Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
with elder brother
Barry and fraternal twin brother
Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successful solo career.
Gibb was born at the Jane Crookall Maternity Home,
Douglas on the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, to English parents,
Hugh and Barbara Gibb; the family later moved to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
for three years (where Andy was born) before settling in
Redcliffe, just north of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Australia. Gibb began his career as part of the family trio (Barry-Maurice-Robin). When the group found their first success, they returned to England, where they achieved worldwide fame. In 2002, the Bee Gees were appointed as CBEs for their "contribution to music".
However, investiture at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
was delayed until 2004.
With record sales estimated in excess of 200 million, the Bee Gees became one of the most successful pop groups of all time. Music historian
Paul Gambaccini described Gibb as "one of the major figures in the history of British music" and "one of the best white soul voices ever" owing to his distinctive vibrato-laden soulful voice.
From 2008 to 2011, Gibb was president of the UK-based Heritage Foundation, which honours figures in
British culture
The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by its History of the United Kingdom, combined nations' history, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the individual diverse cultures of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and ...
. After a career touching six decades, Gibb last performed on stage in February 2012 supporting injured British servicemen at a charity concert at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
.
After numerous health problems in his final years, including a battle with
colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...
, Gibb died in May 2012 at the age of 62 from liver and kidney failure.
As a musician, Gibb primarily played a variety of keyboards, notably piano, organ and
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
on the Bee Gees album ''
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
'' (1969); he also played acoustic guitar and organ on his debut solo album ''
Robin's Reign'' (1970).
Childhood
Robin Hugh Gibb was born on 22 December 1949 in Jane Crookall Maternity Home in
Douglas, Isle of Man, to Barbara Gibb (née Pass) and
Hugh Gibb
Hugh Leslie Gibb (15 January 1916 – 6 March 1992) was an English drummer, bandleader and the father of musicians Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, Maurice Gibb, Maurice and Andy Gibb. Barry, Robin and Maurice would go on to form the Bee ...
. He was the
fraternal twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
of
Maurice Gibb
Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...
and was the older of the two by 35 minutes. Apart from Maurice, he had one sister, Lesley Evans, and two brothers,
Barry and
Andy. As children in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, Gibb and his brothers began committing crimes such as petty burglary and arson.
Their neighbour in Willaston,
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, Marie Beck, was a friend of his mother and her sister Peggy. Helen Kenney, another neighbour, was living in Douglas Head. As Kenney recalls, "Barry and the twins used to come into Mrs Beck's house and we would talk to them. Robin once said to me, 'We're going to be rich one day, we're going to form a band!' Little did I realise he meant it."
Career
1955–1958: The Rattlesnakes
In 1955, when the Gibbs moved back to their hometown of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
,
the brothers formed
the Rattlesnakes. The band consisted of Barry on guitar and vocals, Robin and Maurice on vocals, Paul Frost on drums, and Kenny Horrocks on
tea-chest bass
A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size .
Modern tea chests (202 ...
. The quintet performed in local theatres in Manchester.
Their influences at that time were popular acts, such as
the Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
,
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
, and
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby".
Anka also wr ...
. In May 1958, the group was disbanded as Frost and Horrocks left, and the name changed to Wee Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats. In August 1958, the family travelled to Australia on the same ship as
Red Symons, who also became a prominent musician in Australia.
1958–1969: Bee Gees

The boys finally changed their name to the
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees
were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
, while they were living in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. The Bee Gees' debut television appearance was in 1960 on
Desmond Tester
Sydney Desmond Tester (17 February 1919 – 31 December 2002) was an English film and television actor, host and executive. He was born in London, England, and started his career as a child actor; among his most notable roles, was that of the il ...
's ''Strictly for Moderns'' when they performed "Time Is Passing By". When they signed to
Festival Records
Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005.
Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...
at the start of 1963 (but they were assigned to
Leedon Records
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by United States, American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon (promoter), Lee Gordon in early 1958.
Establishment and early releases
In Australian in the 195 ...
) they released their debut single, "
The Battle of the Blue and the Grey". Their 1964 single "
Claustrophobia" is notable for being the first song that features Gibb as an instrumentalist playing melodica. The first Bee Gees record on which he sang lead was "I Don't Think It's Funny" in 1965. In 1966, he wrote his first song "I Don't Know Why I Bother With Myself" that was credited to him. Also in 1966, Gibb and his brother Barry took more solo vocals.
The group's first period of British success in the late 1960s started with "
New York Mining Disaster 1941
"New York Mining Disaster 1941" is the debut American single by the Bee Gees, released on 14 April 1967. It was written by Barry Gibb, Barry and Robin Gibb. Aside from a moderately successful reissue of their Australian single "Spicks and Specks ( ...
