Barry Gibb Unveils Bee Gees Statue In Redcliffe, Australia Gibb finds 'closure' in Redcliffe Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb returns to Redcliffe Thursday "where the music was born" while locals celebrate "the most important day of our lives." Three barefoot boys, one playing a guitar, two with their mouths open in song. That was the sight that greeted Barry Gibb, as he removed a thick black cloth from a bronze sculpture. This was our environment, this was where the music was born "The thing I like best about it is that we're barefoot," Gibb told a throng of reporters. That's how we all lived. Barry Gibb poses with the statue of the young Bee Gees. Gibb smiled as he officially revealed the Phillip Piperides sculpture of himself and twin brothers Robin and Maurice, captured from a photo of the trio making music in their grassy backyard circa 1959. His sister Lesley, standing close by their 93-year mother Barbara, burst into tears. Gibb's wife Linda, their daughter Alexandra and son Stephen all looked on with pride. Barry Gibb speaks to media at the ceremony. As Gibb went on to involve them all in the unveiling of the new Bee Gees Walk, a 50-metre lane linking Redcliffe Parade to Sutton Street filled with photographs and memories of the group's 50 year history, it became very much a family affair; a reunion of the Gibbs young and old, with special thoughts for the brothers no longer with them. But it was also about acknowledging Redcliffe, the seaside town northeast of Brisbane that the Gibb family migrated from England to, and which Barry Gibb described as their "paradise." "We wouldn't be here without Redcliffe," Gibb said. This was our environment, this was where the music was born. Barry Gibb was thrilled by the bare feet on the statue, saying it represented the boys' childhood. The day unfolded under a warm sky, the odd drizzle of rain, and tight security. Gibb arrived just after 2pm at the Sutton Street entrance of the new walkway, his family filing up the red carpet before him. An excited media scrum tracked the 66-year-old's every move, with TV and radio crews broadcasting live, and choppers hovering overhead. It was reminiscent of the crazed publicity that followed the band at the height of Bee Gees mania during the disco era. Barry Gibb unveils Redcliffe's tribute to the Bee Gees. Screaming fans greeted his arrival at the podium, welcomed by Moreton Mayor Allan Sutherland and Bill Gates, the former 4BH disc jockey who first recorded the young brothers and coined the name the Bee Gees. "You're an absolute treasure," Cr Sutherland told Gibb, to rousing approval from the nearly 2000 people crammed onto Redcliffe Parade. I'm sure we all love you. Barry Gibb with former 4BC broadcaster Bill Gates, who gave the Bee Gees their name. Gibb, wearing a shiny black shirt, impeccably pressed white shirt and straw hat, seemed faraway at times as he remembered the scrapes and hijinks of he and his brothers. "We'd get the rowboat out to go fishing, and it would always start sinking, and I'd be rowing while Robin and Mo would be bailing," he laughed. Gibb also 'fessed up to shoplifting. "I remember we'd left the Woolworths with pen knives in our pockets that we hadn't paid for," he said. We went and threw them off the jetty; they're still out there somewhere. He said it was a turning point - deciding between a life of crime and a life of music. "I don't know that there's much difference really," he joked. Later, strolling down the new Bee Gees walkway, Gibb said it was overwhelming. "You never imagine something like this," he said, crediting Mayor Sutherland with bringing the project to fruition. They're not just photos, they each have memories attached to them. Lawyer Hilton Misso managed to grab a brief chat with Gibb as he greeted fans. The lawyer, who described himself as "Barry's age," said he used to play drums in a local band in Redcliffe around the same time as the Brothers Gibb, though they never met. "We were from the same era, and we just talked about the old times," Misso said. Redcliffe was a great place, it has great potential, and he's very proud to be part of it.