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Blue Weaver | |
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 Blue Weaver in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Derek John Weaver |
| Also known as | Blue Weaver |
| Born | 11 March 1947 Cardiff, Wales |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | blueweaver |
Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer.
Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its successor Fair Weather. In 1971, Weaver joined Strawbs after keyboardist Rick Wakeman departed to join Yes, [1] contributing notable keyboard and Mellotron parts on Grave New World and Bursting at the Seams , the bands' most successful and critically-acclaimed albums. Weaver left Strawbs in 1973 and toured with Mott the Hoople on their US tour with supporting act Queen. [2] The following year, he toured with Streetwalkers.[ citation needed ]
In 1975, former Amen Corner bandmate Dennis Bryon, who had begun playing drums in The Bee Gees backing band the year before, suggested Weaver as a replacement keyboardist for the band following the departure of Geoff Westley. The three-piece backing band of Weaver, Bryon and the perennial Bee Gees sideman, Alan Kendall, played on the Bee Gees' albums Main Course (1975), Children of the World (1976), Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live (1977), and Spirits Having Flown (1979), as well as the band's famous contributions on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, including songs like "Jive Talkin'" and "You Should Be Dancing". [3]
As a songwriter and composer, Weaver was credited as a co-composer on Andy Gibb's hit song, "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away", as well as songs for Jimmy Ruffin's 1980 album Sunrise with Robin Gibb as lyricist, including the top 10 hit single, "Hold On To My Love”. Weaver composed the soundtrack for the film Times Square , again collaborating with Robin Gibb on Gibb's duet with Marcy Levy, "Help Me". In the 1980s, Weaver worked as a session player for the Pet Shop Boys. [3]
As of 2009, Weaver was a director and supporter of the Music Producers Guild.[ citation needed ]
The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s.
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger brothers, Robin and Maurice, he rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music. Gibb is well known for his wide vocal range including a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. Gibb's career has spanned over 60 years.
Cucumber Castle is the seventh studio album by the Bee Gees, released in April 1970. It was produced by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robert Stigwood. It consists of songs from their television special of the same name, which was named after a song on their 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st. Cucumber Castle is the only Bee Gees album not to feature any recorded contributions from Robin Gibb, as he had left the group before the album was recorded.
Amen Corner were a Welsh rock group formed in Cardiff, Wales. They are best known for their hits "Bend Me, Shape Me" (1967), "High in the Sky" (1968) and the chart-topper "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" (1969).
Mr. Natural is the twelfth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1974. It was the first Bee Gees release produced by Arif Mardin, who was partially responsible for launching the group's later major success with the follow-up album Main Course. The album's rhythm and blues, soul, funk, and hard rock sounds initiated the group's reinvention as a disco and blue-eyed soul act, which would solidify on subsequent albums. However, Barry Gibb has said that the album was "whiter" than Main Course. The cover photograph was taken at 334 West 4th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City by Frank Moscati, which is today known as The Corner Bistro tavern.
"Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film Saturday Night, but singer Robin Gibb expressed hesitation at the title. Stigwood liked the title Night Fever but was wary of marketing a movie with that name. The song bounded up the Billboard charts while the Bee Gees’ two previous hits from Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were still in the top ten. The record debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at #76, then leaped up 44 positions to #32. It then moved: 32–17–8–5–2–1. It remained at #1 for eight weeks, and ultimately spent 13 weeks in the top 10. For the first five weeks that "Night Fever" was at #1, "Stayin' Alive" was at #2. Also, for one week in March, Bee Gees related songs held five of the top positions on the Hot 100 chart, and four of the top five positions, with "Night Fever" at the top of the list. The B-side of "Night Fever" was a live version of "Down the Road" taken from the Bee Gees 1977 album, Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live.
Vincent Melouney is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success.
