Barry Gibb was born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb on the Isle of Man. He has an older sister, Lesley (b. 1945), and three younger brothers, fraternal twins Maurice (1949–2003) and Robin (b. 1949), and Andy (1958–1988). He and his family moved to Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester in 1953. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Brisbane, Australia, settling in one of the city's poorest suburbs, Cribb Island. The suburb was later bulldozed to make way for Brisbane Airport. It was in Australia that Gibb and his brothers Robin and Maurice started performing as the Bee Gees. The Gibb family returned to England in 1967. Shortly afterward, the Bee Gees became international stars.
The Bee Gees rank sixth on the all-time top-sellers list. when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, their citation read "Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees". The trio's contribution to Saturday Night Fever pushed the film's soundtrack past the 40 million mark in sales. It reigned as the top-selling album until Michael Jackson's Thriller. They are the only group in pop history to write, produce, and record six straight No.1 hits. They have sixteen Grammy nominations and nine Grammy wins.