Robert Stigwood, the man who helped guide the career of Manx-born superstars the Bee Gees, has died aged 81.
News of the Australian music mogul’s death was released on Facebook by Spencer Gibb, son of Bee Gee Robin Gibb.
As well as signing and managing the Gibb brothers following their move to the UK from Australia in the late 1960s, Stigwood was instrumental in the success of musicals on stage and screen including Grease, Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar.
He was also the manager of Cream, regarded as the world’s first supergroup featuring Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, as well as producing The Who’s rock opera Tommy and Saturday Night Fever, which introduced disco to a global audience.
The Bee Gees - Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb - were born in the Isle of Man to English parents, and lived in St Catherine’s Drive in Douglas, where a plaque is mounted to commemorate the historical significance of the property.
They moved to Chorlton, Manchester, England, until the late 1950s, when the family moved to Redcliffe, in Queensland, Australia, and then to Cribb Island.
After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees, they returned to the UK in January 1967 where Stigwood helped guide them to a career which saw them sell more than 220 million records.
Barry Gibb is the sole surviving member of the group. Twins Robin and Maurice died in 2012 and 2003 respectively.
Spencer Gibb wrote: ‘I would like to share the sad news with you all, that my godfather, and the longtime manager of my family, Robert Stigwood, has passed away. [He was a] creative genius with a very quick and dry wit.’