" and the band added drummer
Colin Petersen
Frederick Colin Petersen (24 March 1946 – 18 November 2024) was an Australian musician and actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he was replaced ...
and guitarist
Vince Melouney
Vincent Melouney (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success.
Before becoming a member of the Bee Gees in Ma ...
to their line up. They toured Europe in 1967 and 1968 as well as the US in August 1968. The band's first UK No. 1 was "
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
", which features Gibb on lead vocal.
On 13 June 1968, Gibb recorded demos for seven songs, accompanying himself on guitar. The tape listed Robin alone as artist and songwriter. Of these, one – "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" – later appeared on ''
Idea
In philosophy and in common usage, an idea (from the Greek word: ἰδέα (idea), meaning 'a form, or a pattern') is the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophe ...
''. On 27 July 1968, Gibb collapsed and fell unconscious. He was later admitted to a London nursing home suffering from nervous exhaustion, and was moved to a facility in
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
on 31 July to continue his recuperation. The group, about to embark on its first US tour, cancelled four dates after Gibb had a relapse and flew back to England for additional rest.
Gibb co-wrote "
Only One Woman",
The Marbles' debut single, which was a hit in several countries, especially in Europe and New Zealand. The Marbles were a British rock duo consisting of Graham Bonnet and Trevor Gordon. The Bee Gees' single "
I Started a Joke
"I Started a Joke" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1968 album Idea (album), ''Idea'', which was released as a single in December of that year. It was not released as a single in the United Kingdom, where buyers who could not afford the al ...
," on which Robin sang lead, was not released as a single in the UK but was the group's first US Top 10 hit. Gibb claimed that the melody of the song was inspired by the sounds he heard in a jet engine.
In August, the band started to record ''
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
''. In January 1969, Gibb co-wrote another Marbles single, "
The Walls Fell Down," and co-produced the sessions that same month.
However, the rivalry with Barry eventually prompted Robin to leave the group and begin a solo career (three months after guitarist
Vince Melouney
Vincent Melouney (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success.
Before becoming a member of the Bee Gees in Ma ...
left the band) after his song "
Lamplight
"Lamplight" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as the B-side of "First of May (Bee Gees song), First of May", but featured as the single's A-side in Germany. It also featured on their double album ''Odessa (Bee Gees album), Odessa'' in March 1969 ...
" was relegated to the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of Barry's song "
First of May". Meanwhile, there were rumours during this period that he was dealing with
drug
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
problems, allegedly leading his parents to threaten legal action to make him a
ward of court (the UK age of majority at that time being 21, while Gibb was only 19).
The Bee Gees' last recording session with Robin was in February 1969.
Gibb's last performance with the group was on ''
The Tom Jones Show'' and ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' before leaving the group.
1969–1970: Solo career
On 19 March 1969, he announced that he was leaving the Bee Gees the same day as the band recorded "
Tomorrow Tomorrow", their first single without Robin.
In his solo career, Gibb was initially successful with a number 2 UK hit, "
Saved by the Bell
''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United ...
", which sold over one million copies and received a
gold disc
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
.
He performed that song on the German TV show ''
Beat-Club''. Also in 1969, Gibb co-produced "Love for Living". The song was performed by
Clare Torry and was released as a single.
He also started a mini-tour, making television appearances in a dozen countries to promote "Saved by the Bell". By 19 July 1969, ''New Musical Express'' announced "Tonight,
obin Gibbis fronting a 97-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir in a recording of his latest composition, 'To Heaven and Back', which was inspired by the Apollo 11 moonshot. It is an entirely instrumental piece, with the choir being used for astral effects. The single will be billed as by 'The Robin Gibb Orchestra and Chorus' and it will be rush-released as soon as possible by
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
". At that time, he was doing a musical score for ''Henry The Eighth'' and making his own film called ''Family Tree''. Later, it was reported on ''NME'' that Gibb wrote dozens of songs for
Tom Jones. A meeting between Gibb and Jones was said to be arranged for Gibb's return from a three-day promo trip to Germany.
On 31 January and 1 February 1970, Gibb performed in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand at
Redwood 70, billed as the first modern music festival held in New Zealand. During the first night of the festival, Gibb and his 16-piece backing orchestra were pelted with cans and tomatoes from the crowd, making his backing band gradually leave during the performance. Robin's first solo album, ''
Robin's Reign'' (1970) was less successful and he soon found that being a solo artist was unsatisfying. Maurice played bass on the song "Mother and Jack", but was subsequently removed from the project by producer
Robert Stigwood
Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...
