Andy Gibb

Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees.

Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through the early 1980s with eight singles reaching the Top 20 of the US Hot 100, three of which went to number-one: "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" (1977), " (Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (1977), and " Shadow Dancing" (1978). In the early 1980s, he co-hosted the American music television series '' Solid Gold''. He also performed in a production of ''The Pirates of Penzance'' and ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. Gibb would later have issues with drug addiction and depression. He died on 10 March 1988, five days after his 30th birthday.

Life and career

1958–1975: Early life and first recordings

Andrew Roy Gibb was born on 5 March 1958 at Stretford Memorial Hospital in Stretford, Lancashire. He was the youngest of five children born to Barbara and Hugh Gibb. His mother was of Irish and English descent, and his father was of Scottish and English descent. He had four siblings: his sister, Lesley Evans; and three brothers—Barry and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.

At the age of six months, Andy Gibb emigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia, settling on Cribb Island just north of Brisbane. After moving several times between Brisbane and Sydney, Andy returned to the United Kingdom in January 1967 as his three older brothers began to gain international fame as the Bee Gees.

In his childhood, his mother, Barbara, described Andy as "A little devil, a little monster. I'd send him off to school, but he'd sneak off to the stable and sleep with his two horses all day. He'd wander back home around lunchtime smelling of horse manure, yet he'd swear he had been at school. Oh, he was a little monkey!"

Producer and film director Tom Kennedy described Andy's personality in his childhood:
He quit school at the age of 13, and with an acoustic guitar given to him by his older brother Barry, he began playing at tourist clubs around Ibiza, Spain (when his parents moved there), and later on the Isle of Man, his brothers' birthplace, where his parents were living at the time.

In June 1974, Gibb formed his first group, Melody Fayre (named after a Bee Gees song), which included Isle of Man musicians John Alderson on guitar, Stan Hughes on bass, and John Stringer on drums. The group was managed by Andy's mother, Barbara, and had regular bookings on the small island's hotel circuit. Gibb's first recording, in August 1973, was a Maurice Gibb composition, "My Father Was a Rebel", which Maurice also produced and played on. It was not released. Another track on the session performed by him was "Windows of My World," co-written by him and Maurice.

At the urging of his brother Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974. Barry believed that, because Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees, it would also help his youngest brother. Lesley Gibb had remained in Australia, where she raised a family with her husband. Both Alderson and Stringer followed Andy to Australia with the hope of forming a band there. With Col Joye producing, Andy, Alderson, and Stringer recorded a number of Andy's compositions. The first song was a demo called "To a Girl" (with his brother Maurice playing organ), which he later performed on his television debut in Australia on '' The Ernie Sigley Show''. Sigley later informed the audience that it was from Gibb's forthcoming album, but it was never released. In November of the same year, he recorded six demos—again produced by Joye—including "Words and Music", "Westfield Mansions", and "Flowing Rivers" (which was later released). What may have detracted from the "training ground" aspect of Australia for Andy compared with his brothers was that Andy was relatively independent financially, mainly because of his brothers' support and their largesse; hence, the group's sporadic work rate. Andy would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of work with no income. Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to the UK.

Gibb later joined the band Zenta, consisting of Gibb on vocals, Rick Alford on guitar, Paddy Lelliot on bass, Glen Greenhalgh on vocals, and Trevor Norton on drums. Zenta supported international artists Sweet and the Bay City Rollers on the Sydney leg of their Australian tours. "Can't Stop Dancing" (which was a Ray Stevens song and was later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was mooted for release, but didn't happen, although Gibb did perform it on television at least once on the revitalised ''Bandstand'' show hosted by Daryl Somers. Zenta would appear later as a backing band for Gibb, but did not participate on Gibb's recording sessions around 1975, which featured Australian jazz fusion group Crossfire.

