Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - Cousins Gibb: Melodies of Discovery and family ties in harmony

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

In a world where music often serves as a bridge between generations, Cousins Gibb share their poignant story of family, heritage, and creativity. Join Nick Endicott Gibb and Deborah McLean as they take us on an emotional journey, revealing how their familial ties have influenced their musical path. This episode dives deep into Nick's incredible discovery of his identity as the son of Maurice Gibb, enriching his connection to music and family. Listeners will hear about the challenges both artists faced, from personal health struggles to navigating the complexities of distant collaboration. Yet, through it all, they’ve managed to create beautiful music that pays homage to their family's legacy. Their unique rendition of the Bee Gees' iconic "Tragedy" has captivated listeners, showcasing how music can transform and evoke deep emotions. As they discuss their future aspirations, Nick and Deborah reveal their commitment to evolving as artists, blending styles, and exploring new sounds. This engaging conversation serves as an inspiring reminder of the power of family, resilience, and artistic collaboration. Don’t miss this chance to connect with the Gibb legacy. Follow them on social media, listen to their heartfelt music, and be part of their journey as they continue to embrace their heritage and create unforgettable experiences through their art. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars, or behind-the-scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information. on how they evolved into their chosen career.

We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Joining us today are two members of the renowned Gibb family,

who had formed a duo called Cousins Gibb, comprising Nick Endicott Gibb, son of Maurice Gibb, and Deborah McLean, daughter of the Beegee's older sister Leslie. Today they share a captivating story of their journey. Thanks for coming on. Yeah, thanks for having it. Yeah, of course. Yeah, great to see you. Yes, same here.

Can you tell us how you met? Your history is pretty fascinating. We haven't actually been met, have we? We haven't met physically, but yeah, Nick, kick off, you kick off because it is your story. as well and that's how it all happened. Yes. We connected through your mum, Leslie, didn't we? When she reached out and she heard about my story

and it was basically a good idea for Debbie and I connect and see if we can do something together. So we got together about three or, is it four, probably four years ago, is it? It started. Four? Yeah. Four. Yeah.

A lot of similarities between the two of us. We had similar health issues, but we were both musically, we were doing things musically. So yeah, that's why mum said to me, you need to talk to Nick. There's just so much you two have in common. Yeah, and she said to me, when you talk to him, she said, you hear Morris. There's no doubt. There's no doubt. Now, you're living in Australia, correct? Yeah. Have you been down there a long time? If you have, do you get a chance to see family much? No, we see. The last time we physically saw family was when Barry came out with the mythology tour and the family came out then. Outside of that, it's just the odd phone call.

So, mum gets most of the calls and we all just communicate via that way. And then there's Messenger, yeah, Facebook, usual stuff. We all connect that way. Like, we're all still connected, but the actual physical visit, yeah, mythology tour. Back then, mum was very unwell and I'd actually stopped work to live. look after her. That's why when you see photos, she's in a wheelchair. Completely different now. She's absolutely amazing and in very good health. That's great to hear for sure. Nick, you found out later in life that Maurice was your father, correct? Yeah. How did you find out? I'd always wanted

to know where I came from because I was always musical through my life and my family that adopted me weren't musical. From the age of six, I was singing, writing songs when I was 10. taught myself guitar and drums and led on from there all through my life with bands and recording and performing and yeah I wanted to know so it wasn't easy to find out really you had to go through all these channels of filling in forms and sending them off and waiting weeks and weeks for an answer and I didn't really fancy that although through my life it was in my 20s I started to look and then thought this is a lot of hassle I'd like to know but at that point it wasn't really that important to me because I had a lovely family and it was nice the time to know I was thinking of

why I'm creative, where it comes from, curiosities. And then later on, as you get older, you start to want to know about your health. Because I've got no medical history up to the age of five. Yeah, that's totally understandable. After all, you went through, then you finally found out what emotions

went through your mind when you found out that you were part of the Brothers Gibb family? It was really more of a case of, that makes sense, in a way, to me, because I always thought that my music comes from somewhere and to find out then my birth father, his Morris Gitt, ticked a lot of boxes for me that I knew myself through my life

that it just made sense that I came from someone who was very musical and very talented, very creative. So I was very pleased that it made sense to me. Sure, that makes sense. Now, what did you think when your mother told you that it looks like you've got a cousin you need to meet? Thrill. Yeah, we were all thrilled to bits. Yeah. And then when we were seeing photos of Nick,

there was no doubt. Absolutely no doubt. And then when I first spoke to Nick for the very first time, even down to the giggle that he has, it's Morris. It's Morris giggle. That's a giggle you'll never forget. It's a really, and even a couple of my brothers had the same giggle. And some of his traits carry, like the things he does when he's talking, I see it in my brothers. And I know it was mom's brothers as well. Like it's a family thing. Yeah. You could see it. And you get goose problems. Yeah. Like that first time I was like, no, is this happening? This is so real. Yeah. When Nick popped up, we were like, God, how many more are there? I'm sure there's more out there. It's amazing you bring that up. I produce another singer. That's Bobby Wilson, Jackie Wilson's son.

