Odessa is the sixth studio album by the Bee Gees, a double vinyl LP released in February 1969, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering. Despite reaching the UK Top Ten and the US Top 20, the album was not particularly well-received, though now is regarded by many as the most significant of the group's Sixties albums. An ambitious project, originally intended as a concept album on the loss of a fictional ship in 1899, it created tension and disagreements in the band regarding the work's direction; finally, a dispute over which song to release as a single led to Robin Gibb temporarily leaving the group.
Odessa (Bee Gees album)
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.
The Bee Gees in 1977 (top to bottom): Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb
Bee Gees plaque at Maitland Terrace/Strang Road intersection in Union Mills, Isle of Man
The Bee Gees in 1967 (left to right: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Vince Melouney, Maurice Gibb and Colin Petersen)
The Bee Gees performing at The Tom Jones Show in early 1969, one of the last performances with Robin as he left the group later in March