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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

Streaming on HBO

The Bee Gees—an English-Australian band made up of the brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb—broke into the music scene in the 1960s, thrilling audiences with their yearning ballads sung in three-part harmony. After heading the charts for a number of years, the brothers found themselves out of fashion. But they re-emerged in the 1970s with a new sound that perfectly captured the fever dream of disco. (Indeed, they wrote the songs for the 1977 film hit Saturday Night Fever.) The sensational siblings performed over 1,000 songs, amassing 20 No. 1 hits and playing for over five decades. Acclaimed filmmaker Frank Marshall has teamed up with the producers Nigel Sinclair and Jeanne Elfant Festa to create an intimate exploration of the Gibb story. Interviews with Barry and his late twin brothers Maurice and Robin are combined with concert performances, television appearances, and home videos. —E.C.

The Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, Barry Gibb, and Maurice Gibb, 1978. Photo: HBO/Shutterstock.