Honorary doctorates for Bee Gees

The Gibb brothers appeared on the Parkinson show in 2001

Pop group The Bee Gees are to be presented with honorary degrees from the University of Manchester.

Robin and Barry Gibb will receive the doctorates in music on Wednesday from the university's chancellor, BBC news presenter Anna Ford.

The pair will collect a posthumous honour for their brother Maurice, who died at the age of 53 in January 2003.

The musical trio were born on the Isle of Man, but moved with their family to Manchester in the 1950s.

The brothers emigrated to Australia in 1958 after making their mark on the local music scene.

Career success

The Bee Gees went on to become the fifth biggest-selling pop act of all time, producing 28 albums and shifting 110 million records in a career that spanned four decades.

Maurice Gibb died after suffering a heart attack during intestinal surgery at a hospital in Miami.

His surviving brothers declared that the Bee Gees had come to an end with his death.

Robin Gibb appeared as a judge on the BBC talent show Fame Academy, and went on to record with the series' runner-up Alistair Griffin.

He also released a solo album in the wake of Maurice's death, with songs inspired by the loss of his twin brother.