Knight Fever at the palace! Bee Gee Barry’s honoured by Charles (then his knees give up)
HIS hit songs inspired thousands to go disco dancing in the 1970s.
But it seems years of groovy moves have taken their toll on Barry Gibb, as he admitted he struggled to stand up after kneeling to receive his knighthood.
The Bee Gee, 71, was awarded the honour by Prince Charles yesterday for his services to music and charity.
The singer shared a joke with the Prince of Wales about their ageing knees when he had trouble standing after receiving the knighthood.
Describing his conversation with Prince Charles to ITV News, Sir Barry said: ‘We mainly talked about knees because when I bent down, he said “You can stand up now” and I said “I don’t think I can”. He said, “No, it doesn’t get any easier does it?” ’
The musician, who is the last surviving member of the trio he founded with brothers Robin and Maurice,
‘My brothers should be here too’
said he hoped his bandmates would have been proud. He added: ‘I just don’t think this would have happened to me today without my brothers.
‘I think the idea of what we did together was something that we shared our entire lives and we were relentless, it didn’t matter if something didn’t work out, we just kept going. They should be here today too.’
Robin died in 2012, aged 62, after a battle with cancer, while Maurice died following an operation in 2003 at the age of 53.
The Bee Gees saw the brothers top the charts with hits including Night Fever, Stayin’ Alive and How Deep Is Your Love.
Gibb is estimated to be worth £71million, and attended the ceremony at Buckingham Palace alongside his wife of 48 years, Linda, 68, and their three children, Ashley, 40, Michael, 33, and Alexandra, 26.
Meanwhile, celebrity chef Rick Stein was given a CBE for his services to the economy.
The 71-year-old restaurateur and TV presenter is known for his acclaimed establishments in Padstow, Cornwall, which have led to the town being given the nickname ‘Padstein’.