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Bee Gees star Barry Gibb has spoken out for the first time about an incident where a man tried to molest him at the age of four, when he was living with his family in the Isle of Man.
Speaking to Radio Times ahead of his Glastonbury performance over the weekend, the veteran musician said that the man didn’t touch him, but “other things” happened.
“I’ve never said this before. Jesus Christ, should I be saying it now?
“But there was a moment in time when a man tried to molest me when I was about four years old.
“He didn’t touch me, but other things happened, and happened to other kids. And eventually they came and arrested him, and they woke me up during the night,” he said.
“Four years old and a policeman on your bed at four in the morning, interviewing you!”
Barry and his brother Robin and Maurice rose to fame as The Bee Gees.
The music star went on to say that he had “never told anybody” about what had happened.
“If that doesn’t teach you about life, nothing does. But it’s vivid for me still,” he revealed.
When asked if the incident took place in his home, Barry would only say that “those details would be unpalatable”.
Barry lived on the Isle of Man until the age of nine, before his family moved to Manchester and then later, in the 1950s, to Australia. Alongside his brother Robin and Maurice, he would go on to find fame at the age of 13 after appearing on Australian TV.
Barry is pictured performing at the Grammy tribute event to The Bee Gees in February.
The 70-year-old spoke openly about the “dark side” to the industry, revealing: “In Australia there was a lot of returned soldiers that were damaged, like people are damaged in the war now.
“They would drive up next to you and open the door of their car and say, ‘You want to go for a drive?’
“I was ready. I could see the predators coming. I learnt very quickly to say, ‘Sorry, not available,’ to move the other way as fast as I could.
“There is a dark side, a very dark side, to showbusiness,” he said.
