LONG-running tribute act Bee Gees Fever are celebrating 20 years of 'stayin' alive'.
Dave Cox, Dave Dunn and Duncan Evans have been taking to the stage together as the Brothers Gibb since 1999 and they still get a buzz when they put on a show together.
Despite the departure of original drummer Carl Bayliss and long-time bass player Dave Powell, the Stourbridge based band - which now sees Jim Reece on bass and Chris Dennis/Stuart Slater on drums - are still going strong, performing at theatres across the country and with bookings running through to next year.
They have also more recently been joined by female vocalist Zoe Christoffersen who performs tracks written by the Bee Gees that have been famously recorded by the likes of Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand.
Band promoter Vicky Walker, who put the band together back in her days at Stourbridge's Ice House Studio, said: "I had a lot of tribute bands when I was at the studio but this was the only one I could see lasting. They're truly professional."
Dave Cox, a trade consultant by day, has been wowing the crowds as frontman Barry Gibb since their very first gig at the old Shed nightclub in Brierley Hill in 1999 with Pedmore Primary School headteacher Dave Dunn at his side on keyboards as the late Maurice Gibb and maintenance manager Duncan Evans as the late Robin Gibb.
Highlights for the band over the years have included performing to the world wide Bee Gees fan club in Manchester and being part of the Maurice Gibb memorial weekend; performing to 40,000 people at an outdoor festival in Spain, sharing top billing with Abba tribute Bjorn Again; receiving praise for their version of Nights on Broadway from original Bee Gees keyboard player Blue Weaver; performing with Suzi Quatro, Manfred Mann and Hot Chocolate in Holland and David Hasselhoff in German; and not forgetting taking a flight with the Cheeky Girls and getting caught in the media storm that ensued when the Transylvanian pop duo were blamed for a sky-high drama after visiting the cockpit.
Dave Cox said the band has fared better than many marriages and he added: "I have had the fortunate responsibility of being Barry Gibb for two decades and it has been a great privilege and honour to help celebrate the music of the Bee Gees and help to keep their music relevant to this day.
"For Bee Gees Fever it's 20 years in 2019, but for the Bee Gees themselves it’s 60 years so we are both celebrating our anniversaries at the same time.
"I have seen the show grow immensely over time - from our humble beginnings in 1999 performing at The Shed, where my biggest concern was ensuring my beard didn’t fall off, to the last five to six years where we have honed our musical talents and performed in good sized theatres all over the UK and Europe.
"I still have the buzz to perform and still get the same thrill when walking on stage, and I know the rest of the guys feel exactly the same."
He said when needed both original members Carl Bayliss and Dave Powell still stand in on occasions to help the band out and he added: "We all feel blessed that we still make people happy and they still want to pay their hard earned money to come and enjoy our interpretation of the Bee Gees."
To find out more about the band and their forthcoming gigs check out http://beegeesfever.com/.
Their next gigs will be at Kidderminster's Rose Theatre this Saturday (May 25) and Sunday (May 26).
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