A new biopic about the Bee Gees is on the way, from the producer behind Bohemian Rhapsody.
According to Deadline, Graham King – who produced the hit Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic – has teamed up with Paramount Pictures and production company Sister to create the biopic.
Whilst the film has not yet been written or cast, Paramount have reportedly bought the rights to the Bee Gees songs from the Gibb Estate on behalf of King, meaning they will be able to use songs from the band’s extensive back catalogue in the upcoming biopic.
The trio, which comprised of brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, began singing together as the Bee Gees in the late 1950’s, first in Australia and then in the UK after their music was heard by Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
After a brief split in 1970, the trio returned to record the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever. Writing the music for the iconic film, which starred John Travolta in his break-out role, the soundtrack went 15x platinum in the US following its release in November 1977, and is seen as the record that cemented disco as a global phenomenon at the time. They also earned six US number 1 singles in just under two years.
Tragedy hit the family following the death of their younger brother Andy, aged 30 in 1988. Maurice Gibb died in 2003, followed by his twin, Robin in 2012.
Barry Gibb meanwhile, was knighted in 2018 and his 2017 appearance in the Glastonbury ‘legends’ slot was one of the festival’s main highlights.
Drawing on hits from the Bee Gees’ voluminous back catalogue, Gibb’s rendition of the 1977 disco hit ‘Stayin’ Alive’ was a particular highlight.
At one point in the song, the cameras panned to the front barrier of the Pyramid Stage to show a number of the Glastonbury security staff performing a choreographed dance routine to the song.
Earlier in the set, Gibb donned a Bee Gees-style gold jacket given to him by a festivalgoer before playing ‘Tragedy’.
Gibb, laughing at the crowd’s chant of “Barry, wear the jacket / Barry, wear the jacket / La, la, la, la“, asked if a member of the stage crew could retrieve the jacket from the crowd – which was being offered by one of three festivalgoers who’d dressed up as The Bee Gees – as “it would be a pleasure to put it on.”
In 2017, The Grammys organised a special celebration of the Bee Gees soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
Artists including Celine Dion, John Legend and Keith Urban were among those performing cuts from the soundtrack, while Barry Gibb, also performed a selection of songs from the iconic film.