He found out later in life that he was Jackie's son. Okay. Now, did you have any issues with family accepting you for being Maurice's son? Really, it's only Leslie and Debbie, her family and some cousins in Manchester that have accepted the situation and have embraced the situation. And I haven't heard from anyone else. It'd be nice to. You haven't heard, but they've gone and done some DNA testing themselves and hello, you've popped up as a relation. So I think the questions or curiosity has been answered. Good, good. But as with every family, sometimes it is hard to accept. You've just got to let them do it in their own time.

Yes, that's absolutely true. Now you both find you have a cousin. You both have a passion for music, come from a musical family. How did the cousins give start to happen? It really started with once we connected, I thought it'd be lovely if we could do something together. which could be like a homage to the family, cover one of the BG songs and do something like that together.

So I had this idea of covering one of the songs, but doing it in a completely different way. Yeah, great idea. Yeah, we did a version of tragedy, but we slowed it down. It's more of a ballad, it's more heartfelt. The lyrics are just amazing. I've always saw that anyway. It would be great to bring those lyrics out.

Just do it in a completely different way. And it works so well. And singing together for the first. time as well. We haven't actually sung together, but we work remotely, being in Australia and the UK. It's quite easy to do that now, is to just send files over and that sort of thing. So Dewe would record it over there and send me our stems. I'd carry on mixing here. I'd record here. So it's back and forth with that. And it came together really nicely. And for me, one big thing that I've always wanted or always wondered what it was like to do was to be able to sing with a family

member. I see all these families, brothers and sisters, and through the decades, you can hear something magical. It's the blend. It's the blend. Growing up, I've got a twin. And when we're born, there was a bit of fuss because it was another set of twins in the family. Okay. Following on from Robin and Morris. And we're non-identical as well. So she's four foot 10. She's a good foot shorter than me and darker skin. We're very similar in looks. That's about it. But singing, we blend. And when we sing, no one knew who was singing what. Yeah, because we'd split the harmonies and go that way. And no one could ever pick up, even during school days and further on from that, nobody knew who was singing what part because our voice is blended.

We were just like one voice. You can't describe it. Yeah. We've got older. She lost interest in singing. And that was like, I felt like half of me was lost. Yeah. Yeah.

So I know what Nick's saying. Yeah. And then when we sang together and we blended, it was like, ah, there it is. Yeah. Yeah. And the blend is really good. I've listened to it and you really do blend well together. on it. There's been moments in the mixing where I've literally had to isolate the vocals because I couldn't

tell which I was, which one I was working on. Wait a minute, that's meant to be me. No, it's it. No, it is me. Yes, it is. Yeah, just at times we blend so, so well together. It's incredible. Yeah, that's awesome. It's always great to have good harmonies. So how many songs have you released now? We've got three out now, two original and the debut cover. And we're, we've been working on various ideas for quite a while, but I've been very busy in the studio and various other projects. Debbie's been very busy as well. It's getting that time together to come together and get working again. It's been a while since we've been really working properly because of other projects. I totally get that. Unfortunately, if you don't get to it, it never

gets done. Sometimes you just got to set a time and say, we're going to get this done. Sometimes there's just no other way. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. There's been things bumping along. And last year as well, yeah, last year as well, it was me that was holding everything up. I had pneumonia at the beginning of the year, got over that, got COVID, that knocked me out for nearly three months. Following from COVID, I got a heart condition. So, and I didn't get over that until November. So I was up and down all year health-wise. I've been given the all clear, hence why I'm really looking after my health and going, walking and everything and working now. Yeah, it was just, it was always me holding you because

Nick was like, how are you going and I'm going? I'm not good. I'm not recordable at the moment. And you could tell I was talking through my nose and yeah. So can I've been getting ideas together. Yeah, that's great. Well, you know, health is always number one. If that's not good, nothing is. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It's nothing. Correct. Yeah. Now that everything is good, you're good. Everything seems to be picking up for you. I think you're planning on working on new songs, correct? Working on it now. Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we're on a track at the moment, which is, again, we're trying to do something a little bit different every time. This one's going to be really different. It's special on this one, so I'm really looking forward to getting this one out there. Deb's working on some vocals at the moment, and I'm finishing off a few instrumental parts. Hopefully, by the spring, it's going to be, we'll be releasing.

