1979 Spirits Having Flown Tour

Following the release of the Spirits Having Flown album in February 1979, the Bee Gees set out on their most lavish and successful tour during the height of their popularity following two straight number one albums and six straight number one singles.

History

After the release of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, The Bee Gees were unable to tour due to their commitment to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. Then from March to November, 1978, they spent much of their time in the studio recording Spirits Having Flown, the follow-up album to Saturday Night Fever.

Prior to the kickoff of the tour, The Bee Gees popularity grew even further following Saturday Night Fever, when they were the headline act on the Music for UNICEF Concert in January. Then they won four Grammy awards in February for Fever and by June, they pulled off a feat only matched by The Beatles with six consecutive number one singles, when "Love You Inside Out" topped the charts in June, setting the stage for the hottest summer tour since The Beatles in 1964.

Considering the group's popularity was at an all-time high, stringent security precautions were taken, though The Bee Gees themselves setup base in only five cities. They would fly to the next venue and return to their home base immediately following the show. They leased a custom 55-seat Boeing 707 jet at a cost of over one million dollars with a specially designed logo on the exterior of the plane. The Bee Gees were accompanied on the tour by a film crew capturing highlights of the shows, for use in a NBC-TV special which aired in November, hosted by David Frost.^[1]

The Bee Gees were joined on stage with their usual band featuring Alan Kendall on guitar, Blue Weaver on keyboards and Dennis Bryon on drums, as well as Boonero Horns, a 6-piece brass section and Sweet Inspirations, which provided backing vocals.

Concerts

Being that this was the most ambitious tour The Bee Gees ever embarked on, there was a lot of preparation that went into the tour, from an extensive rehearsal schedule (in which The Bee Gees missed that year's Billboard music awards, where they won an astonishing 11 awards), staging and special effects, merchandising and tight security.

The tour consisted of a 41-date schedule starting in Fort Worth, TX and ending in their hometown of Miami, FL. The 3 Gibb brothers were identically dressed in white satin trousers and dazzling white spangled jackets throughout the tour. During the Houston show on June 30, a bearded John Travolta joined the Bee Gees on stage during "You Should Be Dancing" to reprise some of his footwork from Saturday Night Fever.^[1]

Tour dates

Playlist

Tour Logo

The set list for this tour included many of their hits to date, with the usual acoustic set featuring many older hits.

• Tragedy
• Edge Of The Universe
• Night Fever
• Love So Right
• Stayin' Alive
• Medley:
  • New York Mining Disaster
  • Run To Me
  • Too Much Heaven
  • Holiday
  • I Can't See Nobody
  • Lonely Days
  • I Started A Joke
  • Massachusetts
• How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
• Nights On Broadway
• To Love Somebody
• Words
• Wind Of Change
• How Deep Is Your Love
• Jive Talkin'
• Encore: You Should Be Dancing

Famous attendees

Besides the surprise appearance by John Travolta at the Houston concert, many celebrities were in attendance at many of the concerts. Among the 60,000 fans at L.A.'s Dodger Stadium were Cary Grant, Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Karen Carpenter, The Jacksons and Harry Wayne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band.^[1]

At their concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden, were Al Pacino, Billy Joel, Neil Sedaka, Diana Ross as well as KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The Bee Gees were presented with the Golden Ticket award for audiences of more than 100,000, following sell-out shows at Madison Square Garden.^[2]

Prior to their September 24 concert in Washington, DC, The Bee Gees were invited to the White House where President Carter congratulated them for their efforts with UNICEF.^[1]

Aftermath

Following the largest tour of their career, rumors began to float around that the group was splitting up following Barry's comments regarding the strain the tour was putting on him and his brothers. NBC aired The Bee Gees Special on November 15 which featured the group in the recording studio, interviews and many performances from the tour. Barry began working on younger brother Andy's last album After Dark, which was followed by the hugely successful Barbra Streisand album Guilty. The Bee Gees themselves released the lavish Bee Gees Greatest double album that went to #1, which featured their biggest hits and selected album cuts from 1975-1979.

It was fortunate that The Bee Gees embarked on this tour when they did, for the disco backlash began brewing during the summer of 1979, and by 1980 the group was being banned from American radio as their incredible level of super stardom as artists quickly vanished. Instead they became successful writers and producers for other artists throughout the 80's.

