Barry Gibb heading for first solo U.K. No. 1 with ‘Greenfields’

Barry Gibb, the ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted Bee Gees great, is all set for his first solo U.K. No. 1.

Based on midweek chart data published by the OCC, Gibb’s all-star Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook (Vol. 1), is the week’s best seller, ahead of releases from Passenger and Taylor Swift.

On Greenfields, Gibb reinvents a dozen Bee Gees classics as country duets, enlisting the help of a long list of friends including Australian artists Keith Urban, Olivia Newton-John and Tommy Emmanuel.

As a member of the Bee Gees, Gibb knows a lot about life at the top.

Since forming the trio in 1985, the Bee Gees sold more than 200 million records, and led the Official U.K. Singles Chart on five occasions.

Surprisingly, the Bee Gees have ruled the U.K. albums chart just once, with 1979’s Spirits Having Flown, though the double disco collection Saturday Night Fever did log 18 weeks at the top. 

In a recent interview with Billboard’s Melinda Newman, Gibb recounts his early, formative days in Australia, and how country music influenced the brothers’ tastes.

“Country music in Australia in 1958 was rock n’ roll. You got used to loving people like George Jones or Johnny Cash. I remember [Cash’s “Ballad of a] Teenage Queen,” which was probably 1958. That voice! Then beyond all that, Roy Orbison — his songwriting, his insight and how he built those records. To start a song like “Running Scared” or “Crying,” to start very small and build and build and build to a climax — that’s not an easy task, you know? That inspired me to write songs,” he recounted.

“But I also fell in love with bluegrass music. I love all music, but I think country music or Americana music, what’s going on now, it’s still the best songs, it’s still the best music. And it comes from one place. You can go anywhere else in the world, and you won’t find the great songs that you find in Nashville.”

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame and the ARIA Hall of Fame back in 1997 (brothers Maurice and Robin have since died).

A documentary on the world-beating vocal group, How Do You Mend a Broken Heart, is now streaming on HBO.

Though born in Britain, the Gibbs relocated in 1952 to Redcliffe, Queensland, where the local council has erected the Bee Gees Way in their honour.

The brothers started their musical career before the decade was out, performing during breaks in the action at speedways.

As legend has it, Barry and his mother signed the group’s music contract with speedway promoter Bill Goode and radio announcer Bill Gates – the BGs in the Bee Gees — on the family’s kitchen table in Redcliffe.

Gibb is one of several Australian acts who’ve dominated the U.K. charts in recent weeks.

At the tail-end of 2020, Kylie Minogue and AC/DC had No. 1s on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, and both titles figured prominently in the national year-end tallies.

Also, three-time ARIA Award nominated artist The Kid LAROI has his first U.K. Top 10 this week with F**k Love, which lifts 22-10.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.