Twenty-one years taking on the same act, almost on a full-time basis, would get any professional musician running on fumes. But for Wayne Hosking, David Scott and Michael Clift – Australian, New Zealander and Australian respectively – being able todip into such a broad and well-defined back catalogue has made their job easy.
Hosking, Scott and Clift portray Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb in the Australian Bee Gees Show, often lauded as the most comprehensive Bee Gees tribute show out there. It’s fitting the ANZ alliance here would be able to pull it off; it’s another matter entirely that, over the past seven years, they’ve achieved massive success in Las Vegas.
“It’s pretty incredible, it just grows more and more every time we have something new to put on,” Clift said of their Vegas show, which currently celebrates both the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Fever, as well as the 20th anniversary of the trio's famed One Night Only international tour.
“In Vegas obviously you’re always going to have a mixed bag when it comes to audiences. But we’ve really seen the audiences grow younger and younger, which for a Vegas show really is something. I don’t know, there just seems to be this renewed interest in everything they did.”
Obviously, there was a time and a place for The Bee Gees’ success; released in 1977, Saturday Night Fever came at the peak of disco, and the fact it soundtracked the hugely successful film of the same name more or less guaranteed worldwide reach.
“They had hits before in the US and England, but nothing like Saturday Night Fever,” Clift said.
“It really launched them into the stratosphere. Being a soundtrack, with the obvious popularity of the film, it was all over the place – it was kind of a really early multimedia campaign. Anf five singles in the top ten – that’s where they really became what they are.”
More than simply focussing on disco, though, the Australian Bee Gees Show passionately protrays the full gamut of the Gibb’s songwriting prowess, including their work in pop and R’n’B.
“Everyone remembers the disco, but what’s just as important for us is what came after,” Clift said.
“You know, disco came and went but it’s not like that was the be all and end all. There’s so much quality material, their own songs and songs they wrote for others.
Those songs are timeless- they’re the ones we see audiences react to, so we give just as much weight to that.”
The Australian Bee Gees Show heads to Mandurah Performing Arts Centre on Friday August 11.
Tickets are available now through manpac.com.au or the Box Office on 9550 3900.