Personnel

• Barry Gibb - vocals, guitar
• Robin Gibb - vocals
• Maurice Gibb - vocals, bass
• Andy Gibb - vocals
• John Travolta - vocals
• Alan Kendall - guitar
• Blue Weaver - keyboards
• Dennis Bryon - drums

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Tales Of The Brothers Gibb, First Edition, Omnibus Press, 2000.
2. ^ Brothers Gibb International

v t e The Bee Gees Barry Gibb Robin Gibb Maurice Gibb Colin Petersen Vince Melouney Geoff Bridgford Alan Kendall Dennis Bryon Blue Weaver Studio albums The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs (1965) Spicks and Specks (1966) Bee Gees' 1st (1967) Horizontal (1968) Idea (1968) Odessa (1969) Cucumber Castle (1970) 2 Years On (1970) Trafalgar (1971) To Whom It May Concern (1972) Life in a Tin Can (1973) A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants (1973) (unreleased) Mr. Natural (1974) Main Course (1975) Children of the World (1976) Spirits Having Flown (1979) Living Eyes (1981) E.S.P. (1987) One (1989) High Civilization (1991) Size Isn't Everything (1993) Still Waters (1997) This Is Where I Came In (2001) Singles 1960s "The Battle of the Blue and the Grey" (1963) "Timber!" (1963) "Peace Of Mind" (1964) "Claustrophobia" (1964) "Turn Around, Look at Me" (1964) "Every Day I Have To Cry" (1965) "Wine and Women" (1965) "I Was A Lover, A Leader Of Men" (1965) "I Want Home" (1966) "Monday's Rain" (1966) "Spicks and Specks" (1966) "Born A Man" (1967) "New York Mining Disaster 1941" (1967) "To Love Somebody" (1967) "Holiday" (1967) "Massachusetts" (1967) "World" (1967) "Words" (1968) "And The Sun Will Shine" (1968) "Jumbo/The Singer Sang his Song" (1968) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (1968) "I Started a Joke" (1968) "First of May" (1969) "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" (1969) "Don't Forget to Remember" (1969) 1970s "Let There Be Love" (1970) "If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else" (1970) "I.O.I.O." (1970) "Lonely Days" (1970) "Melody Fair" (1971) "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (1971) "When The Swallows Fly" (1971) "In The Morning" (1971) "Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" (1971) "My World/On Time" (1972) "Israel" (1972) "Run to Me" (1972) "Sea Of Smiling Faces" (1972) "Alive" (1972) "Saw a New Morning" (1973) "Wouldn't I Be Someone" (1973) "Mr. Natural" (1974) "Throw a Penny" (1974) "Charade" (1974) "Jive Talkin'" (1975) "Nights on Broadway" (1975) "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" (1976) "You Should Be Dancing" (1976) "Love So Right/You Stepped Into My Life" (1976) "Boogie Child" (1977) "Children Of The World" (1977) "Edge of the Universe" (1977) "How Deep Is Your Love" (1977) "Stayin' Alive" (1977) "Night Fever" (1978) "More Than A Woman" (1978) "Too Much Heaven/Rest Your Love on Me" (1978) "Tragedy" (1979) "Love You Inside Out" (1979) "Spirits (Having Flown)" (1979) 1980s "He's a Liar" (1981) "Living Eyes" (1981) "Paradise" (1981) "The Woman in You" (1983) "Someone Belonging to Someone" (1983) "Life Goes On" (1983) "You Win Again" (1987) "E.S.P." (1987) "Crazy For Your Love" (1988) "Angela" (1988) "Ordinary Lives" (1989) "One" (1989) 1990s "Bodyguard" (1990) "Secret Love" (1991) "When He's Gone" (1991) "The Only Love" (1991) "Happy Ever After" (1991) "Paying the Price of Love" (1993) "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1993) "How to Fall in Love, Part 1" (1994) "Kiss Of Life" (1994) "Alone" (1997) "I Could Not Love You More" (1997) "Still Waters (Run Deep)" (1997) 2000s "This Is Where I Came In" (2001) Soundtracks Melody (1971) Saturday Night Fever (1977) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) Staying Alive (1983) Live albums Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live (1977) One Night Only (1998) Compilation albums Best of Bee Gees (1969) Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 (1973) Bee Gees Gold (1976) Bee Gees Greatest (1979) Tales from the Brothers Gibb (1990) The Very Best of the Bee Gees (1990) Their Greatest Hits: The Record (2001) Number Ones (2004) Love Songs (2005) The Ultimate Bee Gees (2009) Mythology (2010) Gibb Productions Andy Gibb's "Flowing Rivers" (1977), "Shadow Dancing" (1978) & "After Dark" (1980) Jimmy Ruffin's "Sunrise" (1980) Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" (1980) Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker" (1982) Kenny Rogers' "Eyes That See in the Dark" (1983) Diana Ross' "Eaten Alive" (1985) Carola's "Runaway" (1986) Barbra Streisand's "Guilty Pleasures" (2005) Videography Cucumber Castle (1969) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) The Bee Gees Special (1979) One For All Tour (1990) Keppel Road (1997) One Night Only (1998) This Is Where I Came In (2001) Live By Request (2002) In Our Own Time (2010) Related articles Discography 1979 Spirits Having Flown Tour Andy Gibb The Barry Gibb Talk Show Book