We are very happy to bring you a real piece of history – the very first Robin Gibb Fan Club Letter, courtesy of the private collection of Andrew Môn Hughes. Next week: Robin’s hand written welcome note!
ROBIN GIBB FAN CLUB
C/o T.B.I.,
Fourth Floor,
Abbott House,
1 & 2 Hanover Street,
London W.1.
CLUB LETTER No.1 MARCH.1970
Dear Member,
As this is the first club letter let me say welcome once again. I am very pleased with the way in which the club is growing - it really is marvellous to know that Robin has so much support.
Robin has been doing quite a bit of travelling around in the past few weeks. He has been to Paris (twice), Vienna for a TV programme called “Spotlight”, and to Germany for “4-3-2-1” another television show. He did a quick hop up to Manchester for “Lift Off”, back to London for the BBC’s “Young Generation show and then, of course, there was his epic journey to New Zealand for two out-door concerts.
Incidentally I hope you weren’t too worried by those extraordinary reports in the papers which said that he “fled from a barrage of bottles and fruit thrown by screaming fans”. What nonsense. Anyone would think he’d nearly been murdered. Far from it.
They were two marvellous concerts, Robin enjoyed them tremendously and the promoter has asked him to go back again later this year.
The concerts were in a huge park and there was an enormous gathering of fans - rather like some of the London open-air concerts. Of course everyone gets very excited and during the first concert a small group of fans at the front of the stage got rather frenzied (I mean who wouldn’t with Robin that close!) and tried to clamber up on the stage to join him.
Some of the orchestra people got a bit worried in case some of their expensive instruments got damaged and left the stage. Anyway our Robin eventually got whisked away in a security van. The next day it was much quieter - probably because the temperature had gone up a few degrees (it’s the middle of summer in New Zealand of course) and everyone was too hot to move much.
Robin also tells me that the trip out to New Zealand was fantastic. He travelled on a BOAC 707 jet which landed at such exotic places as Tehran, Bombay, Singapore to refuel - but what a gruelling flight - 38 hours non-stop. Still as Robin said by boat the same journey takes five weeks. And apparently one of the radio stations Down-under had a special Robin Gibb Day and played nothing but his discs! Incredible! Can you imagine our Radio One doing that!
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Page. 2.
Of course Molly and Robin (plus their Basset-hound [named] Hedgehog) arc now comfortably installed in their Virginia Water home. It’s a large house standing in some two acres of ground with a lovely wood at the bottom of the garden. There is also a tiny cottage in the garden.
The house itself contains five bedrooms and several large ground- floor rooms. Robin’s own den scums to have spread itself throughout the household. He has installed a complete photographic laboratory, all his recording equipment, a video-tape machine and a host of musical instruments. So he is well equipped to carry out experiments in numerous fields!
Poor Molly spends most of her time walking round the house picking up the bits of wire and half-drunk cups of tea (Robin’s favourite brew) which he leaves lying around!
Robin’s ever-growing collection of instruments includes a beautiful piano accordion made in the 1920s and which he found unplayed in a backstreet shop in Paris a couple of yours ago.
He also has a french horn and a couple of trumpets which he bought in Italy, a cello, a zither, two pianos, a twelve-string guitar and an organ. And they don’t just sit there looking pretty. Robin can play them all.
Robin’s now threatening to buy a set of bagpipes so that he can play them too: Poor Molly - I have visions of her moving into the tiny cottage in the garden!
The garden is big and rambling. Hedgehog has made a lot of new friends out there - squirrels, weasels, rabbits, moles (who seem to live under Robin’s lawn) and the occasional fox. Robin is not much of a gardener but as he says “Nothing much grows during the winter so there’s been nothing to do up til now anyway”.
Incidentally I have had several letters from members asking me one or two questions about Molly. The answers might perhaps interest the rest of you ... Molly’s maiden name was Molly Hullis and her birthday is February 16th. She is about 5’6” tall, has dark brown hair and brown eyes. Molly and Robin first met in 1967 when she was the receptionist at Nemo Enterprises (which at that time was the Bee Gees agency).
Other questions I’ve bean asked include Robin’s full name which is Robin Hugh Gibb and the title of his book which is “On The Other hand”. The book he started writing just before he left Australia and he has filled it with sketches, short stories and poems. I can’t tell you when it’s going to be published because not even Robin knows!
Robin has been in the recording studios again recently putting down some more of his beautiful songs and his manager Vic Lewis is looking into the possibility of Robin doing a theatre concert tour in the near future. This would mean that Robin could sing for about an hour-and-a-half with an orchestra which I know would please you (and him) very much!
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Page. 3.
Also on 7 March Robin is off to Germany once again. Radio Luxembourg is holding its Golden Lion Awards in Essen that day and Robin is topping a big concert programme. Robin will probably also be visiting Spain either at the end of March or beginning of April.
Well I think that’s it for the time being. Robin has asked me to send you all his love and says Hedgehog sends a wave of his tail!
So from me to you - keep smiling and with Easter fast approaching – have a good time.
Sally Bridge
Secretary