Bee Gees in Canberra, 1974

During the Centenary of Canberra year, the NFSA’s TV Unit looks at our holdings of Canberra’s first commercial television station, CTC 7 (now Southern Cross Ten). In working through the news collection we discover some gems that highlight Canberra’s hidden or forgotten history.

Courtesy of Southern Cross Austereo. NFSA: 52504. Note: There is no audio over the vision until the interview.

The Bee Gees were in the nation’s capital for two days as part of their sold out ‘Mr Natural’ tour of Australia. Tickets for their first Canberra concert on 26 September had sold out in one day, so another concert was announced for the 27th. They had performed one concert each in Brisbane and Adelaide and would leave Canberra for Melbourne and four concerts at Festival Hall.

Tickets cost $5.50 and $6.50 and The Bee Gees played two concerts each night at the Canberra Theatre – one at 6:00 pm, the other at 8:30 pm.

Each performance started with ‘Spicks and Specks’ and featured the title song from their 12th album, Mr Natural.

This excerpt shows Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb arriving at Canberra Airport with their families. The interview is conducted by CTC-TV News reporter Jenny Hill.