. Also in that year,
Colin Petersen
Frederick Colin Petersen (24 March 1946 – 18 November 2024) was an Australian musician and actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he was replaced ...
produced "Make a Stranger Your Friend" performed by
Jonathan Kelly
Jonathan Kelly (born Jonathan Ledingham, 8 July 1947 – 2 May 2020) was an Irish folk rock singer-songwriter, who enjoyed a varied career in music, playing with many musicians and groups, including Eric Clapton and Tim Staffell. He formed Jon ...
, on which Gibb sang on the chorus with
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...
,
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...
,
Madeline Bell, three members of
The Family Dogg,
Jackie Lomax,
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
,
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...
and others. By January 1970, Gibb started to record his second solo album ''
Sing Slowly Sisters'' until February, but the album would go unreleased until 2015. He wanted "Great Caesar's Ghost" to be released as a single around 1970 with "Engines, Aeroplanes" as the B-side but the two songs were not included on that album and were unreleased to this day.
On 13 June, Gibb and Maurice reunited and they recorded four songs, with two of the four tracks released on their upcoming album ''2 Years On''. The session was originally for Maurice alone as he brought Gibb to the sessions. On 21 June sessions, the pair recorded another five songs.
1970–1979: Bee Gees comeback
In August, the pair returned to the studio and they announced that the Bee Gees were back, with or without Barry's contribution. One of the fourteen songs, "Back Home" and "I'm Weeping" was also released on ''2 Years On''. On 21 August it was announced that Barry had rejoined the group and they were recording together. The first song after the announcement was "
Lonely Days" which reached No. 3 in the
US Billboard Hot 100. On the ''
2 Years On
''2 Years On'' is the eighth studio album by the Bee Gees, which reached No. 32 on the US charts. Released in 1970, the album saw the return of Robin Gibb to the group after an earlier disagreement and subsequent split following ''Odessa''. ' ...
'' album, Gibb's songs included "Alone Again". He also co-wrote and sang lead vocals on the title track as well as "Man For All Seasons". In December 1970, Gibb recorded a demo "After the Laughter".
The Bee Gees had their first US No. 1 single "
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees on 28 May 1971, with B-side "Country Woman" (a Maurice Gibb composition). It was written by Barry Gibb, Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 alb ...
", with Gibb contributing on the song, writing with Barry and singing lead vocals on its first verse.
In April 1972, two months after the departure of drummer Geoff Bridgford, he wrote his last solo composition on a Bee Gees record until 1999, "Never Been Alone". In 1976, on the group's ''
Children of the World'' album, he sang lead on "
Love Me" as well as doing
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
on the track's coda, and he also used his falsetto on his lead vocal part on the song "Lovers" as Barry provided lead vocals on the entire song. On the ''
Saturday Night Fever
''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...
'' soundtrack, he did not sing lead vocals on any Bee Gees song, unlike their previous and next albums. Four tracks off the album reached the UK Top 10; "How Deep Is Your Love", "More Than A Woman", "Stayin' Alive", and "You Should Be Dancing". Moreover, "Night Fever" spent longer at #1 than any track in 1978.
In 1978, Gibb performed on the ''
Sesame Street Fever
''Sesame Street Fever'' is a concept album made by the cast of Sesame Street in 1978. It follows the characters as a love of disco sweeps Sesame Street.
The album heavily parodies '' Saturday Night Fever'', and the cover features Grover where ...
'' album for the
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
children's TV program. He was one of the singers on the "Sesame Street Fever" title track, he sang a song called "Trash" for the character
Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character created by Jim Henson and Jon Stone for the PBS/HBO children's television program ''Sesame Street''. He has a green body, no visible nose, and lives in a Sesame Street (fiction ...
, and spoke with
Cookie Monster
Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
at the beginning of "
C is for Cookie".
1980–1985: Collaborations with artists
In January 1980, Gibb co-wrote and co-produced
Jimmy Ruffin
Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...
's 1980 album ''
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon.
Terminology
Although the S ...
'' with
Blue Weaver
Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer.
Career
Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its succ ...
. Ruffin had enjoyed one of his first significant hits, "Hold on to My Love", from the album ''Sunrise,'' written and produced by Gibb and Weaver. "Hold on to My Love" had reached and stayed in the US Top 30 hits for 14 weeks. Also in 1980, he duetted with
Marcy Levy on the song "
Help Me!" (reached No. 50 in the US) featured on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
of the film ''
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
''. The other artists performing on the film, including
Gary Numan
Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...
,
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
,
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
,
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
and
The Cars
The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...
