The George Ellis Orchestra is combining with tribute band ‘the Best of the Bee Gees’ as they celebrate their 25th anniversary on stage with a national tour.
The concerts go through the chronological journey of the Bee Gees vast song collection, as well as playing some hits they wrote for other artists, with original drummer Colin “Smiley” Petersen joining them on tour.
Renowned conductor George Ellis first met the band in 2019 after he conducted a concert featuring them in combination with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra celebrating Canberra Day.
“We held a free outdoor concert of roughly 16,000 people which was highly successful, and the band and I got on very well,” Mr Ellis told Neos Kosmos.
It was some time after when the band reached out to the musical arranger to float their plans for how to mark their 25th year as a group.
“In 2020 or 2021, I got a call from Evan Webster (the Barry Gibb of this group). He said that in two years’ time, they would be celebrating their 25th anniversary and he had ideas of doing a national tour with orchestra,” Mr Ellis said.
The Greek-Australian conductor then suggested they use the orchestras he has in the various cities across the country.
The concerts feature a 22-piece orchestra (including strings, saxophones, brass instruments) in combination with the band’s own rhythm section (including a guitarist, drummer and electric bass player).
The band itself consists of Creator Evan Webster (Barry Gibb), Musical Director Russell Davey (Robin Gibb), Greg Wain (Maurice Gibb, also plays keyboard), Ralph Muller (guitar), Brad Poole (bass) and Greg Loxton (drums).
Other guests include Colin “Smiley” Petersen (who also plays drums for a song) and Roslyn Loxton, who performs female lead vocals for certain songs such as ones the band wrote for artists like Barbra Streisand.
Mr Ellis stated that, in setting up these orchestrations, he listened to the original Bee Gees recordings of their songs, many which have a smattering of orchestrations already.
“Songs like ‘Saturday Night Fever’, ‘More than A Woman’ and ‘How Deep is Your Love’ have string lines already. So, basically, I used those ideas and more and added to them.
The program starts off with the Bee Gees 60s hits, such as ‘Massachusetts’, ‘To Love Somebody’, ‘Run to Me’, ‘Words’, before moving into their music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, ending with ‘Stayin’ Alive’, ‘You Should Be Dancing’ and ‘Alone’.
Mr Ellis said that intermittently throughout the show Colin Petersen narrates stories about how he met the Bee Gees, how they wrote their songs, his experiences of recording in the studio with them, as well as introducing the songs and even jumping onto the drum set for one.
“He plays the last song of the first set with us and it’s a very special moment because it is a direct link with the Bee Gees themselves,” the musical arranger told Neos Kosmos.
“The musicians are all superb and so it’s a real joy because, as I said, they are world class musicians. It’s something even more special working with Colin Petersen himself.”
Mr Ellis elaborated on the time he has shared with Mr Petersen through this tour, sitting next to him on planes, rooming together at times, which has afforded him the chance to hear his stories.
“He has talked to me at length as to how these songs came together about and that informs me as to how I conduct those pieces,” he said.
The conductor gave an example of these stories, remarking on when Petersen first heard ‘Massachusetts’ with only guitar and voice, and how he did not think much of the song until they went to the recording studio.
“They had their arranger called Bill Shepherd who started the song with this beautiful cello line and it’s become this famous musical theme now which is synonymous with the song. Because of that, Colin really loved the song,” Mr Ellis said.
“The fact that an orchestral section or instrument helps make the song what it is really is exciting for me to know that the orchestra is a huge part of this programme. Being an orchestral arranger and conductor, that’s very special for me.”
Mr Ellis stressed that it is these insights from Mr Petersen which help elevate the quality of the show.
“If not for him joining us on this tour and on stage, I wouldn’t be nearly as informed as I am about this music,” he said.
They had one warmup show at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Queensland, before kicking off the national tour at the Hamel Hall in Melbourne (July 23) and at the Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide (July 30), with the shows eliciting two distinct types of audience engagement.
“In the first half, there is lovely applause. They are beautiful songs which the audience knows and acknowledges with very lovely and warm applause. But in the second half, this lovely, warm applause turns into cheering and dancing,” the conductor said.
“For a song like ‘You Should be Dancing’, which I’ll give away that the orchestra also stands to dance, the audience can’t help but get up and have a great time.”
Mr Ellis also noted the contribution of the band’s own production crew which travels with them to each show, knowing exactly how to set everything up efficiently and quickly.
“They are a brilliant production crew which travels around with the band and are also really lovely people and great to work with.”
The tour will now move on to the Concert Hall in Perth (September 1), followed by the QPAC Concert Hall in Brisbane (October 26), The Star in Gold Coast (November 18), Wrest Point Entertainment Centre in Hobart (November 25) and finally the State Theatre in Sydney (December 30).
