British-Australian pop singer and songwriter (1958–1988)
Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, musicians who had formed the Bee Gees during the late-1950s. 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 No. 1: "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 substance use problems and depression. He died on 10 March 1988 from complications due to drug abuse, aged 30.
Life and career.
1958–1975: Early life and first recordings.
Andy Gibb was born on 5 March 1958 at Stretford Memorial Hospital, Stretford, Lancashire. He was the youngest of the 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; and three brothers—Barry and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.
At the age of six months, Gibb emigrated with his family to Queensland, Australia. The family shared three different homes at Redcliffe, Queensland, north of Brisbane, before settling on Cribb Island, a former suburb of Brisbane in January 1960. After moving several times between Brisbane and Sydney, Gibb 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 Gibb 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 Gibb's personality in his childhood:
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 Gibb's mother, Barbara, and had regular bookings on the island's hotel circuit. In August 1973, at the age of 15, Gibb made his first recordings at the Nova Sound Studios in London. The songs were "Windows of My World" and the country music number "My Father's a Rebel". The second song was written by Maurice Gibb (according to a November 1973 fan club newsletter) who also produced the session.
At the urging of his brother, Barry, Gibb returned to Australia in 1974. Barry believed that since Australia had been a good training ground for the Bee Gees, it would also help Gibb's career. Lesley Gibb had remained in Australia, where she raised a family with her husband. Alderson and Stringer followed Gibb to Australia with the hope of forming a band there. With Col Joye producing, Gibb, Alderson, and Stringer recorded a number of Gibb's songs. The first 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, however 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 Gibb compared with his brothers was that he was relatively comfortable financially, mainly due to his brothers' support and largesse; hence, the group's sporadic work rate. Gibb would disappear for periods of time, leaving Alderson and Stringer out of work with no income. Despondent, Alderson and Stringer returned to England.
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" (a Ray Stevens song which was later a US hit for duo Captain and Tennille in May 1977) was pushed for release, but ultimately did not, 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 Col Joye, who also produced the Bee Gees' first singles in Australia. It was Gibb's first single and was backed by another composition "Westfield Mansions". The single would eventually reach No. 78 in Australia and No. 29 in New Zealand. Gibb performed this song on "Countdown" on 7 September 1975. While in Australia, Gibb recorded demos of his compositions as well as his own renditions of old numbers. When Gibb had got the call from his brother Barry in June 1976 that he and Col Joye's company ATA had proceeded with the new single ("Words and Music"), Gibb prepared to go to Florida later that year and had his last recording session before moving to the US, including "In the End", "Flowing Rivers", "Come Home for the Winter" and "Let It Be Me" which were later re-recorded in Criteria Studios.
1976–1980: International success.
Gibb at that time lived in Seven Hills, an outer Sydney suburb where he married his girlfriend Kim Reeder at the Wayside Chapel on 11 July 1976. "Kim breeds Staffordshire bull terriers and my sister does too", he once said. "We met at a dog show when my sister Lesley introduced us". 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, on 25 January 1978. Gibb and Reeder divorced later that year.
Robert Stigwood, who at the time was the Bee Gees' manager, signed Gibb to his label, RSO Records in early 1976, after he heard some of his demo tapes. Gibb soon moved to Miami Beach, to begin working on songs with his brother Barry and co-producers Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. In late 1976 in Miami, Gibb, with his brother Barry producing and recording in Criteria Studios, set about making his first album "Flowing Rivers". Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh played on two songs on the album while recording "Hotel California". On Gibb's compositions, the tracks were a mix of country music and ballads. After the release of "Flowing Rivers", Gibb revealed:
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 No. 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on the week ending 30 July 1977, and again for the week ending 17 September 1977. "I Just Want to be Your Everything" was Gibb's longest-running chart single on "Billboard, Record World," and "Cashbox" and earned him a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the 20th Grammy Awards. The song was later ranked No. 26 on "Billboard"'s 55th anniversary "All Time Top 100". Gibb later recalled Barry's writing style:
So, once we discussed it all and got the deal together, me and Barry locked ourselves in a bedroom and Barry just started writing. When Barry writes, it is very hard to collaborate with him, because he is so quick. And before I knew it he was starting to do the chorus of 'I Just Want to Be Your Everything', and I thought, 'Wow what a hook!'. He's an expert at his craft. Within about 20 minutes, he'd written a number one record; and then we went right into another one, '(Love Is) Thicker than Water'.
Eight of the ten tracks on the album were Gibb compositions, mostly 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 No. 1 single "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (also co-written by Gibb and his brother Barry) to support it, quickly became a multi-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 Gibb's 20th birthday, only to be surpassed by "Night Fever" at No. 1 two weeks later. Both of the singles from "Flowing Rivers" were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales exceeding 500,000 units.
Gibb 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 (No. 7) and Canada (No. 1). 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 No. 1, achieving platinum status and the honour of being "Billboard"'s No. 1 song of 1978. In the United States, Gibb became the first male solo artist to have three consecutive No. 1 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 10 singles, "An Everlasting Love" (No. 5) and "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" (No. 9), were released from the album, which became another multi-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 10 singles charted just ahead of the album's release. "Desire" (No. 4) was recorded for the Bee Gees' 1979 album "Spirits Having Flown" and featured their original track, complete with Gibb'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 (No. 12). In 1984, Gibb performed this song on the sitcom "Punky Brewster" in the episode "Play It Again, Punky" where Gibb guest starred as Punky's piano teacher.
Despite being certified Gold, the album's disappointing performance, coupled with Gibb's mounting drug problems, would lead to RSO Records dropping Gibb from its roster. 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" (No. 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 does exist.
1981–1986: Decline and live performances.
While taping "The John Davidson Show" in January 1981, Gibb met actress Victoria Principal. During their high-profile relationship, Gibb