Alan Kendall is a guitarist best-known for his association, over a period of more than a decade, with the Bee Gees. Kendall's first full-time band was the bluesy progressive rock outfit Toe Fat, which he joined in the wake of the departure of several of the original members, long enough for one tour. That band disintegrated in 1970-1971, and soon after Kendall was recruited as a session musician on the Bee Gees' Trafalgar album, which was moderately successful (and contained the huge hit How Can You Mend a Broken Heart). Having lost their previous resident guitarist Vince Melouney a couple of years earlier, the Gibb brothers were in the market for someone who could work with them and play lead, and were so impressed with Kendall's work that he was recruited as a member of the Bee Gees' band. Along with drummer Dennis Byron and keyboardist Blue Weaver, Kendall formed the core of the group that ultimately yielded the mega-disco hits such as Jive Talkin', Nights on Broadway, and Stayin' Alive, and all were rewarded with full shares in the group's earnings (rather than being paid a salary). Kendall remained with the trio up through 1979's Spirits Having Flown, after which the bandmembers departed, but he participated in recordings by Andy Gibb and was back with the Bee Gees for various major projects in the '90s. The range and fluency of his playing is perhaps best showcased on the double live album Here at Last...Bee Gees...Live, which covers the group's history from its pop-psychedelic phase to its disco period, all beautifully played, and which, sadly, is out-of-print as of 2001. As a musician, Kendall favors the Fender Stratocaster, among other instruments. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi