Saturday Night Fever and the music of The Bee Gees

[Stephen Morgan]

1977 was a year of great change in the music world. Punk spat and swore it’s way to notoriety, becoming New Wave in the process. In the film world Star Wars battled across the galaxy and gave us a sc-fi classic to end all sc-fi, it seemed nothing would be the same again. At the end of the year John Travolta starred in a film which would also become a classic , Saturday Night Fever, which provided the soundtrack for a generation of disco goers.
The Bee Gees had been around since the mid sixties, in and out of the charts with songs like Masachussetts, a UK #1 in 1967, Mining Disaster 1941, Run To You, My World, Words, to name but a few. Limited success with albums, but the songs were always worth a listen, and even in those early days their songs were picked up by other artists.

When they re-emerged in 1975 with the Main Course album and smash hit single Jive Talking they were asked by producer Robert Stigwood if they would provided the soundtrack for a film project he had in mind, Saturday Night Fever, and would star then unknown John Travolta, as Tony Manero a troubled Brooklyn youth whose weekend activities are dominated by visits to a local disco. While in the disco, Tony is the king, and the visits help him to temporarily forget the reality of his life: a dead-end job, clashes with his unsupportive and squabbling parents, racial tensions in the local community, and his associations with a gang of dead-beat friends.

The film significantly helped to popularize disco music around the world, and made Travolta a household name. The soundtrack album featuring disco songs by the Bee Gees, became the best selling soundtrack ever.
The film also showcased aspects of the music, the dancing, and the sub-culture surrounding the disco era: symphony-orchestrated melodies, haute-couture styles of clothing, sexual promiscuity, and graceful choreography.

Although never a favourite film of mine I think that thirty years on it’s time to re-evaluate it, I’m going to give it a look sometime over the next few weeks as the anniversary date comes up, (December 1st). The impact this film had back then was unbelievable, it, and its soundtrack was a cool antidote to the spitting and swearing punks, and it also bolstered the careers of the Bee Gees who, (Jive Talking notwithstanding) up until that point had begun to flounder hopelessy in the backwaters of the charts. With songs like How Deep Is Your Love, Stayin’ Alive, More Than A Woman, Night Fever, this soundtrack was bound to sell. And even post fever they did well with Tragedy, Love You Inside and Out, You Win Again, as well as producing albums for Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers and Diana Ross. Many artists have covered their songs, ranging from The Marbles, Al Green, Dionne Warwicke, Jimmy Somerville, Take That, and tracks like Stayin’ Alive have been sampled by contemporary artists.

So, thoughts on Saturday Night Fever? Thoughts on the Bee Gees music? I know some have considered their music a little naff, say what you will, they’ve sold some records over the years.

[Wayne]

Even Bolan is a God compared to the Bee Gees.


I hate them with a passion reserved for few others. They drive me up the wall. Their screechy falsetto is like nails down a blackboard to me. It has the same effect on me as chewing silver foil on my fillings. It makes me want to kill.
I'd rather listen to Bolan for the rest of my life than hear the likes 'Tragedy' or 'Stayin' Alive' or 'How Deep Is Your Love' ever again. Just the memory of those awful records makes me feel ill.

I bet Steve loves me.

[Pip Madeley]

I've got time for the brothers Gibb. Jive Talkin' is a fine tune (with a fantastic intro), How Deep Is Your Love is a terrific ballad... I also like More Than A Woman, and Night Fever isn't too bad. Stayin 'Alive has a groovy beat, and You Should Be Dancing gets me doing just that. You Win Again is a bit of a forgotten gem... I like hearing them sing together, there's an acoustic version of How Deep Is Your Love on YouTube that's just lovely...

... don't like Tragedy though. Partly due to Steps.

[Andrew Curnow]

At the risk of losing the tattered-remains of my street cred, I really like the Bee Gees. I'm not a fan in a 'collecting records' sort of way, because I'm just not into music like that, but I always enjoy hearing them when they crop up on the radio. I'm even a bit rocky on the titles, to be honest, but I Am Going Back To Massachusetts is a lovely song, as is You Win Again from the late-80s.

[Stephen Morgan]

Even Bolan is a God compared to the Bee Gees.


I hate them with a passion...

I bet Steve loves me.

That sofa must come in handy sometimes.

[Jeff]

The only Bee Gee's song that really stands out to me as one I like is the 1967 song "To Love Somebody". It was written for Otis Redding, which is probably the reason it stands out for me, being that I have become a big Otis Redding fan recently. The biggest tragedy is that he died that year and never recorded it. The Bee Gees recording is good, but it would have been truly great had Otis recorded it. As it stands I would likely vote Janis Joplin's cover as the penultimate recording that was done, but it has been covered a lot and I haven't heard that many of the cover versions.

Other than that, I believe there may be a few more songs of theirs from the 60's that I like, mostly songs that I don't really know is them because they don't sound like the later disco songs (I was surprised when i found out "To Love Somebody" was them) of theirs.

Stayin' Alive is okay every great once in awhile for the bassline mostly...

[Carol Baynes]

Even Bolan is a God compared to the Bee Gees.


I hate them with a passion reserved for few others. They drive me up the wall. Their screechy falsetto is like nails down a blackboard to me. It has the same effect on me as chewing silver foil on my fillings. It makes me want to kill.
I'd rather listen to Bolan for the rest of my life than hear the likes 'Tragedy' or 'Stayin' Alive' or 'How Deep Is Your Love' ever again. Just the memory of those awful records makes me feel ill.

I bet Steve loves me.

Oi! Stop slagging Bolan off! Each to their own, you know. You can't wait to put he boot in there! Besides, T-rex are nothing like the Bee Gees!

As for the Bee Gees, I can see the talent in what they did. I've got their "Number ones" album, and that's it for me. I don't need much more. Although "Saturday night fever OST" has other tracks not by them that I quite like.

Disco represented commercial crapness to many of the punk and New Wave crowd (and other camps too). I think when it was good it was a wonderfully inticing invitation to dance, when it was crap it was an invitation to trash your stereo to make the awful noise stop!

[Wayne]

Oi! Stop slagging Bolan off! Each to their own, you know. You can't wait to put he boot in there! Besides, T-rex are nothing like the Bee Gees!

Ah, the old magic's still there.

[Carol Baynes]

Ah, the old magic's still there.

Boy, your just a jeepster for my moaning.

No, not that kind of moaning!