. Also in 1980, most of
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
's album ''
Guilty'' was co-written by Gibb with Barry. In February 1981, the Bee Gees returned to the studio and recorded ''
Living Eyes'', unlike the previous album, this album was not as successful. However, in subsequent years the ''Living Eyes'' album would become one of the most beloved of Bee Gee's albums by their diehard fans. ''Living Eyes'' was produced and published during a time when the Bee Gees were in litigation with their long-time manager Robert Stigwood, leaving them without the production and organization team they usually had behind them to promote their albums. They then worked on
Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
's album ''
Heartbreaker'' and recorded songs for the film ''
Staying Alive''.
Initial solo success
He recorded his second solo album with Maurice's participation, ''
How Old Are You?''. The lead single "
Juliet
Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...
" was a success in Europe as well as "
Another Lonely Night in New York" and the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
. In 1984, he released his third solo album ''
Secret Agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
'', a
new wave/
synthpop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
-influenced LP (reached No. 97 in the US, No. 31 in Germany and No. 20 in Switzerland). The album's lead and first single "
Boys Do Fall in Love" reached the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine top 40 list of hits, as well as reaching No. 70 in the UK, No. 7 in South Africa and No. 10 in Italy. Other singles such as the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
and "
In Your Diary" did not repeat the success of the first single. Due to the success of "Boys Do Fall in Love", he performed the song in several TV shows including ''Eldorado'' (Danish TV).
In 1985, he released his fourth solo album ''
Walls Have Eyes'' with the singles "Like a Fool" and "
Toys
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...
"; both songs did not chart in the US or UK. These three albums were more successful in Europe than in the UK or US. In 1986, Gibb joined
Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins were an English Pop music, pop band, formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a New wave music, new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the early and mid-1980s, scori ...
,
Zak Starkey,
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
,
Bonnie Tyler,
John Parr and
Holly Johnson under the name Anti-Heroin Project to record a charity single called "Live-In World".
1986–2002
In late 1986, the Bee Gees began writing and recording songs for their album ''
ESP'' to be released in 1987. In 1992,
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
recorded "Let Me Wake Up in Your Arms" on which he co-wrote. Gibb later contributed vocals on the Brazilian duo José y Durval's "Palavras/Palabras" (a Spanish or Portuguese version of "Words"). In 1998, the Bee Gees recorded their own version of "
Ellan Vannin" with lead vocals by Gibb. It was later released as a single as a limited edition CD to benefit the Manx Children in Need charity. In 2001, the Bee Gees released their last album ''
This Is Where I Came In'' and features his last composition on a Bee Gees record "Embrace".
2003–2009: Touring years
On 27 January 2003, two weeks after the sudden death of Maurice, Robin released a solo album, ''
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
'' in Germany on
SPV GmbH
SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German independent record label. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors ...
, and worldwide shortly afterwards. ''Magnet'' featured the Bee Gees song "Wish You Were Here" (from the 1989 album ''
One
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
'') in a new acoustic version. The lead single, "
Please", had coincidental lyrics about 'loss'. In recent years, Gibb sang the vocals to the opening titles to the British
ITV show ''
The Dame Edna Treatment''. In August 2003, Gibb announced the release of a new single of "My Lover's Prayer", a song first recorded by the Bee Gees in 1997 on the album ''
Still Waters'', with lead vocals by Gibb and singers
Wanya Morris
Wanyá Jermaine Morris ( ) (born July 29, 1973) is an American singer, best known as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B group Boyz II Men. He competed on the Dancing with the Stars (American season 22), twenty-second season of ''Dancing wit ...
and
Lance Bass
James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...
. That version was played on the radio but was never actually released. In October 2003, Gibb recorded a second version of the song with
Alistair Griffin
Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show ''Fame Academy 2'' in 2 ...
, a-runner up in the UK television program ''
Fame Academy'' on which Gibb appeared as a judge. In January 2004, the new version of that song was released in the UK as a double A side CD single. It eventually reached number 5 in the UK music charts. In late 2004, Gibb embarked a solo tour of Germany, Russia and Asia with singer
Alistair Griffin
Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show ''Fame Academy 2'' in 2 ...
as the opening act. On his return to the UK, Gibb released a CD and DVD of live recordings from the German leg of the tour, backed by the
Frankfurt Neue Philharmonic Orchestra of
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany. In 2005, Gibb made a solo tour of Latin America.
In January 2005, Gibb joined his brother Barry and several other artists under the name
One World Project to record a charity single in aid of Asian
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
relief, titled "Grief Never Grows Old". Other artists who performed on the single included
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...
