Barry Gibb says perseverance stemmed from inferiority complex

Barry Gibb

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – The Bee Gees are among the best-selling artists of all time but according to Barry Gibb, the last remaining member of the pop group, they never saw themselves as a success.

“I have an inferiority complex and so did my brothers,” Gibb said in a recent interview with Reuters, “so we never really knew whether we’d made it or not. And every time we had a hit there was always another record that wasn’t a hit, so we got used to that.”

“It was always, ‘Well, okay, back to the studio and let’s try again.'”

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of disco film “Saturday Night Fever”, for which Barry and his brothers provided the soundtrack and which catapulted them to fame.

Barry Gibb

The soundtrack took the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1979 and “How Deep is Your Love” won best vocal performance by a pop group. “Staying Alive”, another enduring hit from the album, won best vocal arrangement.

“Timeless: The All-Time Greatest Hits”, a career-spanning collection of top hits by the trio, was released last month.

The album features 21 tracks selected by Barry, and sequenced in chronological order from the start of their career.