That's the idea, yeah. Yeah, that's a good. great. Now, when are you planning on getting together in person so that you can do studio work together rather than back and forth over tracks? Well, what do you reckon, Deb? I know. See, I would rather come to the UK, but we've been debating this. Nick wants to come to Australia. Okay, so we have spiders and snakes. Do you don't want to come here? I'll come to the UK. Yeah, yeah, I get that. I've got friends of mine down in Australia that says, come on down. I tell them, I'm in the deep south now. I've got enough snakes right here. I don't need to go down there

and see them. We're not too bad. We're not too bad. They're there, but you'd have to be really silly to get bitten by a snake. So how long is the flight from Australia to the UK? It's about 24. I think, don't quote me on that yet. I think it's a very long haul flight. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Well, maybe sometime you'll get there, I'm sure, so that way you guys can work together. So what are you currently doing now? I'm currently working with the best of the BG show in Australia. They invited me on to do immortality. And that was as a guest for their 25th anniversary a year ago. Colin Peterson, the original BG's drummer, was actually working with them and touring and telling his story. Colin passed away last year. So they've asked me to do more shows

this year. So there's about 20 shows. And then they said, wouldn't Nick come to Australia? I said, would we go to the UK? And they're going, let's think about that. So who knows? Yeah, now that would be really good. That's a paid trip to get to Australia for you. That would be nice for the both of you. Correct.

We're doing New Zealand and other places. I can't mention yet because it hasn't been released. But yeah, all over Australia, yes. And I just go in and do immortality. Brilliant show, absolutely brilliant. So, yeah. I think singing live with Debbie, would be a fantastic experience.

Both of us in the flesh singing together. Yeah, that would be awesome, really. That would be an amazing experience. Like I say, it's something I've always wished I had in my life. I've found blood relatives. I could do that with it. Yeah, it's always nice to have that connection with another person or people

because the music is just that good, the harmonies, the singing is all that good. I've heard your product. guys sound really good together. So that would be a fantastic opportunity for you to get something out there and show your talents. It's just natural. I know when I, yeah, when I'm singing on the tracks, I can actually, or when I'm putting harmonies down without even hearing Nick, I hear Nick where Nick would be positioned within the song. And then I work through my harmonies and I send it back to Nick. And we debated a few times on one song, I threw in that many harmonies. I don't know how many

I did. And Nick goes, it's way too heavy. I said, just drop them all in. I hear it. I hear it. Just drop them all in. And then he went, ah, ha. I hear it now. Yeah. Layers. Lots of layers. The layers. Yeah, but I could also hear Nick in there. Yes. I think, yeah, we're really very much on the same page. Yeah. And that's something that I've always loved doing through my life as well. Yeah. Always loves to meet harmonies, creating harmonies. I was in a choir when I was six till I was 14. primarily because I enjoyed singing harmonies with people. And yeah, always loved that. Everything I've recorded, I've put in harmonies and worked on harmonies.

That's something I love doing. Oh, yes, harmony is just awesome. I remember a band I had one time. The bass player couldn't sing harmonies, so I would sing the lead. Then when the chorus came, he would sing the lead. I would switch to the harmonies. Singing harmonies is one of those things. Some people have it, and then some people don't.

It just adds another layer to that sound that you just, can't take away. Yeah, I worked with a band that we're doing, oh, it was a show. Neil Siddaka show with Neil Siddaka, he sings against himself. He always goes one above himself throughout the whole song. And I used to be that, the high Neil Sotka, throughout the whole show, yeah. Over 30 years, I never wanted to be out front. I always wanted to be just one of the backing singers, and everyone just kept going, no, you need to get out front. I was forced out front. so I'm comfortable with it. Yeah.

I just never wanted to be because the pressure of how you look, what you're wearing, everything, it all changes when you're out front and then you've got to entertain. You're not hidden behind the mic. Yeah, that's true. But nowadays, it doesn't seem to really matter much. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's just being completely,

a wise man once told me, pretend you're in your own living room, singing with your friends, and just connect that way. And that's how I go out on stage. Even now they say to me, are you nervous? I go, no. I'm actually really excited to get out there and I'm really comfortable out there.

