OMMA Catalogue Number

OMMA-0116

Artist

Bee Gees

Title

“The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey / The Three Kisses Of Love”

Release Details

Issued in March, 1963, as a 7-inch 45 rpm single by Leedon (catalogue number LK-346). Pressed in Australia and released through the Festival/Leedon system during the group’s first year with Festival Records.

Edition & Variant Identification

First pressing, corresponding to the debut Leedon issue and present here in sample-record form. The present copy is a stock-label copy bearing a “Sample Record Not For Sale” sticker, consistent with promotional distribution from the original release campaign. The artist is styled on the label as “The Bee-Gees.”

Matrix & Pressing Data

A-side label matrix: MX12435. B-side matrix and in-hand runout remain to be confirmed from direct inspection.

Physical Description

7-inch vinyl single on black vinyl. The labels are Leedon stock labels of the period, with the present copy bearing a sample-record sticker on the A-side. It is housed in a contemporary Leedon/Festival generic company sleeve of thin paper construction. No inserts are present.

Factory-Origin Characteristics

Factory-origin characteristics include the applied sample-record sticker to the A-side stock label, consistent with promotional handling of the original issue. No other factory-origin anomalies are presently documented.

Condition Report

The present copy is graded E-/VG+ overall, with the disc described visually as E-/VG+ and not play-graded. Archive notes record a Leedon/Festival generic company sleeve in VG+ condition, showing age toning, ring impression, and handling wear. The A-side label image confirms the sample-record sticker and catalogue details; the B-side label is reported to have a small tear.

Provenance

Provenance: eBay seller “mrrocknroll2,” Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; subsequently acquired by the Origins of Modern Music Archive on 20 May 2026.

Market Context & Historical Notes

“The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey / The Three Kisses Of Love” is the initial release by 16-year-old Barry Gibb, and his 13-year-old twin brothers, Maurice and Robin. The first of eight Leedon singles issued by Festival on their Leedon imprint during the Bee Gees Australian period, the song was a traditional country tune written by Barry from the perspective of a Confederate soldier on the battlefield. The band name appeared on the label hyphenated as “The Bee-Gees” and the record charted locally in Sydney, though it was not a national hit.

The Bee-Gees at the time were a young Australian vocal group writing and recording for a domestic independent-label market with this sample-stickered copy an artifact of Leedon’s marketing of the young band. This twangy, country song hardly foreshadows the force this group would become in shaping world music and becoming the face of disco. The group’s later induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame underscores the distance between this modest Australian beginning as child rockers and their eventual status as towering figures in twentieth-century commercial music.

Canonical Status in OMMA

This release is recognized by the Origins of Modern Music Archive as the artist’s canonical debut.

References and Source Documentation

45cat, The Bee-Gees – The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey / The Three Kisses Of Love, Leedon LK-346, Australia. https://www.45cat.com/record/lk346

Joseph Brennan, Gibb Songs: 1963, including recording-session and release-discography entries for the March 1963 Leedon single. https://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/63.html

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bee Gees inductee entry. https://rockhall.com/inductees/bee-gees/