Now Voyager is the debut solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, the member of the Bee Gees. It was released on 17 September 1984 by Polydor Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. Now Voyager was recorded sometime around the year at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, and was produced by Gibb and Karl Richardson. It contains his biggest solo hits, "Shine, Shine" and "Fine Line". The album also included the Olivia Newton-John duet "Face to Face", which was released as a promo single. Gibb co-produced the album with Karl Richardson, who had been working with the Bee Gees since 1975. The front cover photograph was taken by Alex Henderson at Victoria Baths, Manchester.
Spirits Having Flown is the fifteenth album by the Bee Gees, released in 1979 by RSO Records. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reached No. 1 in the US, giving the Bee Gees an unbroken run of six US chart-toppers in a one-year period and equaling a feat shared by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. It was the first Bee Gees album to make the UK top 40 in ten years, as well as being their first and only UK No. 1 album. Spirits Having Flown also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the US. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Main Course is the thirteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1975 by RSO Records. It was the group's last album to be released by Atlantic Records in the US under its distribution deal with Robert Stigwood. This album marked a great change for the Bee Gees as it was their first album to include mostly R&B, soul and funk-influenced songs, and created the model for their output through the rest of the 1970s. It rejuvenated the group's career and public image, particularly in the US, after the commercial disappointment of their preceding albums. Main Course was the first album to feature keyboardist Blue Weaver who had just left the Strawbs and toured with Mott the Hoople. The album cover with the band's new logo designed by US artist Drew Struzan made its first appearance here.
Children of the World is the fourteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1976 by RSO Records. The first single, "You Should Be Dancing", went to No. 1 in the US and Canada, and was a top ten hit in numerous other territories. The album was re-issued on CD by Reprise Records and Rhino Records in 2006. This was the first record featuring the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team which would have many successful collaborations in the following years.
Living Eyes is the sixteenth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in 1981. It was the band's final album on RSO Records, which would be absorbed into Polydor and subsequently discontinued. The album showcased a soft rock sound that contrasted with their disco and R&B material of the mid-to-late 1970s; having become a prominent target of the popular backlash against disco, the Bee Gees were pressured to publicly disassociate from the genre.
Fair Weather was a British rock band formed in 1970 by former Amen Corner guitarist and singer Andy Fairweather Low. They are best known for their track "Natural Sinner".
"Edge of the Universe" is a rock song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry and Robin Gibb from the album Main Course released in 1975, and also released as a B-side of "Nights on Broadway".
After Dark is the third and final studio album by English singer-songwriter Andy Gibb. It features his last US Top 10 single "Desire", "I Can't Help It" and two Bee Gees numbers "Rest Your Love on Me" and "Warm Ride".
Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live is the first live album by the Bee Gees. It was recorded on December 20, 1976 at the LA Forum and was released in May 1977 by RSO Records. It reached No. 8 in the US, No. 8 in Australia, No. 1 in New Zealand, and No. 2 in Spain.
"Warm Ride" is a song written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, and recorded by the Bee Gees and during the 1977 Saturday Night Fever sessions in France. The Bee Gees original, if unfinished, recording remained unreleased until 2007 when it was mixed and included on a reissue of Bee Gees Greatest. The song was an outtake from the soundtrack.
How Old Are You? is the second solo album released by British singer Robin Gibb in 1983, thirteen years after his debut Robin's Reign in 1970. The album was not a great success in America and failed to chart in Britain but it did spawn an international hit in "Juliet" which topped the charts in Germany. The album reached No. 6 in Germany. The album was produced by Robin and Maurice Gibb with Dennis Bryon.
Dennis Bryon is a Welsh rock drummer from Cardiff, best known for his work with the Bee Gees from 1974 to 1979.
Sunrise is the 11th and final album by American soul singer Jimmy Ruffin, it was released in May 1980 and was produced by Robin Gibb and Blue Weaver. The songs were co-written by Gibb either with Weaver and/or his brothers. This album was released in US, Netherlands, UK, Norway, and Germany. The lead single "Hold On " reached top ten in UK and US.
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