,
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...
,
Jon Anderson
Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...
,
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...
,
Sir Cliff Richard,
Bill Wyman
William George Wyman ( né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who was the bass guitarist with the rock band the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. Wyman was part of the band's first stable lineup and performed on their first 19 ...
,
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Kenney Jones,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
of
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
,
Russell Watson and
Davy Spillane. In June 2005, Gibb joined
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
runner up band
G4 at a sell-out concert at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in London, singing the Bee Gees song "First of May". In December 2005, a recordings of this performance was released as part of double A side single, credited as "G4 feat Robin Gibb" together with G4's
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...
song "When a Child is Born". "First of May" also appeared on the platinum selling album ''G4 & Friends'', which reached number 6 in the UK album charts. In the same year, Gibb presented
master class
''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...
es at
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
's
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...
and oversaw the selection for release of thesis works by music graduates for the next two terms. On 20 February 2006, Gibb and Barry performed at a concert for Diabetes Research Institute of the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
in
Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...
. This was their first joint performance since Maurice's death.
In March 2006, Gibb announced plans for more solo concerts in Shanghai, China and Portugal.
In May 2006, Gibb took part in the
Prince's Trust 30th birthday Concert at the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
along with Barry. They sang three songs: "
Jive Talkin'
"Jive Talkin" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album ''Main Course'' (as well as a song on the 1977 ''Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack), Saturday Night Fever'' soundt ...
", "
To Love Somebody" and "
You Should Be Dancing". In September 2006, Gibb performs at the
Miss World
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...
2006 contest finals in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland. In November 2006, Gibb released his sixth album ''
My Favourite Christmas Carols'' the last album released in his lifetime, backed by The Serlo Concert, a London choir. This album featured a new song by Gibb called "Mother of Love", which was released in Europe as a download single. The song was inspired by Maurice and was Gibb's first new composition since Maurice died. Gibb donated all
royalties
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
from "Mother of Love" to the
Janki Foundation for Global Healthcare, and dedicated the song to
Dadi Janki, the organisation's spiritual leader. Gibb dedicated the album to his mother, Barbara. ''My Favourite Christmas Carols'' has a bonus DVD disc titled ''A Personal Christmas Moment with Robin Gibb''. Also in November 2006, Gibb performed a solo concert, entitled 'Bee Gees – Greatest Hits' at the Araneta Coliseum (now
Smart Araneta Coliseum) in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Philippines. Gibb marked his return to his birthplace by playing a concert at the
Isle of Man TT
The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...
festival in 2007. Gibb donated all of his share of the money from this concert to the children's ward at Noble's Hospital, Isle of Man, and invited all emergency service staff and marshals for the TT to attend for free.
On 18 May 2008, Gibb released the song "
Alan Freeman Days" in tribute to the Australian DJ
Alan Freeman
Alan Leslie Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 20 ...
. The song was issued as a download only track, although a promotional CD was issued by Academy Recordings. In December 2008, "Alan Freeman Days" was followed by another downloadable song titled "Wing and a Prayer", which shared the same name as a song from the 1989 ''
One
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
'' album. However, the new song was actually a reworking of the song, "Sing Slowly Sisters", that had remained unreleased since 1970. Later in December, Gibb issued another song, "Ellan Vannin (Home Coming Mix)", featuring the
King William's College Choir from the Isle of Man. ("Ellan Vannin" is the
Manx name for the Isle of Man.) On 8 September 2007, Gibb performed at a concert in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah at
EnergySolutions Arena
The Delta Center is an indoor venue in Salt Lake City. Opened in 1991, the arena is the home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). The arena has a seating capacity ...
for the
Nu Skin Enterprises Convention, singing a set of Bee Gees hits. On 25 October 2007, Gibb performed at the
National Palace of Culture in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Bulgaria and sang the Bee Gees' most famous songs.
In 2008, Gibb completed a new solo album entitled ''50 St. Catherine's Drive'', but it was never released until 2014. The song "Instant Love" was a collaboration with Gibb's son, Robin-John both having written the music and vocals. "Instant Love" featuring Robin-John on lead vocals appeared in a short film called ''Bloodtype: The Search'' in which Robin-John appeared. On 25 October 2008, to mark the 30th anniversary of the song "Saturday Night Fever" topping the UK charts, Gibb performed with special guests including
Ronan Keating,
Stephen Gateley,
Sam Sparro,
Sharleen Spiteri
Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer–songwriter and guitarist who has a contralto vocal range, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas (band), Texas, who rose to prominence in 1989 with the release ...