Who said? Imagine they're all naked. Didn't someone say that? Yeah, no, I don't do that. That's just too gross. I've tried to do that and I've just got a bit uncomfortable. Yeah. I always try to find that one person that's getting into your music

and just focus on them. Their energy can give you energy. That can be dangerous when they sing the wrong words because I'm that person in the audience that will start singing the little words and put the lead off track. Or I deliberately clap out of beat. It's hard to do. I have to find out, yeah. And they know what I'm doing too.

The best thing to do is to follow their energy, then keep it up and don't follow their offbeats. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. This is great. Look at the energy you have right here.

You really have to get together live. The energy would just be awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We know it. But when we started, it was COVID anyway. So we were happy being able to do what we were thrilled that we could do what we were doing and to send files backwards and forward. Because I couldn't get into a studio.

So I bought the studio and set myself up. So during COVID. Yeah. Yeah. COVID changed everything. Everything changed. And Nick guided me through that because I've never set up a studio before. So it was what program to get. It was training, wasn't it? Over the phone. On, yeah, how did I know my trip? Save my tracks. Send the file. Do this. Do that. Yeah. Yeah. A lot happened behind the scenes. I've learned a lot.

Bottom line, it worked. It worked. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's fabulous. But we're having fun. Yeah. That's the main thing. Have fun. Are you playing? planning on doing a complete album soon. Oh, good God. I'd love to. Yeah. Yeah, I think we're working on track by track at the moment. There's so many songs we've got ideas we've got to work on. I think track by track and maybe we'll then put them all together and release an album. It's just really good doing song by song.

We enjoy it. We have fun doing it. And once we've done one, I've got this other idea. So it's just a case of getting then on that and working on that. Yeah, track by track at a moment. But yeah, I think we should release our album. And I think we're both perfectionists. If we had more than one focus, it would get messy.

But we just focus on one song at a time. It's, yeah, and then we pull it to piece every time we do it. And we redo things. And Fratigity took how long until we were finally happy, yeah. It took quite a long time because, yeah, because I had an idea for an oboe in it. And I was playing around with native instruments and other virtual. software and I had the melodies, but no, this has got to be, this has got to be a real player on

here. I want everything to sound, sound perfect. So I got a friend in who's great on piano, and I scored the strings and did a bit of guitar on it, but I got the basics of it together, and the oboe idea actually came from Eddie Kramer. Have you ever met Eddie, actually? No, I've never met him. Our paths have never crossed. He's lovely. Yeah, he's a lovely, and such a talented producer. I did a week's a split. production course with him in Studio La Fabricque, lovely studio. What was really good about that was he said, look, keep in contact. Everybody that was there, keep in contact.

I'm always here for any advice or anything. And I contacted him and said, look, this is what I'm doing. What do you think? Because I'd like you to mix it, really, if you've got the time. And he said, I'd love to. But he said, I'll tell you what, it needs something on there, which, it needs some Corongley or Obo or something like that on there. So I said, that's a fantastic idea.

So I was working on that, thinking I could do that. But after a while it became quite apparent that this needs to be a proper player. Then approached Dom Kelly, who he's done all the music for Poirot, I worked on tracks from Madonna and various other people. He's an amazing guy and I gave him the track and he just put his extra flurries on it. He followed my melody. He's this creative professional. He doesn't just read music or copy something that's given him.

He's his own taking thing and his own creativity in there, which was exactly what it needed. And he just bought the track alive with what he's. did. Yeah, it was a culmination of getting things together and getting Eddie on board and get this track to sound as good as we could. So it took a while to get together, but I was so pleased with it once it was all done, yeah. That's great. Always nice to finish up a project. Now, what's the feedback been like? There's a new Gibb in town, a new duo, Cousins Gibb. What's the feedback you're getting from the new sound and what you're doing with your music? We're getting a lot of good feedback

actually, because it's such a heartfelt version. We've had people crying, hearing it and saying it brought me to tears. It's quite a powerful reworking of it. Yeah, I've heard it. It sounds really good. It's amazing how many obviously people haven't heard it still and don't know of it. Yeah, it's pretty crazy in this day and time. You can have a viral thing out there and still people go,

huh? I didn't realize that was out there. Yeah. It's taken some time to realize. Oh, it is that song, yes. I think the one word that really captured me was the majority was the song was haunting, hauntingly beautiful, yeah. So, yeah, and I thought that's nice.

