Songfacts®:

• The three brothers who made up the Bee Gees were born on the Isle of Man, lived for a while in Manchester, then emigrated with their parents to Australia. Their first break came when a DJ with the unlikely name of Bill Gates asked them to record some tracks for him. In a BBC tribute screened shortly after the death of Robin Gibb in May 2012, they explained that after releasing no less than 13 singles they felt they were not making any real progress, and decided to head back to the UK to ride the Mersey boom - which was of course launched by The Beatles. They released what was intended to be their last Australian single, "Spicks And Specks" and off they went. In those days they sailed rather than flew, and a week out they realized the song had reached #1.
• "Spicks And Specks" was written by Barry Gibb and was actually their 12th single; it was recorded in June 1966 at St. Clair Studio, Sydeny, and was released in Australia on the Spin label backed by "I Am The World." In the UK, it was released on Polydor. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2