Another name to add to the panoply of women whose role in history has been under-recorded. Lesley Gibb was the older sister of the Gibb brothers who went on to global and enduring fame as the Bee Gees, brilliant singers and songwriters all. Lesley Gibb had two key moments in the Bee Gee story. The first was pulling her toddler brother Robin from a river and saving him from drowning, the second standing in for him at the band’s sold out concert at the Talk of the Town in London 1969. Apparently there had been a ‘botherly spat’ and Robin refused to perform. After intense rehearsals the mother of two pulled off the famous harmonies and a life on stage briefly beckoned. However it was not to be. Lesley Gibb returned to to Australia, going on to have five more children and establishing herself as a top dog breeder. ‘I’m a very private person,’ said Lesley, ‘[Their] life was wonderful but I was happy living a quiet life.’

Here’s a great clip of the very young Bee Gees while still in Australia:

And to remind ourselves of just what superlative songwriters they were…