Barry so much, that he just went along. He might have even thought that Barry was too sensitive at that moment, but what could he really do? The damage had been done so there was really no way to redeem the interview, and it wouldn't have been worth it for such a comedic type show anyway.

 

[Bo-Weevil]

I know this is dead, and a big, “whatever”...
But I just watched the recently released HBO doc on the BGs, and WOW!
I learned a lot!
I thought they were something that they clearly are not!
I would suggest anyone who appreciates how music is created and why some music is just “special”, watch this program.
I learned a lot....

 

[hrodbert696]

Robin is actually the most witty. He had the same kind of quick wit that Clive has. Watch any other interview for reference.

My impression is that Robin could tell that Barry was upset with the interview, and while he (Robin) might have been able to handle the interview on his own without the help of the others, he could see that it was bothering Barry so much, that he just went along. He might have even thought that Barry was too sensitive at that moment, but what could he really do? The damage had been done so there was really no way to redeem the interview, and it wouldn't have been worth it for such a comedic type show anyway.

Maybe. It's hard to parse exactly what people are feeling through a screen. I'm sure you're right that Robin is usually the wit in interviews; my point is just that, when you watch him, he's clearly not feeling it in this one. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood that day, maybe he felt Barry was upset and got quiet in response rather than feed what was upsetting him, maybe as a wit himself he was unimpressed with Anderson and felt he was "doing it wrong," I don't know. The first time I saw it I could totally get people who said they were surprised at the sudden walk-off, but when you go back and watch for details things like Robin's stony silence speak volumes.

 

[knumbskull]

There was a UK music panel quiz show called Never Mind the Buzzcocks that was famous for giving its pop star guests a hard time. Walkouts were pretty regular IIRC.

When Lemmy didn't take kindly to being razzed and stormed off, the host replaced him with a random audience member, which was quite funny (and i’m a big Lemmy fan).

The early episodes had some good moments but fairly soon it devolved into slightly annoying schoolyard bully type humour.

 

[TrevorR]

There was a UK music panel quiz show called Never Mind the Buzzcocks that was famous for giving its pop star guests a hard time. Walkouts were pretty regular IIRC.

When Lemmy didn't take kindly to being razzed and stormed off, the host replaced him with a random audience member, which was quite funny (and i’m a big Lemmy fan).

The early episodes had some good moments but fairly soon it devolved into slightly annoying schoolyard bully type humour.

It never recovered from losing Mark Lamarr as the host, or Sean Hughes as team captain. Bill Bailey going was the final nail in the coffin. Lamarr had the deadpan style to make the dry humour work. Simon Amstel was just a smug, annoying, snide, nasty twerp.

 

[TrevorR]

One of my fave rock music podcasts ironically chats about how good the brothers’ music was this week...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[ElectroVibe]

This song is what will be playing every day in the next life. It will be a reward for anyone who has done good with the time he was given.

IRONIC TWIST: To people like Clive (the interviewer) and anyone else who hated this period of their music, it will be a nightmare they can't escape from.

In other words, the attitude of each listener will be what determines his ultimate fate.

 

[ElectroVibe]

Ok, so maybe they were as relevant as the Spice Girls or whoever you guys were listening to at the time.

But I love this minor hit from 2000. Sadly their last before Maurice died.

Does anyone else think this song may have been inspired (at least in part) by the interview with Clive?

Consider these lyrics:

"This is the danger zone
This is where I came in
They know not what they do
Forgive them of their sins
They know they cannot take away
What you have given me..."

The overall song sounds like a general boy/girl relationship. But this one part is kind of interesting. It was recorded in 1997, a year after the dreaded interview.
I think it was like something in their life which had made a big impression, since it became a public event (on TV). Not to mention the overall dark feel of the song, which is not typical of their style.

The song may have been about romantic relationships, but the above sounds like Barry saying that no one can take away (the songs) which you (providence) has given him.
That's just my initial impression. Songwriters often say that they don't really analyze where their words come from. But it's nice to know that (human beings) can take a negative experience and create something positive out of it.

 

[ElectroVibe]

I really do think Clive helped inspire that hit song.

It's interesting how they are all lying in the same bed at the beginning of the video, and that sparse acoustic guitar of Maurice. When they were kids at one point the family was so poor that the 3 of them shared a bed. A dark song, but one of their best.