,
Gabriella Climi and
Bryn Christopher
Bryn Christopher (born 8 November 1985) is a British singer and songwriter, and the frontman of electronic music group I See Monstas. Born in Great Barr, Birmingham, England, he attended the Italia Conti Stage School and was a contestant on ' ...
at the London music festival
BBC Electric Proms. Gibb went back to the top of the UK charts in 2009 when he collaborated with singers
Ruth Jones
Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019, 2024), for which she won the B ...
,
Rob Brydon
Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He gained prominence for his roles in film, television and radio. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order ...
and
Tom Jones on a new version of "
Islands in the Stream", written by Gibb and his brothers Barry and Maurice. The new version, inspired by the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
comedy TV show ''
Gavin & Stacey
''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...
'', was created to benefit the charity
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
.
2010–2012: Final years
In 2010, Gibb was also a guest mentor on the Australian version of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'', alongside TV host
Kyle Sandilands, actress/singer
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian and British singer and actress.
Born and raised in New South Wales, Imbruglia became widely known in the early 1990s playing Beth Brennan in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. A ...
, and singers
Ronan Keating and
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...
. Also in 2010, Gibb toured in Australia with
Bonnie Tyler as his supporting guest. Together they performed at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Sydney,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
and
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. In September 2011, Gibb recorded the Bee Gees classic "
I've Gotta Get a Message to You
"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a song by the Bee Gees. Released as a single in 1968, it was their second number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart, and their first US Top 10 hit. Barry Gibb re-recorded the song with Keith Urban for his 2021 ...
" with
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
men
The Soldiers for a charity single in the UK, it was produced with his son Robin John Gibb and the video for which was produced by
Vintage TV. Gibb was the subject of an edition of the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
documentary series ''
Who Do You Think You Are?'' first broadcast on 21 September 2011. On 30 January 2012, Gibb announced his intention to appear onstage at the Coming Home Concert at the
London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
in February to benefit British soldiers returning home from Afghanistan.
It would be his last performance onstage.
Over a period of two years, Gibb and Robin-John wrote the score for ''The
Titanic Requiem'', recorded by
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
sinking of the ''Titanic''. Gibb was due to attend the piece's première on 10 April 2012 at the
Central Hall, Westminster, London, but his failing health kept him away.
He died the next month.
Personal life
In 1968, Gibb married Molly Hullis, a secretary in
Robert Stigwood
Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...
's organisation. Not long before they were married they survived the
Hither Green rail crash together. They had two children together,
Spencer (b. 1972) and Melissa (b. 1974). The couple divorced in 1980 after years of living separate lives, with Gibb almost permanently in the US and Hullis remaining in the UK; she filed for divorce on 22 May 1980.
On 9 September 1983, Gibb was arrested and sentenced to 14 days in jail for speaking to the press about his previous marriage in breach of a court order.

Gibb's second marriage, from 1985 until his death,
was to Dwina Murphy, an author and artist. She is interested in the
Druidry religion and is a follower of the neo-
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris ( ("Daughters of Brahma")) is a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan during the 1930s.[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...]
and RSVP Voices.
At 50 years of age, Gibb began an affair with his 25-year-old housekeeper, Claire Yang, and eight years later, in 2008, had a fourth child with her.
Gibb and his wife divided their time between their homes in
Peel, Isle of Man
Peel ( 'port of the Island') is a seaside town and small fishing port in the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of German (parish), German but administered separately. Peel is the third largest town in the Island after Douglas, Isle of Man, Do ...
, their mansion in Miami, Florida and their main residence in
Thame, Oxfordshire.
On 10 March 1988, younger brother
Andy died in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, of
myocarditis
Myocarditis is inflammation of the cardiac muscle. Myocarditis can progress to inflammatory cardiomyopathy when there is associated ventricular remodeling and cardiac dysfunction due to chronic inflammation. Symptoms can include shortness of bre ...
. On 12 January 2003, twin brother
Maurice died in
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, of complications from a twisted intestine.
Politically, Gibb was a supporter of New Labour, the
British Labour Party
The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...
when
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
was Prime Minister. He launched a rally in
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
, West Yorkshire, ahead of the 2005 General Election. He was a close friend of Blair, who was criticised for staying at Gibb's Miami mansion during Christmas 2006. In 2008, Gibb publicly stated that he continued to get on "like a house on fire" with Blair and said that the then Labour prime minister,
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
, regularly listened to the Bee Gees. "He listens to our music every day. Gordon likes our music and I like Gordon", he told ''The Times''. In a tribute upon his death, longtime friend Tony Blair said: "Robin was not only an exceptional and extraordinary musician and songwriter, he was a highly intelligent, interesting and committed human being. He was a great friend with a wonderful open and fertile mind and a student of history and politics."
Gibb worked on behalf of several charities. He was the organiser of the Sunseeker Ball in aid of the
Outward Bound Trust. For the
(CISAC), Gibb served as president from 2007 to 2012. He was also the longest serving president (2008–2011) of the Heritage Foundation, which honours figures of British culture and facilitated his campaign on behalf of the Bomber Command Memorial Appeal.
Health problems and death
On 14 August 2010, while performing in Belgium, Gibb began to feel abdominal pains. On 18 August 2010 at an
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
hospital, he underwent emergency surgery. Gibb recovered and returned to perform concerts in New Zealand and Australia. During this time, Gibb was also involved in promoting fund-raising for the
memorial
A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
dedicated to
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...
in
Green Park
The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the m ...
, London. Gibb also wrote ''The Titanic Requiem'' with his son Robin-John, which was recorded by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
to commemorate the 100th anniversary in 2012 of the
sinking of the ''Titanic''.
Gibb continued to make television appearances and other events following his surgery, but in April 2011 he was forced by health problems to cancel his tour of Brazil. Another concert in Paris was cancelled in October 2011. On 14 October, Gibb was due to perform the charity single with
the Soldiers but was again rushed to hospital with severe abdominal pains. On 18 October, following his release from the hospital, Gibb appeared on
ITV's ''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' looking gaunt and frail.
On 27 October 2011, Gibb cancelled an appearance only minutes before he was due to perform at the
Poppy Appeal Concert in London. In November 2011, he was diagnosed with
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
, which metastasised to his lower digestive system. In March 2012, Gibb was hospitalised for intestinal surgery and cancelled scheduled appearances while recovering. In April, however, he contracted
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
and fell into a coma,
which he came out of later in April. He died in a London hospital on 20 May 2012, at the age of 62. While it was initially reported that he died from cancer, Robin-John Gibb said that his father's cancer had gone into remission by the time of his death and the cause was kidney failure.
His funeral was held on 8 June 2012 and he was buried at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, near his home in
Thame, Oxfordshire. In September of the same year, a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
was placed on the house. In 2015, a headstone, engraved with some of the lyrics of his group's songs, including "
How Deep Is Your Love", was placed.
Reactions
Robin and his brother Barry had famously clashed both personally and professionally for decades before his death, and that conflict lasted to the end. Nonetheless, Barry delivered a eulogy at his brother's funeral, saying: "Even right up to the end we found conflict with each other, which now means nothing. It just means nothing. If there's conflict in your lives – get rid of it."
At Robin's funeral, Barry talked about the connection between Robin and his twin brother, Maurice, saying: "They were both beautiful and now they're together." Barry added details about Robin's struggle losing his brother Maurice a decade earlier, saying: "I think the greatest pain for Robin in the past ten years was losing his twin brother, and I think it did all kinds of things to him."
The Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
's
Roger Daltrey
Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...
recalled: "A lovely, lovely guy. I hear everyone talking about the success of their career but I haven't heard many talk about him as a singer and I used to think he was one of the best. To me, singing is about moving people and Robin's voice had something about it that could move me and, I'm sure, millions of others. It was almost like his heart was on the outside."
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
recalled, "I thought Robin was one of the most wonderful people, gifted, generous and a real friend to everyone he knew. And we'll miss him."
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
described Gibb as "a charming man". Rice added: "I saw him only a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't at all well but was putting up a marvellous fight. It's a terrible loss for the music industry." Gibb's friend
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
said, "We are a fraternity of people who sing pop and rock and Robin is another one of us who's gone too soon, too early."
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
told the BBC: "Robin will be remembered as a musician and as a singer and part of the Bee Gees."
Dionne Warwick
Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...
said: "He was wonderful. He was a jokester. He had an incredibly witty sense of humour and was fun to be around."
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...
recalled: "Robin was a part of something unique. Mostly, Robin was a good guy who didn't deserve to die this young. We will all miss him for what he was as a person and what he brought to music."
Other artists paid tribute to Gibb, including
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...
(who played Robin in the ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' skit "
The Barry Gibb Talk Show"),
Ronan Keating,
Shane Filan
Shane Steven Filan (born 5 July 1979) is an Irish singer best known as a member of the pop vocal group Westlife, which was formed in 1998, disbanded in 2012, and regrouped in 2018. Westlife has released thirteen albums, embarked on twelve wor ...
of
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
,
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...
