The accidents that nearly ended the Bee Gees' career before it began

2 July 2026, 14:54

You'd think it was destiny that they became the world's biggest band.

After the release of their era-defining soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, the Bee Gees were on the top of the world.

Their high-pitched, street-strutting songs transformed the New York City disco scene into a global phenomenon.

Few artists or bands have achieved the kind of stellar success that the Bee Gees have, especially over a series of decades.

Their record of chart hits speaks for itself – with nine No.1 hits to their name, the Bee Gees are only behind The Beatles and The Supremes as the most successful group in the history of the US Billboard charts.

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• The 20 greatest Bee Gees songs of all time, ranked

But it could have very well been the case that the band might have ended before the Gibb brothers barely got going.

Tragedies have beset the Gibbs for their entire lives, be it the death of their younger brother Andy Gibb at the tender age of just 30.

They've also had their fair share of close shaves and fortunate near misses, however. Namely, the car accident that could've killed Maurice Gibb.

Before they even became a band, Bee Gees' lead singer and primary songwriter Barry Gibb nearly lost his life.

At the age of just two, he poured boiling water on himself, scalding himself in the process, which resulted in him spending two months recovering in hospital.

Escaping the incident with his life gave the young Barry a second chance and helped shape a new perspective on the sanctity of life as he grew older.

But sadly, his younger brother Maurice wasn't quite as grateful about how precious life is.

Be it down to the recklessness and arrogance of youth, Maurice decided to drive his Rolls Royce after a night of heavy boozing, which nearly resulted in his death.

At just 19 years of age, Maurice was becoming more and more successful; he had a gorgeous wife in Lulu, an expensive house, and an even more expensive collection of cars.

He was living the life of a rock star musician, too, indulging in heavy drinking and attending parties night after night.

One of those nights, however, on May 27, 1969, Maurice made a grave mistake by deciding to sit behind the wheel.

It resulted in his prized Rolls Royce crashing into a tree outside his home in Kensington, London – given the exceptionally stiff bodywork of the car, the tree actually ended up more damaged.

Maurice was thrown through the front windscreen but thankfully escaped with only a few cuts and scrapes.

It was an incredibly stupid decision he made as a young man, especially since his twin brother Robin also nearly lost his life in an accident two years earlier.

The train crash at Hither Green in 1967 was one of the worst in UK history, and is still regarded as such.

On board was 17-year-old Robin Gibb, who was riding high on the fact that the Bee Gees were at No.1 in the UK charts with their gorgeous ballad 'Massachusetts'.

Robin and his partner at the time, Molly Hullis, were travelling in the first-class carriage, which he later admitted "might have saved us."

Whilst he and Mullis escaped with minor injuries, the incident haunted Robin for the rest of his life.

The Bee Gees - Massachusetts (1967)

Gibb was dangerously close to death and was nearly decapitated in the train crash.

In a 2012 article for the Daily Mail, he admitted that he was still shaken up by the event, writing: "Our carriage tilted to one side and then broken glass flew all over us like Niagara Falls.

"I had long hair, and the glass got tangled in it. It took me days afterwards to remove the shards."

• When Barry Gibb spoke of his regret over conflict with brother Robin during heartbreaking eulogy
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• When Barry Gibb was joined on-screen by late Robin Gibb for emotional duet of Bee Gees' 'I Started A Joke'

He was understandably shaken, especially since another passenger who was standing in the corridors of his carriage died.

A total of 49 people died, with 78 more injured. It was miraculous that Robin lived to tell the tale, let alone push the Bee Gees towards global superstardom.

Somebody somewhere was looking out for them, given the brothers' frequent dalliances with death in their early lives.