Remembering Barry Gibb’s mind-blowing Glastonbury performance of ‘Stayin’ Alive’

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that 2017’s Glastonbury was the year of Barry Gibb.

The Bee Gees’ turn as the star of Glastonbury’s coveted ‘legend slot’ has gone down in as one of the most rousing performances in the festival’s 52-year history.

The Bee Gee proceeded to perform fifteen of the greatest anthems of the last 40 years, from disco hits to romantic ballads and everything in between, and became a night that no one in the audience would ever forget.

Barry Gibb took the crowd on a journey through time, from the rousing upbeat bars of ‘Jive Talking’ and ‘Islands In The Stream’ to the stunning heartbreak classics ‘How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?’ ‘To Love Somebody’, ‘Words’ and ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ via the hypnotic beats of ‘Nigh Fever’, ‘Tragedy’ and many, many more.

But there was one song the crowd went wild totally for, the song that for decades had been a dance-floor filler and was known as one of the world’s best disco hits: the one and only ‘Stayin’ Alive’.

Dubbed the ‘greatest song of all time’ by none other than Coldplay’s Chris Martin, ‘Stayin’ Alive’ changed musical history and ushered in an era of disco fever that had taken the world by storm.

Released in 1977, the track was the second single from the famed Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the film that changed the face of disco music.

Since its release, the song has been regularly voted one of the best hits in its 45-year lifespan.

In 2004, it ranked No. 9 on AFI’s survey of top tunes in American cinema and 2021 saw Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Songs, place ‘Stayin’ Alive’ at No. 99.

While the Bee Gee’s legendary solo show went down in the festival’s history and confirmed ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as one of the nation’s favourite hits – before he took to the stage, the singer shared his nerves about performing without his siblings.

Barry revealed that his Glastonbury set was in memory of his late brothers, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb.