Ossie Byrne

Who was Ossie Byrne?

Oswald Russell "Ossie" Byrne was an Australian record producer, best known for producing the early recordings of The Bee Gees, including their first international hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941".

The youngest of nine children, he was born into a musical family in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. He learned to play cornet and trumpet in his youth and joined a Salvation Army band. He fought with the RAAF in World War II, being injured and losing an eye in New Guinea. After the war he played with local groups in Canberra and Sydney, as well as working as a finance officer, and in the mid-1950s he moved to Wollongong where he built a small recording studio in his house. In 1961 he recorded a local group, the Del-Fi's, whose recordings had some success, and in 1965 he moved to Hurstville, Sydney and set up a new studio behind a butcher's shop.

Record releases by the Bee Gees in Australia had been relatively unsuccessful commercially at that time, but Byrne was a fan and, in 1966, offered the group almost unlimited recording time to develop their sound. He also became the group's co-manager. At the same time, he worked as producer with successful Australian pop singer Ronnie Burns. In November 1966 the Bee Gees had their first major success, "Spicks and Specks". The group decided to develop their career in England, and Byrne accompanied them. Arriving in England in February 1967, the group immediately won a recording contract with Robert Stigwood, and Byrne recorded the single "New York Mining Disaster 1941" with them at the IBC Studios in Portland Place. It became a hit in the UK, and internationally, and Byrne then produced the group's album, Bee Gees' 1st.