For this alone…

Barry Gibb deserved to be knighted. And finally, in the New Year’ Honours List, he has been. The Bee Gees had a string of hits in the late 60s but by 1975, their career seemed to be over. They were trying one last time with a new album. As they drove to the studio each morning across the Julia Tuttle Causeway in Miami, Barry noticed the rhythm of the tyres crossing the bridge. He made it the basis of this song and of a whole new musical genre, known as disco. Jive Talkin’ led to the Bee Gees creating the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever which changed popular music and culture forever, bringing untold joy to millions. Having spectacularly revived their own careers, they then revived the careers of icons like Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick and Diana Ross. So if this man doesn’t deserve a knighthood, who does?