"He's a Liar" was the first single from the Bee Gees album '' Living Eyes'' released on 19 September 1981. The song was written by brothers

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, Robin and

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lea ...

Background

Unlike the last three Bee Gees albums – which included primarily their established, longstanding studio and touring band – "He's a Liar" features an array of studio musicians:

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

on lead guitars; Harold Cowart on bass;

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

on drums; and

Richard Tee Richard Edward Tee (born Richard Edward Ten Ryk; November 24, 1943 – July 21, 1993) was an American pianist, studio musician, singer and arranger, who had several hundred studio credits and played on such notable hits as "In Your Eyes", " Sl ...

on piano. A version with a slightly longer intro was released as a 12-inch single in Germany and later on the Japan only compilation ''Rare Collection''. It was recorded between the months of February and June 1981. This song is rumored to have been inspired by the feud the Bee Gees were having with their record manager,

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

, at the time. The brothers would later reconcile with Stigwood and remain good friends.

Release and aftermath

Even though this song sounded nothing like the Bee Gees' disco-era singles, the backlash had pigeonholed the Bee Gees as a disco act and radio stations were reluctant to play any new Bee Gees music. After six consecutive number-one singles in the US, "He's a Liar" peaked at #30, which was far from the heights of their success in the late '70s. However, the song did better in Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France. In Italy the single sold 60,000 copies in two weeks. The song's only appearance at their compilations was at 1990's ''

Tales from the Brothers Gibb ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'' is a box set compilation released by the Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, ''Tales'' is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their third album, ...

''.

Music video

A video was made for the song which featured the three Gibb brothers and Sixteen Candles actress

Haviland Morris Haviland Morris (born September 14, 1959) is an American film, television, and Broadway actress, who currently works in real estate. Early life Morris was born in Loch Arbour, New Jersey and spent much of her childhood in Hong Kong and Singapor ...

. Robin portrays a man who is a lover of a woman, played by Haviland. However, Maurice spots the pair kissing, and he shoots them. After fleeing from the house, Maurice evades the police on foot, nearly getting caught. Eventually, he is cornered and thrown into a police car but manages to escape. In the last shot, a car drives down a darkened street and Maurice follows on foot, still being pursued by police. An ambulance with Robin and Haviland inside follows as the video and song fades out. The brothers also mime to the song in several shots.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1981 singles Bee Gees songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb RSO Records singles 1981 songs Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb