A number of myths have grown up around this incident, the most persistent being probably the suggestion that the remark to which the Bee Gees took exception was Anderson reminding them that they once went by the name of Les Tosseurs. Wikipedia no doubt contributes to this misapprehension when it says "Anderson ... refer[s] to their original intended name as 'Les Tosseurs' but his comment, 'you'll always be tossers to me' ultimately prompted the band to walk out of the interview."
It's true that this name does come up in the interview more than once, but in fact it's Barry Gibb – the most talkative Bee Gee – who mentions it first. He explains that the group's first name was the Rattlesnakes, "and then we moved on to Wee Johnny Hayes and the Bluecats". He then says, "Before we were the Bee Gees, we were Les Tosseurs." Anderson does indeed respond with "you'll always be Les Tosseurs to me", and at this point you can see the first signs of anger in Barry Gibb's eyes.
It's also true that Anderson, as was his wont, spends the whole interview trying to provoke the three Gibb brothers into a reaction, and for several minutes they take it in good part. Even before Les Tosseurs are mentioned, he remarks that "You're hit writers, aren't you? I think that's the word, anyway ... we're one letter short, but anyway ..."
The crunch finally comes nine minutes into the chat, when they're discussing the period when the group had split up (temporarily) and Robin had a No. 2 solo hit in the UK with Saved by the Bell. Barry points out that the group had a hit together at the same time – Don't Forget to Remember. Anderson quips "I'd forgotten about that one", to which Barry responds "I thought you might." Barry's next remark is lost in the general hubbub, and then the camera turns to him as he says "In fact I might just leave." He stands up, and does just that. Anderson remarks that he's never had anyone walk out before; at this point Barry says "You're the tosser, pal."
Robin follows swiftly on his heels. Anderson, to quote one review, "does a passable impression of a guppy fish". The last remaining Bee Gee, Maurice, seems to think that his brothers will soon return to the fray, but when it becomes apparent that that's not going to happen, he says "Oh well, I suppose I might as well join them" – and does so.
You can watch the entire episode here. The same page has a "partial transcript" of an interview that Maurice Gibb gave at some later time to Manx Radio – the first time, apparently, that any of the Gibb brothers had talked about the incident. Maurice explains that they did the interview despite Anderson's reputation for provoking his guests, because they wanted to show that they had a sense of humour. He compares it to the (unspecified) time when they put "Les Tosseurs As Seen on Father Ted" on their dressing room door at the Brit Awards, to wind up Elton John (a somewhat garbled story). But basically, they didn't think Anderson would go as far as he did.
© Haydn Thompson 2021