| MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 | Groups & Solo Artists |
BIP ADDISON
Sydney, 1966-71
Bip Addison was teenage Sydney vocalist who, during 1966, was one of the group of singers and musicians who were involved with The Bee Gees, producer-engineer Ossie Byrne and entrepreneur-songwriter Nat Kipner, who was The Bee Gees' manager and producer at the time.
Bip's first single, released in August 1966, had no commercial success and its main claim to fame today is that both sides were co-written by Maurice Gibb and Nat Kipner and featured The Bee Gees as backing musicians. Both tracks were recorded at Byrne's shortlived St Clair Studio in Hurstville, probably during June or July 1966.
During this incredibly productive period, when The Bee Gees were virtually living at Byrne's studio, they recorded a large body of music including their breakthrough hit "Spicks and Specks" and many other songs like "Exit Stage Right" and Coalman" (both of which were big Australian hits for Ronnie Burns), as well as performing on scores of other recordings cut by other artists.
According to Bee Gees historian Joseph Brennan, The Bee Gees were working on singles for eight other artists around the time that they were creating "Spicks and Specks". These tracks were written variously by one or more of the Gibb brothers; some were Barry Gibb solo compositions while others -- including the two songs cut by Addison -- were collaborations between Maurice and Nat Kipner. Almost all feature instrumental and/or vocal backing by the Gibbs, with Colin Petersen on drums on several tracks.
On the pair of songs Bip Addison recorded, Maurice Gibb sang with the sixteen-year-old on both sides and overdubbed several instruments. Barry played guitar on the A side, all three brothers sang backup on the B side, and Bip recalls that Colin Petersen played drums on this session. The single was released on Byrne's shortlived Downunder label, which issued just thirteen singles (through Festival) between July and October 1966. The label and studio both closed at the end of 1966, when Byrne left Australia and travelled to the UK with The Bee Gees.
Bip made only one other single, released by Festival in early 1971.
Discography
Singles
Aug. 1966 (Downunder UK-1454)
"Hey" (M. Gibb-N. Kipner) / "Young Man's Fancy" (M. Gibb-N.Kipner)
Produced by Nat Kipner
Feb.(?) 1971 (Festival
FK-4126)
"Hey Girl" / "Hard To Handle"
References / Links
Bill Casey
The St Clair Recording Studio: Ossie Byrne, Nat Kipner
& The Bee Gees
http://203.8.119.121/BeeGees%20Website
Ross Laird
The Sixties: Australian Rock & Pop Recordings 1964-1969
(ScreenSound Australia)
http://www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/docs/collectionguide_thesixties1964-1969.pdf
Joseph Brennan
Gibb Songs:
1966
http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/66.html
Globaldog
Productions
Festival Records 4000 series discography
http://www.globaldogproductions.info/f/festival-4000-series-oz.html