When Andy Sutton steps on stage he becomes Barry Gibb, the co-founder of seminal pop act the Bee Gees.
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A group revered for its harmonies and celebrated as disco pioneers.
Together with Neil Rhodes (Maurice Gibbs) and Andrew Tipple (Robin Gibbs), Sutton takes audiences on a journey. With painstaking attention to detail.
“It’s very difficult to replicate their sound, especially the harmonies” he said.
“They were brothers – they naturally had those harmonies – we’ve had to work at it.
“If you had to compare that technical difficulty to a modern group, its the kind of thing Human Nature do. Those four and five part harmonies.”
But it’s been worth it, for Sutton,
”You have people from time to time say, ‘we were close friends with the Bee Gees’ and you think, ‘yeah right’,” he said.
“But we played a show recently when a lady said she was a close friend of Barry’s and she pulled out these photos of them together in Miami, and some photos over the years. When she told us ‘you sound just like them, I’m going to write to Barry about you’, it was nice.”
One Night Only – Bee Gees Tribute Show, is performed in two halves.
The first features songs like Massachusetts, To Love Somebody and Words, from their earlier days.
In the second half the glitter comes out and the tempo jumps up with disco hits like Staying Alive and Night Fever.
“The audience loves it,” Sutton said.
“The first half really warms them into it. The crowd is usually aged 40-up but its some of the older ones that really appreciate the first half but by the second half everyone is up and dancing to to the disco stuff.”
And sometimes the outfits off-stage rival those on it.
“Not so long ago we played a show at Nelson Bay,” Sutton said.
(Mind you, they’ve been at it for eight years, now).
“These people came in all dressed up in their glitter gear, it was great.
“But it’s always a fun night and we really do make it about the crowd, with the emphasis on them and a show that’s performed really well.
“We like to close the night out talking with people and taking photos, which is great in the Facebook era.”
The show comes to Soldiers Point Bowling Club on Saturday, November 25. Tickets are now on sale for $25 per person, available from the club.
The Examiner has two double passes to give away.
Email your full name and daytime contact details to portstephens@fairfaxmedia.com.au with the subject line ‘Bee Gees’ no later than 5pm on November 20 for your chance to win.
