The Rattlesnakes was a British skiffle/rock and roll group, founded in Manchester in 1955 by Barry Gibb, which later changed to become the Bee Gees in 1958.

[5] Barry started a skiffle group, in which his younger brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb also joined as vocalists, after they returned to their parents' hometown in Manchester, England, in 1955.

[6] Some of their influences at that time were Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Tommy Steele, Buddy Holly and Paul Anka.

In 1955, the Gibb brothers moved back to Manchester where they attended school, but, since Barry did not want to continue his studies, they decided to drop out and focus on music.

Frost's younger sister, Dorothy Wilson, occasionally minded her nephew, Paul, and heard some of their early rehearsals, although she maintains that she's a big fan of the group today.

"[9] After several weeks of practising, Barry proposed that they join the ranks of other kids who performed at the Gaumont, the venue where all local children spent their Saturday mornings.

I was a friend of his younger brother and he took me inside and started showing me chords that he'd learnt in Hawaii, playing Hawaiian guitar.

So, I think when you're a kid and you live up in the mountains in America, there's no one to tell you how to tune a guitar so you do it by ear and you end up with that kind of tuning.The first Saturday after Christmas, 28 December 1957, marked the group's first "real" performance.

On the same occasion, they collected the tea-chest bass from Frost's basement before undertaking short trip to Gaumont Cinema.

The routine was on Saturday morning kids' film starting at 10:00 AM, Approximately at 1:00 AM there was an interval, which the manager of the cinema encourage anyone to get up on the stage while the audience eating ice cream and other refreshments.

[9][12] During the same year, Barry's guitar was accidentally broken by Frost, because the house was in darkness as Hugh was unable to pay the electricity bills at that time.

Around the same time, Frost and Horrocks left the band, as the brothers had moved, although the pair would maintain their friendships with their former neighbours.

Horrocks recalls that Barry did a solo spot as Wee Johnny Hayes at a "Minor 15," a talent contest for under-fifteen held on Thursday nights at Princess Club in Chorlton.

[9] On 12 January 2003, Maurice died unexpectedly at the age of 53 of a cardiac arrest, while waiting to undergo surgery for a twisted intestine.