" Words and Music" was released on the ATA label, only in Australia and New Zealand, owned by Joye. It was his first single, the song, backed by another Andy Gibb composition "Westfield Mansions". The single would eventually reach the Top Twenty on the Sydney music charts in 1976; the ballad was one of his well-known hits.

1976–1980: International success

Gibb married his girlfriend, Kim Reeder, on 11 July 1976, and in 1977 they moved to West Hollywood. Reeder recalled, "He became ensconced in the drug scene. Cocaine became his first love. He became depressed and paranoid." After they split up, Reeder moved back to Australia, where she gave birth to their daughter, Peta, who was born on 25 January 1978, and they divorced later that year.

Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' manager, signed Andy to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he heard some of Andy's demo tapes. Andy soon moved to Miami Beach, Florida, to begin working on songs with his brother Barry and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. In late 1976 in Miami, Andy, with older brother Barry producing and recording in the famed Criteria Studios, set about making his first album ''Flowing Rivers''. Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh played on two songs on the album. The first release from the album, and Gibb's first single released outside Australia, was "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" which was written by Barry, who also provided backup vocals. It reached number-one in the United States and Australia and was the most played record of the year. In Britain it was a lesser hit, just scraping into the Top 30. Eight of the ten tracks on the album were Andy Gibb compositions, mostly songs written during his time in Australia. These included a re-recording of his previous single, "Words and Music". In September 1977 ''Flowing Rivers'', with another number-one single " (Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (also co-written by Gibb and his brother Barry) to support it, quickly became a million-selling album. That single broke in early 1978 during the time that the Bee Gees' contributions to the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack were dominating the world charts. In the United States it replaced "Stayin' Alive" at the top of the Hot 100 on the day before Andy's 20th birthday, only to be surpassed by " Night Fever" at number-one there two weeks later.

Andy then began work with the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team on his second album, '' Shadow Dancing'', which was released in April 1978 and was his highest-charting album in America and Canada. The title track, written by all four Gibb brothers, was released as a single in the United States in April 1978. In mid-June it began a seven-week run at number-one, achieving platinum status and the honour of being ''Billboard'''s number-one song of 1978. In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to have three consecutive number-one singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with all of the weeks at the top of the chart happening in less than year, from 30 July 1977 through 29 July 1978. Two further Top Ten singles, "An Everlasting Love" (which reached number 5) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (which reached number 9), were released from the album, which became another million seller.

In 1979, Gibb performed along with the Bee Gees, ABBA and Olivia Newton-John (duet with " Rest Your Love on Me") at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly, which was broadcast worldwide. He returned to the studio to begin recording sessions for his final full studio album '' After Dark''. In March 1980, the last of Gibb's Top Ten singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire" was recorded for the Bee Gees' 1979 album '' Spirits Having Flown'' and featured their original track, complete with Andy's original "guest vocal" track. A second single, " I Can't Help It", a duet with family friend and fellow British and Australian expat Olivia Newton-John, reached the top 20.

Later in the year, ''Andy Gibb's Greatest Hits'' was released as a finale to his contract with RSO Records, with two new songs: " Time Is Time" (number 15 in January 1981) and "Me (Without You)" (Gibb's last top-40 chart entry) shipped as singles, before RSO founder Robert Stigwood let him go due to his cocaine addiction and behavioural problems. "After Dark" and " Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" were non-single songs added to the album, the latter of which was a duet with P. P. Arnold, who had previously worked with Barry Gibb, including singing uncredited backups on "Bury Me Down by the River" from ''Cucumber Castle''.

Around the same time, Gibb was invited to sing the first verse on Queen's " Play the Game", and lead singer Freddie Mercury apparently was amazed with Gibb's abilities. According to some sources, the tape was found in 1990 in a search of Queen archives for bonus tracks for a CD but was not used. Since it has not been heard by any Queen collectors, its existence is somewhat doubtful, although record producer Mack has also confirmed that the version did exist.

1981–1986: Decline and live performances

While taping ''The John Davidson Show'' in January 1981, Gibb met actress Victoria Principal