,
Hanson,
David Draiman of
Disturbed,
Atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
,
Paula Abdul,
Jake Shears
Jason Sellards (born October 3, 1978), known professionally by the stage name Jake Shears, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist of New York City pop-rock band Scissor Sisters, who achi ...
of
the Scissor Sisters,
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...
,
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...
,
Adam Hills
Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show '' Adam Hi ...
,
Peter Andre
Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality.
Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...
,
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Marx's first number one success as a songwriter came in 1984 with " What About Me?", which was recorded by Kenny Rogers ...
,
Taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
of
the Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
,
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
,
the Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
,
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
,
Sam Sparro,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
,
Jamey Jasta
James Vincent Shanahan (born August 7, 1977), known professionally as Jamey Jasta, is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer of metalcore band Hatebreed and sludge metal band Kingdom of Sorrow. Jasta also fronts metalcore band Ic ...
of
Hatebreed
Hatebreed is an American metalcore/ hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album ''Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universa ...
,
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
,
the Script
The Script are an Irish Soft rock, soft-rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Glen Power (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Benjamin Seargent (bass, backin ...
and
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...
.
Final studio album
Gibb's final studio album, ''
50 St. Catherine's Drive'', was released posthumously on 29 September 2014 in the UK and 30 September 2014 in the US. The album reached No. 70 in the UK and No. 39 in Germany. It features previously unreleased recordings from 2007 and 2008. The lead single, "Days of Wine and Roses", was premiered in the United States on 12 September.
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
issued a new version of "
I Am the World" from the album as a single in the UK. Gibb's first compilation album entitled, ''Saved by the Bell – The Collected Works of Robin Gibb: 1969–70'' was released in May 2015 and contained Gibb's songs between 1969 and 1970 including demos of songs that were sung by the Bee Gees and the unreleased material from ''Sing Slowly Sisters''.
Acclaim and recognition
In 1994, Gibb was inducted into the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...
at the
Grammy Museum
The Grammy Museum is any of a group of museums containing exhibits relating to winners of the Grammy Award for achievement in recording.
The museums in this group include:
*The Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, which opened in 2008 in Los Angeles, Cali ...
in Los Angeles. In 1997, he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, Ohio, US, as a member of the Bee Gees. At the
1997 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards 1997 was the 17th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 24 February 1997 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in Lo ...
held at the
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue in London, England. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, original ...
in London on 24 February, the Bee Gees received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
In the
2002 New Year Honours, Gibb was appointed as a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) along with his brothers Maurice and Barry. However, the official presentation ceremony at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
in London was delayed until 2004 due to Maurice's death.
In May 2004, Gibb and his brother Barry both received honorary
doctorates of music from the
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, England. In 2005, Gibb received the
Steiger Award (Miner Award) in
Bochum
Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...
, Germany for accomplishments in the arts. On 10 July 2009, both brothers were also made
Freemen of the Borough of Douglas, Isle of Man. The award was also bestowed posthumously on Maurice, therefore confirming the freedom of the town of their birth to Gibb, Barry and Maurice.
The radio and television presenter
Paul Gambaccini has stated that the Bee Gees were "second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music", and recognised Gibb as "one of the major figures in the history of British music
ndone of the best white soul voices ever".
[ Gibb was a fellow of the ]British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors
The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...
(BASCA).
Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters.
, -
, 2022
, Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb
, Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame
,
Discography
* '' Robin's Reign'' (1970)
* '' How Old Are You?'' (1983)
* ''Secret Agent
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
'' (1984)
* '' Walls Have Eyes'' (1985)
* ''Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
'' (2003)
* '' My Favourite Christmas Carols'' (2006)
* '' 50 St. Catherine's Drive'' (2014)
*'' Sing Slowly Sisters'' (2015)
Filmography
References
External links
Robin Gibb official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibb, Robin
1949 births
2012 deaths
20th-century British male singers
21st-century British male singers
20th-century British singer-songwriters
21st-century British singer-songwriters
Academics of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
Atco Records artists
Bee Gees members
British disco musicians
British expatriate musicians in the United States
British soft rock musicians
Child pop musicians
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Deaths from kidney failure in the United Kingdom
EMI Records artists
British child singers
British expatriates in Australia
British male singers
British male singer-songwriters
British new wave musicians
British people of Irish descent
British people of Manx descent
British people of Scottish descent
British male pop singers
British record producers
British soul singers
British tenors
British dance-pop musicians
Disco singers
Robin
Grammy Award winners
Ivor Novello Award winners
20th-century Manx musicians
People from Douglas, Isle of Man
People from Thame
Polydor Records artists
RSO Records artists
Singers from Manchester
Survivors of railway accidents or incidents
Twin musicians
British twins