Robin Gibb’s unreleased song from 1970 unearthed
According to The Sunday Times (online edition dated March 25, 2020), etc. , when late actor Peter Wyngarde‘s memorabilia was put up for auction, a sheet of lyrics of a song titled ‘I Will Surrender,’ noted as “written by Robin Gibb in 1970” was found among the lot. Wyngarde passed on January 15, 2018, and the online auction of his items took place in late March.
East Briston Auctions handled the auction which ended on March 26. The information regarding the typed sheet of lyrics to ‘I Will Surrender’ could be referenced at this link for a limited amount of time.
If my heart is made of wood
then I should not
think of you!
I’m like a lighthouse
In the sea!
my dreams won’t let,
me argue
As my heart abandons me
I was caught in a cold dark corner
and the world won’t rescue me,
how can I surrender to you’
how can I surrender to you.
All the crowds
are far and few
and my giantm [sic] halls are empty
we had rehearsed a rendezvous
seems I must surrender to you!
Yes I will surrender tou [sic] you.
THE END
It is surmised that the song was written for but was not actually used in the solo album released by Wyngarde in 1970. According to The Sunday Times, the album “When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head” was withdrawn from the market within a few days from its release because it infamously contained a song about rape. Best known for his role as Jason King on British television, Wyngarde’s life is “shrouded in mystery” (The Guardian). That The Sunday Times had to write in its obituary that he was “probably born on August 23, 1928″ bears testimony to the idiosyncrasy of the cult figure.
The typewritten lyrics contain some errors and corrections. And so there is a possibility that it could have been typed by Robin himself. (Robin once told me that he was not very good at typing. I asked him, not very diplomatically, I might add, if he typed with his index fingers. Looking a little miffed and shy at the same time, he replied that he could type with all his 10 fingers but very slowly, making a typing gesture with his hands. I rather doubt the truth of this statement to this day!)
The description for the item reads:
An incredible set of believed unheard Robin Gibb song lyrics, presumed to have been written for actor Peter Wyngarde, possibly for his self-titled 1970 LP album. The song, titled ‘I Will Surrender’ comes with the note ‘ Words and music by Robin Gibb, 1970 ‘. Folded. To the rear is written ‘Robin Gibbs songs’ in Wyngarde’s hand. The typed lyrics contain some errors, and some corrections. To the verso are also some telephone numbers written, similarly in Wyngarde’s hand. A rare item from the estate of Peter Wyngarde. Robin Gibb CBE (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer, songwriter and record producer, who gained worldwide fame as a member of the pop group the Bee Gees with older brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice.
It seems that it is someone connected with the auction that has uploaded the audio file and the following note at YouTube.
Back in 1998 I had the pleasure of meeting Peter Wyngarde as he wanted to sell off , all of his old scripts e.t.c . In amongst the scripts and various paper work was a folder containing DEMOS of some of the singles that appeared on his LP. This single ”I will surrender” was written by Robin, maybe to appear on Wyngardes album? Robin and Peter were very good friends. Robin actually bought Peters trade mark Bentley.
Barry Gibb has also mentioned in a magazine interview from 1969 that he was very close to Wyngarde. So it seems likely that the brothers Gibb were somewhat good friends with the late actor who was known for his eccentricity.
The audio file uploaded on YouTube covers only the latter part of the typed lyrics. The question is: is there a complete demo somewhere?
｛Bee Gees Days｝