And even my mum said I'm lost for words, it's just beautiful, yeah. And of course, BG fans, hearing it for the first time is, well, wait a minute, and to get their head around this completely different version, because there's been so many covers of tragedy, which are either very similar to the, or rocked-up version, but not done in this way. So for some fans, it's, you know, I can't get my head around this because I'm so used to the song being what it is.

But to so many others, it's been such a, can't believe that this is beautiful, that it can't believe it's the same song. It is our voices. Yeah. It's not done for anything. It is actually up. Yeah, there's no falsetto. Where's the falsetto?

No, sorry. Sorry. The beauty of this, there is a certain amount of people that are growing up now that will hear it for the first time and not realize what the original was. Then they hear yours, go back to hear the original, and they're comparing the original to yours. So ultimately, you've created a new fan. Yeah, I think when a song's covered and done in a different way and it's used on a film or something like that, then people, younger people watching the fans, film, that's their first exposure to the song. And that's when they think, who is this? I love this song. They check out who it is and they think that they wrote it

or it's from them. So it quite often happens, I think, through sync. That's so true. Did you get any feedback from the family? Overall family really liked it. They loved it. Yes. And then we also heard from Blue Weaver, who was keyboard player for Bejis. He was involved with the original recording of tragedy and he was just blown away. That's just so good to hear. That's the feather in the cap, the cherry on the top, when someone that worked on the original hears it and likes it.

Yeah. Yeah, I've got a lovely message from Blue, and it really touched me. I couldn't believe, you know, this guy that was on all of the records saying this lovely message about the song is incredible. Yeah, absolutely. It doesn't get much better than that. So what are the plans for the future? I think you've got a single coming out for spring.

Anything past that? Yeah, that's the plan. And yeah, there's another one. There's another one. There's another one. Yeah. So, you know, we've had a lot of conversations at the end of last year about what this year would look like and, yeah, definitely recording.

So we're just going to do one song at a time because we are perfectionists. I think if it gave me two or three songs, my mind would be going one at a time, get that right and then move on to the next. And the plan, of course, as well is to try lots of different things, doing things in different ways. And so we evolve with it. We had a chat. Are we doing this sort of style or do we keep things to this sort of genre? We both are the same in that we don't want to do that.

We don't want to really put anything in a box. If we feel like doing something which is going to be a punk song, I don't know, we probably won't. Or we do a ballad or we do a reggae or we do rock. However something forms. This next one's a bit of a twist, but I'm not going to say what the twist is. Again, it's haunting. It's beautiful. Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful.

Yeah, it's going to be, yeah, this one's going to be special. Don't say it. Don't say it, Nick. How do people find you? How do people contact you? How do they follow your music and your careers? Okay, we're on band camp, we're on Spotify, we're on Amazon, All the platforms, Apple Music, YouTube music.

And of course, Facebook is our main area to contact. Facebook is the main one we use at the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're out there. We also drop in everything else we're doing, like Nick works in a band as well. And he's doing production stuff. So he'll drop that into our Facebook as well. When I'm doing the shows, I share that.

There will be video or audio of me singing within the shows as well. we're letting them know everything else that we're doing. We're not just in the studio. So it's good. Yeah, that makes it interesting for people to follow you. Yeah. They can see what you're doing together. They can see what you're doing separately. And hopefully they follow you because of what you're doing together. Yeah. And a year ago, I never thought I'd be working with the show The Best of the BGs, which is endorsed by the family as well. They are amazing. They've worked all over the world. And now I'm a guest in their show. They keep saying,

to pinch myself. No, I'm pinching myself. You're actually paying me to do this. So, one song, that's it. What's the old saying you'll pay me for something I'd do for free? Yeah, so correct. Yeah, but no, and having a wonderful time with them, they're beautiful people, very talented people. Well, that's great. This has been great conversation, great stories of your journey together. I really appreciate you coming on. Oh, thank you for having us. Hey, anytime, Tony. Anytime. Yeah.

It's shame we can't be there in person with you. Yeah, that'd be nice. Next time you're in Nashville, both of you start by. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Just thank you for wanting to talk to us. I feel very flattered. Yes. Yeah. Thanks, Tony. And we'll keep you posted with what we're doing, what we're up to. And you'll be one of the first to know when we finally meet.

Yeah, that'd be great. Matter of fact, when you do. when you do finally do that, we'll have to do this on a podcast. We'll have to do, we'll actually record that, weren't we? That's a great idea. We can do a video podcast. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that'd be special. Thank you. Thank you. It's been my pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mantor production. For more information, contact media at plateaumusic.com.